Two Views of Motorist Behavior in Rural Freeway Construction and Maintenance Zones: The Driver and the State Highway Patrolman

Abstract

Ohio state highway patrolmen and drivers completed two separate questionnaires designed to assess problems related to driver behavior in road construction and maintenance (C&M) zones. The highway patrolmen saw driver inattention, excessive speed, and improper driver behaviors as major causes of accidents in C&M zones and stated that most problems occur in the taper area of lane closures. Patrolmen considered rear-end collisions to be the most typical accident in these zones. The driver questionnaire revealed that when making decisions about speed and lane changes in C&M zones, most drivers rely on their own judgment and cues from other vehicles rather than on signing. Implications of the findings for the design and placement of traffic control devices in C&M zones are discussed.