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Moving the Bus Back into Traffic Safely - Signage and Lighting Configuration Phase I
With an increase in the number of bus pull-out bays in Florida, a growing
number of bus operators find that it is very difficult to merge back into
traffic from a bus pull-out bay. Some transit agencies do not support building
new bus pull-out bays because of concerns that it will cause additional delays
and safety problems. Bus operators sometimes refuse to use the existing bus
pull-out bays because they know the difficulty of moving bus back into traffic.
Without the proper traffic control devices, motorists do not know when or how
they should yield to bus, which is part of the Florida Statutes requiring
motorists to yield at specifically designated bus pull-out bays. This makes
enforcement of existing yield-to-bus (YTB) laws very difficult. Field
observations and conflict studies showed that additional delays and many traffic
conflicts were caused when buses attempted to move back into traffic from a
pull-out bay. This research uses bus operator surveys, crash data analysis, and
field studies to develop recommendations for lighting and signage on the back of
the bus, roadway signs, and Florida YTB statutes. The study found that the decal
currently affixed to the back of Florida buses has no significant safety and
operational effect. There are no roadside signs or pavement markings for YTB.
Proper signage and lighting were recommended to help the bus move back into
traffic safely, decrease bus delay, and improve bus operations however; it must
be accompanied by adequate laws and law enforcement.
Download final report. For
more information, contact Huagao Zhou at
zhou@cutr.usf.edu
02.05.08
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813.974.5168 fax