Project merges Missouri S&T, MoDOT - Missouri S&T News and Research
Missouri University of Science and Technology researchers are using a Missouri Department of Transportation grant to help determine if alternate signage could make drivers — and workers — safer in work zones. Using the cab of a white Ford Ranger XLT with split bucket seats as their driving simulator, Missouri S&T’s team is evaluating merge sign configurations for work zones along the state’s roadways. Drivers control the steering wheel and acceleration and brake pedals to go through four merge configurations, two each for left and right. “We do this under normal conditions,” says principal investigator Dr. Suzanna Long, interim chair and associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering. if you use a hearing aid, wear it. if you take medications, take them. The study is designed to reflect Missouri’s driving demographics, with drivers in four age ranges recruited to participate. In the simulations, drivers maneuver through the current Manual on Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) work zone and then an alternate one. One researcher records drivers’ simulation performance, measuring speed, steering and braking. so far, 42 have used the Missouri S&T Driving Simulator, not counting Missouri Highway Traffic Safety engineer John Miller, who recently took the truck for a spin. Source: news.mst.edu
