Effects of Object-Oriented Advance Guidance Signage on Lane-Changing Behaviors at the Mainline Toll Stations of Expressways

Chaolun Wang, Wang Xiang (), Guiqiu Xu and Xiaomeng Li
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Chaolun Wang: Key Laboratory of Special Environment Road Engineering of Hunan Province, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha 410114, China
Wang Xiang: Key Laboratory of Special Environment Road Engineering of Hunan Province, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha 410114, China
Guiqiu Xu: Guangdong Architectural Design & Research Institute Company Limited, Guangzhou 510010, China
Xiaomeng Li: Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety (CARRS-Q), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Queensland, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: China has actively promoted electronic toll collection (ETC), increasing the proportion of ETC vehicles, and the number of ETC lanes at mainline toll stations has exceeded that of manual toll collection (MTC) lanes. To investigate the effects of ETC and MTC vehicles as guidance objects on the lane-changing behaviors of drivers, we designed three guidance signal plans, including the original sign plan (OR), a complete MTC sign plan (CMS), and a complete MTC sign plan with voice warnings (VW&CMS), for expressway mainline toll lanes. A driving simulator experiment with 40 participants was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the plans. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the characteristics of lane-changing behaviors in different guidance plans, and an entropy weight model using the technique of ranking the order of preference by its similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) was constructed to evaluate the guidance effects of different plans. The results showed that the CMS and VW&CMS plans significantly improved lane-changing behaviors. This improvement is demonstrated by a higher lane-changing ratio, shorter response time, earlier initiation of lane-changing location, higher speed, lower deceleration rate, and longer lane-changing duration distance. These findings can help expressway designers to optimize the guidance-sign system for mainline toll stations.

Keywords: expressway toll station; guidance signage; lane-changing behavior; voice warning; technique of order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution; driving simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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