Hasan et al.

205

mately three times that of tangent .sections, and the average
single vehicle run-ot.f-the-road collision rate for curves on
I.ural roads was about four times that of tangents (OECD
1999). Choueiri et al. (1994) found that the sharper the
curve, the higher the number of run-oft`-the-road incidents,
wliere the deglee of cui.ve was the most successful parame-
ter in explaining the variability in collision rates. Similar re-
sults were f'ound by Ng and Sayed (2004). More receiltly,
several researchers (Hassan and Easa 2003: Lipar ]997;
Smi(h and L{`mm 1994) have Suggested that the risk is even
greater in (he ``ituation when a vertical cLirve is superim-
posed on a horizontal curve. Combined alignmenL locations
would be ITiore harardous because driver perception of the
road curvature is often fuzzy or erroneous in such cases. In
comparison to other Toad categories, the problem is more
pronounced on two-lane undivided rural highways with
higher operating speeds. Even if horizontal curves are de-
signed to adhere to the design code.`. the presence of a verti-
cal grade transition may result in optical illusjon.i pi.ompting
an unsafe operating manoeuvre. With the underlying fact
that driver perception directly influences the selection ()f ap-
propriate manoeuvreLs, misperception of hoi.i7.ontal ciirva[ui.e
can lead lo increat;cd collision I.isk.
In an earlier study, Bidiilka ct al. (2002) examined a hy-
pothesis rela(ed to pei'ception of combined horizontal and
vertical curvatilre. The hypothesis ,suggested that horizonlal
curves appear .Sharper when overlapped with crest vertical
curves and flattei. when overlapped with sag vertical curves.
The study concluded that the hypothesis was valid; however,
the study was limited (o simple horizontal curves with coin-
ciding midpoinls of both horizontal and vertical curves.
Other conclusions from the a(udy included:
(I) The effect of the combined alignment i* more pros
ntiuncecl in Lhe case of sag vertical clirve,i, where a
greater percentage ot. drivers would experience the erT{}-
Tieous percaption, and thus there would be a higher
probability of erroneous perception. It should be noted
that this 'Is (lie mo].e ``eiiou`s condition. with respect lo
sat`ety. as dL.ivei.s would tend to drive too f.as{ based on
their erroneous perception.
(2) The most important single factor affecting perception
wa,` the i`vaili`hle Sight distance. This would explain lhe
gi.eater pi`obability ot` eri.olleous perception associated
with sag.vertical curves` which genei.ally provide better
sight distance than crest curves. Alsti, the available sight
distance increflses linearly with the increase of hori7.on-
tal curve radius, thus increa``ing (he probability of erro-
neoiis pcrccption.
(3) Some geometric paramctcJ.s, `such as I.ate ot sl]per-
eleviili()n and tiiming dii.ection. did not h{`ve :` signifi-
ctlnt ef.feet t)n the perception ot' hori7.ontal curve radius.
(4) In nddilion [o the type {)1` (}verlapping horizonlal curve,
the perception of horizontal cui.va[ure depends on the
vcrtical curve parametei```. Generally, the grea`ci. the {il-
gcbl.aic ditT`ei.ence t)I. vel.(ica] gL.ades or (hc shal.per (he
vertical curve. the greater the pei-centage ot` dnvers who
will perceive the cul.vature erroneously. This trend c:`n
be mainly attributed to the vertical curve becoming
more pronounced. and the iilignment becomes more dit'-
t.erent I.rom the case of horiz,ontal curve overlapping
with flat gr<nde.
This study extends the car[ier woi.k by inve``tigating the
ef`fec( of additional geoinelric paramL`ters on perception. The
parameters examined ini`lude the pro.ten.e or .`pirLLl i.urvc`,
the length of the spirals, {ind the irosi{i()n {)I. the vertical
curve midpoint rclalive (o (he horiz()ntal curve.
Investigation approach
Similar to the study by Bidu]ka el al. (20()2), (he experi-
mental design irl (his ``ludy involvetl lhe creation or three-
dimensional (3-D) computer-generiited road models thi`t
would ensure control over the pcrspcc.ive view of the road.
thus neutrali7.ing all factors but thtise {o be studied. The
study involved interviewing a group of randomly sc]ected
drivers. For each alignmeiil combiiiation. the jiTtervicwed
driver was shown at the same in.stance two road .`tjll imngcs
on a computer sci.e€n. The horizontiil curves in the two im-
age`` had the same radius and similar I.ea(ures but ine hori-
zontal ..iirve in the top image ovei.lapped with a vertical
curve and in the bottom image it overliipped with I flat
grade (Fig. I). The driver was then asked to state whc[her
the bottom ciirve appeared to be .`same sharp" a*, "]css
sharp" than. or "moi.e sharp" than the top curve. The expen-
ment involved (hree main stages: (I) experimen(a[ design
and identification of geomctric ptli.ameters ()1` eiich ro{id
model, (2) creation ot` 3-D models, and (3) pi.esentatioli and
data coJlection.
Experimental design
The geometric parameters studied in this investigati{)n in-
clude the type of overlapping verticiil .`urvc (i`rcst versus
sag), holizontal curve radius (A), presence of ``piL.al curves,
spiral length (Zrs), and vertical ciirve tifl.set (VCO) defined tis
the oft`se{ of (he midpoiiit of the vertical curve rclativc lo (he
midpoint ol` the horizontal ciiTve. 'l`o cope with lhe large
number ot. road models necessary t.or iill the paramctcrs
``tudied, a limi(ed experiment wax dcsigned as .`h(]wn in Ta-
ble I. As clown in lhe (able, the expel.imen( invt7Ivcd a total
of 36 horizontal ciirves overlapping with vertical curve.i.
which fire ref.erred to as /c,`./ t'.!rvcJ.`'. The driver'` percepti(in
of these cui.ves was evaluated relative to u hoii7.ontal curve
with the same radius and deflection angle biit overlapping
with a llat grade, and these ciirve`` :`re ref.eri`ed to ii* rtJfcr-
en(`er c'w/.vc'.``. Based ()n the int.()rna(i()n in Tablcl , a tol.Il ol.
five I.efei.el`ce curves were used with radii ot` .300, 400, 500,
600, and 7()0 in and length ot. curvi` Lc ot` 20() in. To sim-
plify the task of` road ``imulation antl t`ocus primarily (7n (he
parameters under ``tudy and similar lo the study by Bidulka
et al. (2()()2). (he ()lher geoinetL.ii` ]>ai.i`Liieters {`nd I`catui.es
were set as follows:
• The highway is a (wo-lane I.acility.
• Hori7,ontal .`urve length (i(,) is 2()() in except when spirzzil
cui.ve.i i`re u``ed. In (hih ca``e, Lt,` r€`iiges 1`rom I I 0 tti I 50 ni
and Ls range`` from 90 to 50 in. ^s shown jn Table I , iill
ctimbinations or L(` and L`` in (he exi)ei`imclit w{iiild hi`ve
the same total deflecLion angle l`{)r the `Lrme Tndius.
• Vertii`al curvet` ai'c symme(ric`al, with equiil ra(i` or` vellict`I
Curvature along tlie curve.
• Vertical grndcs arc symmetrictil (|J, = -A.2).

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