Integrated Empirical Analysis of the Effect of Variable Message Sign on Driver Route Choice Behavior

Abstract

This paper investigated the effect of a variable message sign (VMS) on drivers’ route choice behavior through a questionnaire survey and field-observed route choice data. A logistic model was developed based on the questionnaire survey data to reveal the relationship between drivers’ route choice behavior and different attributes as well as traffic information displayed on the VMS. Then, field-collected data were employed to verify the modeling results. It was concluded that when VMS displayed “moderate traffic congestion,” a driver’s average number of daily driving trips and degree of attention to VMS affected their route choice decision. When VMS displayed “heavy traffic congestion,” the impact factors included gender, age, average number of daily driving trips, and degree of driver’s attention to VMS. Modeling results also showed that with the increase of age, the probability of route changing indicated a decreasing trend; drivers who always or occasionally paid attention to VMS preferred to change the original route. In addition, independence test results for field-collected data suggested that the traffic condition information displayed on VMS had significant impacts on drivers’ route choice behavior.