Displaying Response Status Messages to Motorists During Incident Conditions (4907-4)

This task examined using the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) dynamic message signs (DMS) to provide motorists information about the status of the different responders during incident conditions. The types of status information that were examined included messages such as "Police En Route," "Police On Scene," and "Police Notified." These status messages would be used in place of the typical "Expect Delays" message currently used by TxDOT in any locations in Texas. Limited surveys of both TxDOT traffic management center (TMC) operators and motorists were used to examine user acceptability and response to the messages. The TxDOT districts surveyed indicated that they would not favor replacing "Expect Delays" messages with status information about the incident response, citing concerns about increases in operator workload, legal issues, and message formatting problems as reasons for not wanting to display the messages. The survey of motorists found that only 28 percent of the motorists thought status information about the responders was useful. Therefore, it is recommended at this time that TxDOT continue to display "Expect Delays" messages on their DMSs and to not display information about the status of the incident response.