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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
    <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Clearview: Revisiting the Safety Benefits of this Long-Used Sign Font</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2778040</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The research team will evaluate the safety, visibility, and operational implications of the Clearview typeface compared with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Standard Alphabets under contemporary roadway, vehicle, and sign-material conditions. The research team will review prior research, national practices, and the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) historical use of Clearview to identify remaining knowledge gaps and determine the most relevant fonts, sign types, and test conditions for further evaluation. The research team will conduct a safety and mobility investigation using surrogate measures at selected field sites to assess operational effects associated with Clearview installations. The research team will conduct a human-subjects driving simulator study to quantify legibility, recognition, comprehension, and visual-workload differences between Clearview and alternative fonts under controlled but realistic driving conditions. The research team will conduct a complementary Visibility Laboratory study to evaluate the effects of font, retroreflective sheeting, headlamp type, glare, and luminance on nighttime legibility performance.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:19:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2778040</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Psychological Research on Information, Signage, and Maneuvers in Drivers (PRISM)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2775970</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Current sign-placement guidance identifies where a sign is applicable, but it does not empirically account for what drivers are attending to immediately after a maneuver. After a turn or merge, drivers must stabilize steering, adjust speed, monitor surrounding traffic, and reorient to the forward roadway. During this interval, visual and cognitive resources are constrained. If a speed limit sign or other regulatory sign is encountered before attentional recovery, the sign may fall outside active search behavior, reducing the likelihood of fixation, processing, memory encoding, and subsequent compliance.

The PRISM project addresses this gap by measuring post-maneuver attentional recovery and fixation timing, then converting those timing distributions into distance-based placement guidance. Existing placement distances are largely based on convention or engineering judgment rather than observed human performance. The proposed work creates a performance-based framework that links time-to-first-fixation, recognition outcomes, and roadway distance so that sign placement can better match driver information-processing capacity. This is particularly important in high-workload locations such as merges, intersections, transition zones, and work-zone approaches, where drivers may be least able to detect and encode new regulatory information.

The study also has a broader human-factors and safety rationale. Attentional recovery and fixation timing can vary by age, experience, and task demands. Without percentile-based placement recommendations, current practices may under-serve older drivers, less experienced drivers, and drivers navigating unfamiliar environments. The resulting framework is intended to support safer and more consistent speed transitions and to provide the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) with defensible, data-driven placement guidance for speed-limit and related signs.

Finally, the results of this work have direct implications for the development of direct guidelines and policies that are guiding the placement of traffic signs to increase safety and compliance. The decision support tool provided based on the results of this project will allow UDOT engineers to identify the optimal location of traffic sign placement with direct translation of the research into implementation efforts.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:33:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2775970</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Performance Evaluation of Valmont Dampers for Traffic Signal and Sign Structures</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2772643</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Problem Statement and Research Objectives: The pending updates to the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Load and Resistance Factor Design (AASHTO LRFD) SLTS (Specifications for Structural Supports for Highway Signs, Luminaires, and Traffic Signals) Specifications allow for the quantification of effective vibration mitigation devices to provide fatigue protection for sign and traffic signal structures. Applying the AASHTO fatigue loading criteria to traffic signal and sign support structures in conjunction with an effective mitigation device, will result in a more efficient design that reduces the cost of new structures, improve safety to the traveling public, extend the life of new and existing structures, and lower maintenance, inspection and repair cost. Valmont Industries has vibration mitigation devices available for these types of structures. While Valmont vibration mitigation devices have been successfully deployed in many states throughout the country, there is little/no validated performance in Massachusetts. For the State of Massachusetts to fully adopt these vibration mitigation devices, there needs to be validation on the common types of traffic signal and sign structures deployed by Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). This project will validate the performance of the Valmont vibration mitigation devices over the range of traffic signals and sign structures in Massachusetts. Successful completion of this project will provide definitive guidance on the specific sign and traffic signal structures on which to deploy vibration mitigation devices.
