Masters Theses

Abstract

"The driver of an isolated vehicle on a given section of highway, whether it is urban or rural, will choose a path on the pavement that offers the least resistance to driver effort and which to him seems safest. Lateral obstructions, such as retaining walls, trees, bridge abutments, ect., which may cause him to deviate from the desired path represent some degree of hazard to the driver and should be removed, if practicle. The purpose of this investigation was to determine any change in the lateral placement of automobiles due to side restrictions on rural two-way, two-lane highways. Phase one of the study concerned two bridges on U.S. Highway 63 near Rolla, Missouri, that differed only in the amount of lateral clearance between the edge of the traffic lane and its corresponding bridge abutment. Phase two of the investigation concerned a bridge near Newburg, Missouri, and the change caused by reflectorizing the bridge abutments for better night visibility. The results of phase one showed that by increasing the amount of offset between the traffic lane edge and the bridge abutment, drivers positioned their vehicle more correctly within their lane. For the purpose of this investigation, a vehicle is considered correctly positioned within its lane when the vehicle is centered in the lane; that is, there is an equal distance from the pavement center line to the left edge of the left tire and from the right edge of the right tire to the right edge of the traffic lane. In phase two of the investigation, it was determined that the reflectorization of the bridge abutments was benefitial in that drivers positioned their vehicle more correctly within its lane"--Abstract, pages ii-iii.

Advisor(s)

Josey, James L.

Committee Member(s)

Gerig, Frank A.
Rockaway, John D.

Department(s)

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Degree Name

M.S. in Civil Engineering

Publisher

University of Missouri--Rolla

Publication Date

1972

Pagination

vii, 47 pages

Geographic Coverage

United States

Rights

© 1972 Warren Chip Woods, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Rural roads -- United States -- DesignBridgesReflectors (Safety devices)Automobile driving at nightTraffic engineeringHighway engineering

Thesis Number

T 2719

Print OCLC #

6033275

Electronic OCLC #

882928417

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