Gateway Design for Transition from High-Speed to Low-Speed Areas: A Driving Simulator Study

Pirdavani, Ali; Mantels, Maarten; Spooren, Thibaut · 2025 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2025.10.068

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Summary

This study investigates the effectiveness of various gateway designs intended to reduce vehicle speeds during the transition from high-speed zones (70 km/h) to low-speed urban areas (50 km/h). Motivated by the insufficiency of traffic signs alone in influencing driver behavior, the research aims to identify optimal combinations of physical and visual measures that ensure safety without obstructing emergency services or causing erratic driving maneuvers. The researchers conducted a driving simulator study using a medium-fidelity setup with STISIM Drive 3 software. Fifty-four participants drove a 14 km route featuring seven different gateway designs in randomized order. The designs included reference scenarios, transverse road markings, avenue planting, road narrowing, chicanes, and combinations thereof. Objective data on speed, lateral position, and acceleration were recorded, while subjective experiences were collected via online questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Python, Excel, and IBM SPSS Statistics. The results demonstrated that all tested gateway designs significantly reduced speeds compared to the reference scenario, with reductions occurring primarily before the urban area sign. Chicanes produced the most substantial speed reduction (average 45.66 km/h) but also caused the most abrupt braking and acceleration, leading to unpredictable driver maneuvers. Road narrowing resulted in a moderate speed reduction (average 54.17 km/h) but facilitated smoother, more gradual deceleration. Transverse road markings were effective as early visual cues, particularly when combined with physical measures. Conversely, avenue planting showed no statistically significant impact on driving behavior. Combining a chicane with road narrowing yielded the lowest average speeds but increased lateral deviation strategies, such as slaloming, unless oncoming traffic was present, which suppressed evasive maneuvers. The study concludes that while chicanes are highly effective at lowering speed, their associated abrupt braking and variability in driver response pose safety risks, particularly for vulnerable road users. Therefore, the authors recommend a combination of transverse road markings and road narrowing as the optimal design. This configuration ensures drivers enter the urban zone below the speed limit through smooth deceleration, balancing effectiveness with driver comfort and safety. The findings highlight that physical measures are superior to purely visual interventions like avenue planting, and they suggest that future research should validate these simulator results with real-world field measurements under varying environmental conditions.

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Topics

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• perceptual countermeasures
• speed management
• rail grade crossings
• speed choice
• work zones

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data