Anticipated Products: The deliverables will be documented field test performance of Valmont dampers on four (4) cantilever sign structures, including two (2) monotubes and two (2) dual tube (F-style) and two (2) traffic signal structures; validation of the Valmont models to predict performance on these six (6) structures; and predicted performance, using the validated numerical models, of the Valmont dampers on six (6) additional sign and six (6) additional traffic signal support structures. Documentation material will be generated as needed to satisfy the code for use of the Valmont vibration mitigation devices.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2026 13:31:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2772643</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Effectiveness of School Zone Speed Limits as a Traffic Calming Strategy</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2762674</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Minnesota statutes grant local road agencies the authority to establish school zone speed limits (SZSLs). However, there is limited research as to the actual impacts of these SZSLs on driver speeds in school zones. This has resulted in the implementation of SZSLs without a clear understanding of the likely effects on travel speeds or the resultant impacts on pedestrian and bicyclist safety. To that end, this project will examine the effectiveness of SZSLs as a traffic calming strategy across various roadway contexts in Minnesota. The study will also examine the role of supplemental measures, which may include law enforcement and various types of traffic control devices, such as flashing beacons and enhanced signage/pavement markings. Field data collection will deploy radar sensors to collect speed data during different times of day at a diverse cross-section of schools throughout Minnesota, including those with and without SZSLs. These data will enable the research team to quantify speed reductions and to determine the effectiveness of SZSL and the supplementary measures in reducing travel speeds. The research will also synthesize current practices to clarify how school zones are defined and applied across jurisdictions. The results will provide evidence-based recommendations to help Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and local agencies implement SZSLs more effectively and consistently, thereby enhancing safety for children walking and biking to school.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:30:17 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2762674</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Traffic Control Device Analysis, Testing, and Evaluation Program</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2731978</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Traffic control devices (TCDs) are the primary means of communicating highway information to road users and play a key role in highway automation. The design, application, and maintenance of TCDs is under constant transformation as new technologies, methodologies, and policies are introduced. In addition, vehicle technologies and the roadway infrastructure industry are rapidly evolving, spurred by technology advancements, customer demand, changes in the vehicle fleet, and changes in national and state policies. The research team will provide Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) a mechanism to quickly and effectively conduct high priority evaluations of issues related to TCDs. The TCD issues to be evaluated in this project could represent new devices or technologies, new applications of an existing device or technology, TCD material performance, changes in TxDOT’s practices regarding a TCD, or other TCD related needs. Examples of various evaluations include human factors, machine vision performance, safety and operational effects, visibility assessments, and cost effectiveness analyses. The activities conducted through this project will support the development of TCD related policy, specifications, guidelines, handbooks, and training.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:11:43 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2731978</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluate Traffic Control Devices Viable Use to Reduce Speeding Behavior at High-Low Speed Zone Locations in Michigan</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2731925</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Determine the effectiveness of various traffic control devices currently in use to reduce driver speeding behavior, when traveling from
a high-speed zone to low-speed zone. Site locations of interest in Michigan are where the speed limit is reduced due to a change in
roadway context, such as locations with increased pedestrian traffic, within school vicinity, and where bicycle traffic exist. Devices
proposed for study under this research project are signs of various sizes, dynamic signs, and experimental type devices.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:50:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2731925</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of Transit Signal Display Options</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2716608</link>
      <description><![CDATA[There is a need to assess the operational and safety impacts of alternative transit signal
displays and inform recommendations to be incorporated in state and national transit signal
design guidelines. OBJECTIVES: 1. Understand the current state of practice on the implementation of transit signal displays through a thorough review of the literature and outreach to transit agencies and other relevant stakeholders. 2. Explore transit operator preferences regarding positioning and display of transit signals through a survey to transit operators. 3. Investigate correlations between crashes and transit signal displays, through crash report analyses. 4. Understand driver behavior when encountering transit signals through field observations, static evaluation surveys, and driving simulation. 5. Develop recommendations for consideration in the next version of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) regarding positioning and display design of transit signals.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2026 10:03:43 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2716608</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Scoping Study: Vertical Visibility Constraints -- Vertical Curvature Traffic Control Devices</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2709249</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Horizontal and vertical curves can obscure key roadway features or activity that may lie ahead of unaware drivers. Roadway curvature is a significant factor in roadway departure crashes, injuries, and fatalities. As land use has developed and activities on roads have changed, the potential for conflicts has grown. It is impractical and beyond the resources of roadway authorities to improve all roadway alignments to attain optimal sight distance. This is a growing concern as active transportation increases in many rural areas, especially those experiencing increased tourism. Horizontal curvature on roadways where drivers’ views are obstructed has been thoroughly researched, leading to well-accepted strategies for traffic control devices in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). However, similar research has yet to be conducted for vertical curves.

