초록
PURPOSES : Since expressways in South Korea are toll roads, many trumpet type interchanges exist, resulting in the installation of loop ramps very frequently. While the travel speed of the main lane is designed to be 100-110 km/h, the structure of a loop ramp is different and is designed for a minimum speed of 40 km/h. In fact, most of the actual travel speeds measured on the ramp exceed the designated speed, which has been a major problem in traffic safety. In this research, a type of pavement marking speed-reduction treatment called the "Peripheral Transverse Line" is installed on expressway loop ramps in order to study the change of driving speeds after the installation. METHODS : To verify statistically the change, this speed-reduction treatment has been installed on the Chungju interchange and the Yeoju junction. The driving speeds before the installation were compared with driving speeds both one month and five monthsafter the installation. RESULTS : As a result, the reductions of the average driving speeds after the treatment were statistically significant. More specifically, the average driving speeds of the Chungju interchange were reduced by 7.1-7.7 % for its tangent road section, and the speeds decreased by 8.5-9.5 % for its curve section. Similarly, in the Yeoju junction, an average speed reduction of 2.9-4.8 % for its tangent section was measured, along with 3.9% long-term speed reduction for its curve section. CONCLUSIONS : Since the pavement marking speed-reduction treatment has been partially proven to be effective from this research, we expect to expand this treatment and re-confirm the effect from a long-term perspective in the future.