• UTRC II SUBMISSION SYSTEM
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Login / Register

Search form

Home
  • Home
  • About
    • Welcome to the UTRC Site
    • Theme
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
    • Annual Report
    • Program Progress Performance Report
    • Newsletter
  • Research
    • Projects
    • RFPs
    • Submit Your Proposal
    • Funding Categories
      • UTRC Research Initiative
      • UTRC Advanced Technology Initiative
      • UTRC Faculty Development Mini-grants
      • UTRC Best Transportation Paper Competition
      • News
  • Publications
  • Directory
    • Consortium Universities
    • Partners
    • Principal Investigators
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Education
    • Where to Study
    • Transportation and Planning Doctoral Series
    • AITE Scholarships
    • UTRC Dissertation Grants
    • Summer Institute
    • September 11th Memorial Program
    • Technology Transfer and Training
    • Online Graduate Certificate Program
    • UTRC Travel Grants
    • Student Award Recipients
    • Apply For Scholarships
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Visiting Scholar Seminar Series
  • Resources

Using Lighting to Alter Driver Behavior

Safety and traffic flow issues are related to drivers selecting inappropriate speeds when driving. For example, at some curved interchange exit ramps, drivers may go too fast, increasing the risk of rollover crashes, especially for heavy trucks. At other locations, perceived 'bottlenecks' in roadway geometry may cause some drivers to slow down more than is appropriate, resulting in variations among vehicle speeds, and increasing the likelihood of traffic congestion, delays and rear-end crashes.

The project team from the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in response to a New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) request for proposals (RFP), proposes to investigate lighting approaches for two roadway applications with the objective of identifying configurations of lighting that can encourage slower speeds at curved ramps, and can encourage drivers to maintain their speeds in locations prone to traffic congestion.

This investigation will consist of three primary phases. The first phase will extend our previous work using laboratory and simulation studies to measure drivers' perceptions to various lighting configurations. The second phase will involve design, development, installation and evaluation of a lighting system for encouraging speed reductions at an actual curved ramp location in New York State's capital region. The third phase will employ a similar series of tasks with the objective of encouraging drivers to maintain their speed at an actual location in the capital region where traffic congestion has been problematic. The latter phases will be informed by a review and analysis of the appropriate lighting technologies for providing the necessary visual information to drivers, focusing on, but not entirely limited to, solid state lighting using light emitting diode (LED) sources. Based on the results of the initial studies and of the evaluations of the lighting installations at each location, the project team will develop preliminary specification guidance to NYSDOT about where, when and how similar approaches could be used at other locations across New York State.

Project Details

Project Dates: 
February 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012
Principal Investigators: 
Dr. John Bullough
Dr. Mark Rea
Institution: 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Lighting Research Center (LRC)
Sponsor(s): 
New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT)
Publications: 
Project Brief
Final Report
Project Status: 
Complete
Research Categories: 
Safety and Security
Vehicle and Equipment
Please subscribe to our Newsletter:

Get our newsletter

Please enter your email address to subscribe to our newsletter:

Contact Us

University Transportation Research Center
Marshak Hall - Science Building, Suite 910 
The City College of New York
138th Street & Convent Avenue ,New York, NY 10031