Estimation of Legibility Distance for Portable Variable Message Signs

抄録

Variable Message Sign (VMS) is one of the major components of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). In particular, portable variable message signs (PVMS) are very useful in managing traffic events including work zone, special events, and incidents. It is essential that PVMS locations and message operations should be designed with the proper consideration of driver's legibility distance. This study aimed at establishing a functional relationship between legibility distance and causal factors based on extensive field experiments. A differential global positioning system (DGPS) in a control vehicle was used to obtain legibility distances. The proposed model based on multiple linear regression would be greatly useful for ITS designers and planners when making decisions on PVMS locations and message operations for better traffic management.