DOI

10.5703/1288284317448

Abstract

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) started deploying queue warning trucks ahead of interstate work zones to alert motorists of queued traffic. Along with visually alerting the motorists, digital alerts were integrated with navigational applications such as Apple Maps, Waze, and the in-vehicle infotainment system of Stellantis vehicles. More than 45,000 hours of alerting was provided to motorists across various interstates in Indiana over a 26-month period. This report evaluated the impact of queue warning trucks on traffic using hard braking events and traffic speeds provided by granular connected trajectory vehicle data. Evaluation of over 370 hours of queuing with the presence of queue trucks and 52 hours of queuing without the queue trucks indicated a decrease in hard braking events by 80% when trucks were present with digital alerts. It was also observed that traffic speeds started to reduce approximately 1,500 to 2,000 ft in advance of deployed queue trucks.

Report Number

FHWA/IN/JTRP-2022/26

Keywords

queue warning trucks, work zone safety, connected vehicle data, hard braking

SPR Number

4600

Performing Organization

Joint Transportation Research Program

Publisher Place

West Lafayette, IN

Date of this Version

2022

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