Signing for high-occupancy vehicle facilities
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abstract
The last two decades have seen the evolution of a new highway technology--the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) facility. An HOV facility is a reserved lane on a freeway for the exclusive use of buses, carpools, and vanpools, so that they can bypass peak period congestion on the general use lanes. Although the HOV concept is relatively young, many of its design aspects are based on well known design practices. However, some of the more unique aspects of HOV applications have yet to be resolved on a national level. In particular, there is a need to develop a national practive for HOV signing. Many issues affect the development of a national signing practice for HOV facilities, including use of the diamond symbol, sign color, symbols for HOV use, and sign placement. The relationship of HOV signing practices with the MUTCD is also a major concern: it is vital that HOV users from various parts of the country see consistent HOV signing applications. This article discusses these HOV signing issues.
