Choice of speed under compromised Dynamic Message Signs

Area of Science:

• Transportation Science
• Human Behavior
• Traffic Engineering

Background:

• Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) are increasingly used to influence driver behavior.
• Understanding traveler responses to DMS information is crucial for traffic management.
• Fabricated DMS messages present a unique scenario for studying compliance and speed choice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how travelers' speed choices are affected by realistic versus fabricated Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) content.
• To identify demographic and behavioral factors influencing compliance with DMS messages.
• To analyze the impact of distracting activities on driver speed under fabricated scenarios.

Main Methods:

• A web-based survey of 4,302 participants in the United States was conducted via Amazon Mechanical Turk.
• Multivariate latent-based ordered probit models were developed to analyze speed choice behavior.
• Statistical analysis was performed to identify significant predictors of compliance and speed reduction.

Main Results:

• Female, African-American, elderly drivers, those with disabilities, and those trusting DMS were more likely to comply with fabricated messages.
• Drivers adhering to traffic laws, with good records, living rurally, and females tended to slow down more under fabricated messages.
• Distracting activities like calling, texting, or adjusting the radio led to reduced speeds or stops in fictitious scenarios.

Conclusions:

• Demographic factors and trust in Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) significantly influence driver compliance with fabricated traffic information.
• Driver characteristics and engagement in distracting behaviors play a key role in speed adjustments in response to non-real traffic scenarios.
• Findings underscore the need for targeted messaging strategies and highlight the impact of driver distraction on traffic safety and compliance.