Highway Safety Corridor Signing and Enforcement Program. Work Order 7 Final rept

摘要

In 2004 the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT) decided to revamp their safety corridor signing program. The new Safety Corridor Signing Program included three major changes from the existing program. Language was introduced in a state transportation bill that permitted the doubling of fines for moving violations issued in a designated safety corridor. Secondly, the four 'Enforcement Themes' used in the previous program were eliminated and a single series of signs that warned motorists they were entering a designated Safety Corridor and that all fines will be doubled were erected was adopted. Thirdly, PENNDOT contracted with Parsons Brinkerhoff Quade & Douglas (PB) to evaluate motorist behavior before and after the installation of the signs (and the onset of the enhanced enforcement) to determine if the program was making an impact on motorist behavior. Quantitative Traffic Data (vehicle volumes, vehicle speeds, vehicle classifications, vehicle gaps, and citation history) were captured upstream, midstream, and downstream of the enforcement zone during three distinct time intervals: (1) before the enhanced enforcement program began (pre-enforcement), (2) within one month after enforcement began (short-term enforcement), and (3) approximately six months after enforcement began (long-term enforcement). Qualitative data was captured by video taping vehicle and motorist behavior during peak periods for all three periods and interviewing state police enforcement officers who were responsible for patrolling the corridors. Changes in driver behavior were evaluated in six corridors over the course of the study. This paper presents the results of the study to evaluate the possibility of expanding the pilot program in an effort to combat unsafe driving behaviors.