With an increase in the number of bus pull-out bays in Florida, a growingnumber of bus operators find that it is very difficult to merge back intotraffic from a bus pull-out bay. Some transit agencies do not support building new bus pull-out bays because of concerns that it will cause additional delays and safety problems. Bus operators sometimes refuse to use the existing bus pull-out bays because they know the difficulty of moving bus back into traffic. Without the proper traffic control devices, motorists do not know when or how they should yield to bus, which is part of the Florida Statutes requiring motorists to yield at specifically designated bus pull-out bays. This makes enforcement of existing yield-to-bus (YTB) laws very difficult. Field observations and conflict studies showed that additional delays and many traffic conflicts were caused when buses attempted to move back into traffic from a pull-out bay. This paper uses bus operator surveys, crash data analysis, and field studies to develop recommendations for lighting and signage on the back of the bus, roadway signs, and Florida YTB statues. The study found that the decal currently affixed to the back of Florida buses has no significant safety and operational effect. Thereare no roadside signs or pavement markings for YTB. Proper signage and lighting were recommended to help the bus move back into traffic safely, decrease bus delay, and improve bus operations however; it must be accompanied by adequate laws and law enforcement.
Samenvatting