The Dutch Department of Public Works plans to build a so-called buffer. Buffers consist of extra space for vehicles on frequently congested motorways, where exits to other roads are unnecessarily blocked due to congestion. If road capacity near the bottleneck would be increased, the traffic jamlength decreases, and the exit would no longer be blocked. A pilot bufferis prepared on the A12 motorway. In this report a driving simulator studyis described. The idea was that, if the buffer would not be used sufficiently, drivers would notice that using the buffer would result in shorter trip durations, and that they would choose to drive through the buffer in the next trip. Thirty-six subjects participated in the experiment. They were not explicitly informed on the buffer. For half of the subjects a sign was placed near the buffer entrance, indicating the expected trip duration for the main road and for the buffer. In all circumstances subjects sufficiently used the buffer, particularly when the buffer was used insufficiently by other traffic. The results do not support the need for a specific sign near the buffer entrance. Driving through the buffer did not cause unsafe driving situations. The curves in the buffer were considered unpleasant. This buffer design aspect might need further attention.
Abstract