Most wrong-way fatal accidents occur at night and involve drivers with blood alcohol levels exceeding 0.20 percent. Drivers under the influence of alcohol are not proficient in divided attention tasks. The effectiveness of seven devices in getting the attention of drunk drivers was to be tested on the UCLA driving simulator. The devices to be tested were: (1) Standard wrong-way sign package with secondary wrong-way signs; (2) Activated illuminated signs; (3) Activated non-blinding pavement lights; (4) Activated water jets from edge of ramp; (5) Activated pop-up posts; (6) Passive ramp derailer of pavement markers; (7) Blinding lights. The driving simulator tests of these devices required night-time filming of the devices in operation. Several types of colour film and developing processes were tried, but none were capable of producing a film with the required resolution and colour density. This study was terminated without testing the wrong-way deterrent devices.
Abstract