Public Roads: A Journal of Highway Research and Development, Vol. 45 No. 1

Wachtel, Jerry; Ellington, Robert E.; Reynolds, Richard G.; Fong, Gene K.; Radelat, Guido; Tiller, George; Mirack, Frank · 1981 · ROSA P / United States. Government Printing Office

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Summary

This document comprises two primary articles from the June 1981 issue of *Public Roads*, addressing highway safety concerns regarding electronic advertising and the development of low-cost traffic signal coordination technology. The first article, by Jerry Wachtel, investigates the safety impacts of Commercial Electronic Variable Message Signs (CEVMS). Motivated by a 1978 amendment to the Highway Beautification Act that permitted electronically changed signs, the study addresses conflicts with existing laws prohibiting flashing or animated signage. Wachtel reviews literature from 1950 onward, noting that accident-based studies yield contradictory results due to poor experimental design and confounding variables. However, surrogate measures of driver behavior, such as eye movement and divided attention tasks, consistently indicate that roadside distractors degrade performance. The only rigorous field study of a CEVMS found a statistically significant correlation between the sign’s visibility and traffic accidents, leading to the sign’s removal. The article concludes that FHWA will conduct further research using surrogate measures and laboratory simulations to establish operational guidelines for these signs. The second article, by Robert E. Ellington and Richard G. Reynolds, details the development and field testing of the Traffic Controller Synchronizer (TCS), a time-based device for coordinating traffic signals without expensive hardwire, radio, or optical links. Designed to conserve fuel and reduce emissions at the 65% of U.S. intersections lacking coordination, the TCS uses internal clocks and battery backups to synchronize controllers. A field test on Route 236 in Virginia involved installing TCS units at seven previously isolated intersections. After resolving initial clock-drift issues caused by grounding problems, the system was evaluated using floating car methods. The results showed a 25% reduction in average travel time and an increase in average speed from 25 mph to 32 mph. The coordination also yielded significant environmental benefits, including an annual reduction of 122,938 gallons of gasoline and substantial decreases in carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions. The authors note that the TCS cost $540 per intersection annually, significantly less than wired alternatives, and report that over 90 jurisdictions had adopted or planned to adopt time-based coordination technology.

Key finding

Implementation of the Traffic Controller Synchronizer reduced average travel time by 25 percent and increased average speed from 40 to 51 km/h, while a controlled field investigation found a significant correlation between CEVMS visibility and traffic accidents.

Methodology

field_study

Sample size: 7

Provenance

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

Topics

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• signage environment

Information type

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• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource, validation psychometrics