Evaluation of Safety Enhancements in School Zones With Familiar and Unfamiliar Drivers

Valdes Diaz, Didier M.; Knodler, Michael A.; Colucci Rios, Benjamin; Colon Torres, Enid; Garcia Rosario, Ricardo; Campbell, Nicholas; Tainter, Francis; Ibarra, María X. Rojas; Medina, Alberto M. Figueroa · 2019 · ROSA P / Safety Research Using Simulation (SAFER-SIM) University Transportation Center

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Summary

This study addresses the safety concerns associated with traffic crashes in suburban school zones, specifically examining how driver familiarity with the roadway environment and traffic control devices (TCDs) influences speed behavior and compliance. Motivated by rising pedestrian fatalities and frequent speeding violations in school zones, the research compares the driving behaviors of familiar drivers (locals in Puerto Rico) and unfamiliar drivers (visitors from Massachusetts) within a simulated school zone adjacent to a high-speed arterial highway. The study also evaluates the effectiveness of enhanced TCD configurations, including overhead signage and flashing beacons, in improving safety outcomes. The methodology utilized driving simulators at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass). A suburban school zone in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, was recreated in simulation software, featuring a posted speed limit of 25 mph within the zone and 45 mph elsewhere. Seventy-two subjects participated: 36 familiar drivers from Puerto Rico and 36 unfamiliar drivers from Massachusetts. The experimental design employed a factorial approach with 24 scenarios varying traffic presence, pedestrian presence, parked vehicles, and TCD configuration (existing vs. recommended MUTCD-compliant enhancements). Eye-tracking equipment recorded gaze data to assess driver attention to signage. Results indicated significant differences in speed behavior between the two groups. Familiar drivers consistently selected lower speeds and demonstrated higher speed limit compliance than unfamiliar drivers. In the existing TCD configuration, familiar drivers showed higher compliance in 75% of scenarios before the school zone and in all scenarios within the zone. The enhanced TCD configuration, featuring overhead signs and flashing beacons, improved speed compliance for familiar drivers in 83% of scenarios, whereas it improved compliance for unfamiliar drivers in only 25% of scenarios. Eye-tracking analysis revealed that the overhead signs successfully captured the attention of both groups, with unfamiliar drivers looking at the overhead signs more frequently than familiar drivers. However, this increased visual attention did not translate into significantly better speed compliance for unfamiliar drivers. Additionally, neither group achieved the expected 20 mph speed reduction from the arterial limit to the school zone limit in most scenarios. The study concludes that driver familiarity significantly impacts school zone safety, with unfamiliar drivers exhibiting higher speeds and lower compliance despite enhanced signage. The findings suggest that text-based TCDs in Spanish were less effective for unfamiliar drivers, indicating a need for symbol-based messaging in areas with tourist traffic. While overhead signage improved attention and speed reduction for unfamiliar drivers, it did not ensure compliance. The authors recommend that infrastructure enhancements be supported by educational campaigns and enforcement, particularly in regions where overhead signage is uncommon.

Key finding

Familiar drivers exhibited significantly lower mean speeds and higher speed limit compliance than unfamiliar drivers, and while enhanced overhead signage improved speed reduction for unfamiliar drivers, it did not significantly increase their compliance rates.

Methodology

simulator

Sample size: 72

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• rail grade crossings
• work zones
• perceptual countermeasures
• child pedestrian

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence