Effect of various types of traffic signal on red light running

Abstract

Traffic signal assigns the right-of-way to various conflicting traffic movements at an intersection. However, when a driver’s approaches a signalized intersection at the onset of amber, he/she is forced to make decisions about whether to pass or stop during a very short time period. This can be a difficult decision when the vehicle is located within the dilemma zone. It may result in a rear-end crash due to a sudden stop or red-light violation due to insufficient time to stop safely. In the present study six intersections, two with countdown timer, two with no-countdown timer and two with vehicle actuated system were analyzed to study the effect of various traffic signal systems on red light violation. The data of off-peak hour traffic was collected to minimize the influence of congestion on driver’s behavior by using video-recording technique. The data collected are those pertaining to the analysis of vehicles’ approaching speed distance from the stop line, the decision made by driver (i.e. stop abruptly, accelerate through amber and run red light) at onset amber as well as the types of vehicles driven. The finding of the study indicates that relatively large proportion of drivers did not willing to stop at onset of amber signal. The study suggests that a vehicle-actuated traffic signal system has resulted a higher rate of redlight violation with 55.56 percent compared to the others types of signal system studied. However, more data are required to validate this finding.