OBJECTIVE; The objective of this research is to develop a scoping study to clearly define and refine the research needs, objectives, and expected products necessary to address vertical visibility constraints, including exploring the relevance of crash data to vertical curves and developing a research work program to explore solutions. The intent of potential larger, follow-on, NCHRP study is to obtain data from vertical-curvature-related crashes to assess the details of occurrence, frequency, and severity, and to better understand road user needs, rather than relying on approaches used in prior studies.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:49:43 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2709249</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Develop and Evaluate Long Median Barrier Gate to Assist with Emergency Response</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2636104</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Median barriers are commonly used to separate opposing lanes of traffic on divided highways and to separate managed lanes from general purpose lanes. Concrete Median Barriers (CMBs) are often preferred on urban freeways with narrow medians due to their minimal deflection and low maintenance. However, long, continuous runs of CMBs limit access of emergency and maintenance vehicles to the other side of a roadway or a managed lane. Implementation of crashworthy median barrier gates at these locations can maintain the desired level of median protection for motorists while offering improved cross-median access for emergency and/or maintenance vehicles. The current Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) Barrier Gate (detailed on standard sheet BG-11) is 30-ft long and provides a clear opening of 27 ft between the mounting brackets. For this project, the research team will develop a longer median barrier gate to provide a greater clear opening for larger emergency vehicles and contraflow during evacuation operations. The research team will design the median barrier gate to operate without power and perform crash testing of the median barrier gate to verify compliance with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH).]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2025 09:44:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2636104</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Use of Colors in Dynamic Message Signs for Both Travel Times and Static Sign Simulation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2487332</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The majority of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)'s roadway Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) are capable of full color/full matrix messaging. The objective of this research is to explore new ways to display messages that are easier for roadway users to understand, reducing distractions and increasing safety.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 11:53:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2487332</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Placement Options for In-street Pedestrian Crossing Signs (R1-6a)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2593953</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This study evaluated the effects of R1-6a pedestrian crossing signs, installed in various configurations, on driver yielding behavior at uncontrolled marked crosswalks across six Oregon locations. The research analyzed both staged and naturalistic crossings under different experimental conditions, including baseline, tubular markers, single and multiple R1-6a signs, and gateway installations. Video data were coded to assess crossing volumes and yielding rates for over 5,900 pedestrians. Baseline yielding was already high, averaging 85% nearside and 89% farside, but increased further with sign treatments. The gateway configuration achieved the highest yielding rates of 92% (nearside) and 97% (farside), while curb-top edge sign placement produced 87% nearside yielding and 99% farside yielding. These findings demonstrate that R1-6a signs, particularly in gateway configurations, enhance driver yielding even when baseline compliance is high, though variations across sites highlight the influence of differing roadway contexts and pedestrian environments.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2025 12:29:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2593953</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Research and Assessment of Needs for Sign Maintenance</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2593930</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) District offices need to verify in-house sign/signal installation and maintenance crews are prepared to implement criteria set forth in the new Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). This requires a thorough assessment of each District’s sign and signal crews to identify needs. This evaluation must review crew staffing levels, equipment and material needs, and training schedules. Based on findings of this assessment, KYTC’s sign installation handbook can be updated with best practices for assembling and managing effective sign and signal crews as well as for conducting effective and safe sign maintenance.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2025 11:32:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2593930</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluating the Effectiveness of Dynamic Speed Feedback Sign (DSFS) at Safety Critical Locations in Connecticut </title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2566902</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research study will use the field data collected at horizontal curves and speed transition zones to evaluate the effectiveness of dynamic speed feedback sign (DSFS) in improving speed compliance at these locations. The research team will extensively collect speed data at numerous horizontal curves and speed transition zones to obtain a meaningful sample size; and estimate the ideal range of longitudinal position of DSFS that produces maximum impact on speed.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2025 13:29:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2566902</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of Digital Speed Limit Signs in Work Zones</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2562260</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Digital Speed Limit signs (DSLs) have been implemented in a restricted number of Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) freeway work zone locations with
60/45 (mph) “WHERE WORKERS PRESENT” (WWP) speed limits. DSLs allow for the speed limit to be displayed on a digital
panel, which may be modified based on worker presence at the location, providing an advantage over the traditional 60/45
WWP signs by removing the ambiguity regarding the speed limit in place at that time and location. Preliminary testing of the
DSLs has identified challenges related to the manual changing of the displayed speed limit, such as signs being left in the
wrong speed limit status, with the potential to cause confusion for drivers or potential unsafe situations for workers. Issues
with incorrect manual setting of the speed limit may be remediated with proximity (mobile on-person at location) sensors that
would change the digital speed limit display automatically based on worker presence. Research is needed to determine the
appropriate worker proximity sensor settings to activate/deactivate the 45 mph WWP display, understand DSLs impact on
driver behavior and travel speed through the work zones under various conditions as compared to standard static 60/45 WWP
signage. Also, additional research would help in determining the appropriate placement, spacing, and duration of placement
of the DSLs for the highest rate of work zone speed limit compliance.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 06 Jun 2025 14:32:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2562260</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Optimized Pre-Tensioning and Re-Tightening Approaches for Anchor Rods for Highway Signs, Luminaires, and Traffic Signals (SLTS)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2528609</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Previous studies and field investigations have demonstrated that anchor rods at the base of structural posts for Highway Signs, Luminaires, and Traffic Signals (SLTS) are susceptible to relaxation. This results in loosening of base connections and premature failure of such structural supports. On the other hand, re-tightening of anchor rods 48 hours after the installation requires significant resources, manpower, and additional costs. This implementation project aims to review past studies, systematically study the pre-tensioning methods and re-tightening procedures through experimental testing to fill the knowledge gap, and to propose an optimized method for pre-tensioning and re-tightening of anchor rod connections to result in acceptable relaxation, while minimizing the resources for doing so, and minimizing chances of over-tightening. In the end, the proposed methodology will be implemented in two local structural supports for SLTS in the state of Minnesota to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2025 16:33:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2528609</guid>
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