Evaluation of Signage Alternatives for Express Lane Facilities: Focus Group Study

Express lanes are usually freeway lanes that are separated from general purpose lanes to provide higher mobility. Guide signs upstream of express lanes are crucial because drivers have to read, comprehend, and then react to them accordingly while traveling at high speeds. As such, the objective of this research is to determine the optimal amount and type of information to display and the manner in which the information should be communicated to drivers. A focus group study involving 49 participants was conducted to assess drivers’ understanding, preferences, and opinions toward the guide signs at the entrance to express lanes. Several new sign designs and alternatives were evaluated. From the focus group study results, it was concluded that additional real-time information on travel time and average speed on express lanes helped drivers decide if they wanted to use the express lanes. However, participants found both travel time and speed information to be ambiguous. It is recommended that drivers be educated about these measures so that they correctly interpret this information. Although this additional information is useful to drivers, care needs to be taken to not overload drivers with too much information. It is imperative to consider the other existing signs and that drivers need to comprehend this information while driving at high speeds.