The effect of in-vehicle warning systems on speed compliance in work zones

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of augmented in-vehicle information on driver behavior in work zones. In-vehicle information systems (IVISs) can increase driver awareness to an oncoming change in traffic flow and provide specific guidelines for driving speed requirements, for example. Three variations of IVISs were examined as the drivers entered a work zone in a simulated driving environment. The first was a control condition, which used only traditional signage and no IVIS. The second condition had the addition of visual in-vehicle warnings and the final condition the addition of auditory in-vehicle warnings. Results indicated that adding in-vehicle warnings did affect driver compliance to the work zone speed limit. Further, participants in the audio warning condition responded more quickly to the warning than in the visual condition. These were each respectively different from the drivers in the control condition. Conclusions and implications are discussed.