Drivers driving on lower-class Dutch rural roads without any delineation more frequently drift off the road with their right-hand side tires, invoking damage to the pavement edge or even ending in an accident. In two experiments, two experimental types of road-edge delineation, one with continuous and one with dashed edgelines, were compared with two control roads, one without lines and one with only a dashed line on the road axis. The first experiment consisted of non-obtrusive video recordings of passing traffic. Vehicle position on the experimental roads was found to be more to the road's centre than on the control roads. The second experiment was a driving test with an instrumented vehicle. Again, it was found that vehicle lateral position was more central on the experimental roads, especially during darkness. Driving speed increased on the experimental roads, compared with the unlined control road, but speed was lower than on the axis-lined control road. Subjectively rated effort was higher for the unlined control road than for the three other roads. Subjects preferred the edgelined roads to the unlined control road, but not to the axis-lined control road. Edgelines may provide a simple and effective way to induce a more favourable lateral position on rural roads without having negative effects on subjective appraisal, driving performance and mental workload. (A)
Abstract