Evaluation of Chevron Patterns for Use on Traffic Control Devices in Street and Highway Work Zones

About the report:

The chevron pattern consists of alternate orange and white stripes that form an arrow pointing in the direction in which traffic is being diverted. The objectives of this research were (1) to select the most effective design for the chevron pattern, and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of selected chevron designs under road conditions as compared to presently used designs. The most effective chevron pattern was selected by a subjective rating of groups of patterns used on channelizing devices. In general, the selected chevron designs were preferred over the presently used patterns. A black stripe separating the orange and white stripes proved effective in reducing haloation. The measure of performance used in the field tests was the position of lane changing relative to the transition taper. It was found that driver response was not strongly dependent on the channelizing device employed in the taper. The subjective evaluation revealed the chevron patterns to be preferred over the presently used patterns because of their clear directional message.

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