The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) recently installed sequential LED chevron signage to improve safety at the sharp turn on Interstate 80 Eastbound at the North Fork Bridge.
“This sequential chevron system both warns and gives motorists a higher level of visual guidance when approaching and driving through the curve,” Dave Tomaswick, PennDOT District 10 Traffic engineer, said. “Additionally, the LED chevron signs flash continuously day and night and they are wirelessly connected.”
Motorists need not only warning signs but visual guidance when approaching a turn, several case studies have shown, and LED chevrons reduce the number of accidents when installed near a curve.
The Federal Highway Administration also found that crash rates on horizontal curves are triple that of other highway segments.
PennDOT previously used static chevron and curve warning signs with wig-wags and lights that flash in a strobe-light pattern to warn drivers of the upcoming curve. This did not reduce the number of crashes.
The LED chevrons use solar power which has made them a low-cost solution, Tomaswick said.
District 10 comprises Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, and Jefferson counties.
In December, PennDOT also installed LED chevron signage on State Route 119 at the Wake Robin Curve.