The Effectiveness of Motorway Matrix Signalling — A Police View
| Published date | 01 July 1981 |
| Author | I. G. Cross,D. B. Parker |
| Date | 01 July 1981 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8105400308 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
INSPECTOR D. B.
PARKER,
POLICE
DIP.
T.E.,
South Yorkshire Police
I. G. CROSS, B.Sc., M.Sc.,C.Eng., M.I.C.E., M.I.H.E.,
Senior Lecturer in Transportation Engineering, Portsmouth
Polytechnic.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
MOTORWAV
MATRIX
SIGNALLING - A POLICE
VIEW
INTRODUCTION
Motorways, which have a better safety record than all-purpose roads
on the basis of personal injury accidents per 106vehicleskrn, should
be even safer if signals were always obeyed. Drivers have, of course,
to rely on the information given by the signals as being reliable and
accurate. Compliance and therefore the usefulness of signals as a
means of communication, depends very much upon driver attitudes
to the operation and the use of motorway matrix signals by the
controlling authority.
In March 1978 a questionnaire survey was carried out to
investigate the effectiveness of the matrix signalling system as a
means of controlling drivers by establishing the attitudes and
responses to them from motorway users. A complementary survey
was also conducted among police officers responsible for the
operational patrolling of motorways and from those officers
responsible for controlling the equipment which activates the matrix
signals in response to information received. The surveyconsisted of a
questionnaire which was circulated to all police forces in England
and Wales which have responsibility for motorways (Ref. I). This
paper reports the findings of the police survey relating them to the
results of the public survey where appropriate. The findings of the
public survey have been reported in references 2 and 3.
The full survey questionnaire and results have not been included in
this paper because of insufficient space being available. This paper,
therefore, restricts, itself to an analysis and discussion of the
findings.
266 July
/98/
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