Lecture 1 Stopping Sight Distance
Lecture 1 Stopping Sight Distance
For safety, should provide sight distance of sufficient length so that drivers can control the operation of their vehicles to avoid striking an unexpected object in the traveled way - STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE (SSD) Certain 2-lane roads should have sufficient sight distance to enable drivers to occupy the opposing traffic lane for passing other vehicles without risk of crash - PASSING SIGHT Distance (PSD) Sight distance assumes drivers are traveling at the design speed Distance a driver can see ahead at any specific time Must allow sufficient distance for a driver to perceive/react and stop, swerve etc when necessary
Question
Answer
Stopping sight distance is composed of two distances, what are they? - Distance traveled during perception/reaction time - Distance required to physically brake vehicle
Perception-Reaction Process
Perception Identification
Perception-Reaction Process
Perception
Sees or hears situation (sees deer) Identify situation (realizes deer is in road) Decides on course of action (swerve, stop, change lanes, etc) Acts (time to start events in motion but not actually do action)
Identification
Emotion
Reaction (volition)
PIEV time
AASHTO Green Book recommends 2.5 seconds, this is adequate for conditions that are more complex than the simple conditions used in laboratory and road tests
Required for every point along alignment (horizontal and vertical) Design for it, or sign for lower, safe speed Available SSD = f(roadway alignment, objects off the alignment, object on road height SSD = PRD + BD (with final velocity V2 = 0) PRD= Perception Reaction Distance BD= Breaking Distance
Driver eye height: for passenger vehicles = 1.05 above surface Height of object in roadway = 0.60m (SSD) why? Height of opposing vehicle = 1.05m (PSD)
Braking Distance
Friction is a function of pavement condition (wet, icy), tire, and roadway surface
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Intersection (turning/crossing) - we will come back to this Crossing Rail Road (Stop, proceed, proceed from stop
Speeds
Distance from front of vehicle to drivers eye Distance from rail to front of vehicle Assumptions about PR time and braking distance Width of crossing Distance from end of vehicle after crossing Length of vehicle Acceleration capability of road vehicle Offset of obstruction from the road and the rail line