Use of the hard shoulder as an active running lane has been demonstrated to be an effective measure to reduce congestion and improve journey time reliability. A refinement that has the potential to improve traffic flows further would be to allow traffic to use the hard shoulder (HS) through junctions on a full time basis – termed Full Time Through Junction Running (FT TJR). This simulator study was designed to test participants’ behaviour in response to FT TJR in terms of their ability to respond to the new signs and road marking schemes in a safe and appropriate manner. A total of 96 drivers participated, evenly split into two age groups (Younger=17-44 yrs; Older = 45+ yrs) with an equal number of male and female participants in each group. Each driver was required to drive two 30 minute drives along a 4 lane motorway with hard shoulder running available within the junction and either closed (route 1) or open (route 2) between junctions. The effects of FT TJR are evaluated on the basis of driving behaviour and subjective impressions in the context of road safety and network performance. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting