Challenges to training for use of changeable-message signs: implications for intelligent transportation systems

Following the creation of an operator's manual for the effective use of changeable-message signs (CMSs), the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC) developed and taught a pilot short course on how to use the signs effectively. The 1-day course included an overview of pitfalls to avoid when using CMSs, a training video depicting motorists who are not focused on a CMS, an explanation of the challenges of CMS operations, and case studies in which the participants apply the operator's manual to determine effective CMS usage. Experience with teaching the course suggests that although research is a vital component of CMS operation, training will also be required to successfully deploy intelligent transportation system (ITS) communication technologies. Such tasks as determining the proper audience for ITS training, establishing what lessons should be taught, and developing examples that impart these lessons meaningfully render the establishment of an ITS training program more difficult than might be initially suspected. For instance, while previous research and the VTRC operator's manual note that multiple-screen messages are difficult to understand, the need to keep messages to one or two screens becomes clear only when highly illustrative methods are used, such as videotape of motorists not paying attention to a CMS. It is suggested that the lessons learned from such challenges be extended to training for future ITS technologies.