Exploring the Influence of Signal Countdown Timers on Driver Behavior

Exploring the Influence of Signal Countdown Timers on Driver Behavior: An Analysis of Pedestrian–Vehicle Conflicts at Signalized Intersections

Sheykhfard, Abbas (Babol Noshirvani University of Technology)
Haghighi, Farshidreza (Babol Noshirvani University of Technology)
Papadimitriou, E. (TU Delft Safety and Security Science)
Das, Subasish (Texas State University)
van Gelder, P.H.A.J.M. (TU Delft Safety and Security Science)

2023

Although signal countdown timers (SCTs) are likely to enhance efficiency at signalized intersections, there is little research on how they affect road users’ behavior. The present study explores factors associated with driver behavior through two approaches to examine how SCTs influence drivers’ actions toward pedestrians violating red lights. In the first approach, through an on-road questionnaire survey, the self-reported behavior of 369 drivers when crossing an intersection enabled with SCTs was analyzed. In the second approach, the drivers’ behavior was studied through naturalistic driving studies at two signalized intersections equipped with SCTs in Babol, Iran. Analyzing vehicle–pedestrian conflicts indicated that the presence of SCTs had a significant influence on driving behavior. Also, the ending seconds of green lights, as critical times of the SCTs, led to changes in driving behavior. Increasing the vehicle speed, changing lanes, and concurrent increases of speed and changing lanes were the common driver actions affected by critical times of the SCTs. Finally, the effect of critical times on drivers’ actions during conflicts was modeled by using the binary and multinomial logistic methods. The results show that SCTs are an external factor that can lead to risky driver behavior, such as errors and violations that might increase the potential for pedestrian accidents.

driver behavior
human factors
pedestrians
safety
signalized intersection
traffic signals

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:81829072-4f3d-468b-a9ad-ff1b222fd6ca

https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981231186987

2024-02-08

0361-1981

Transportation Research Record, 2678 (4), 865-880

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2023 Abbas Sheykhfard, Farshidreza Haghighi, E. Papadimitriou, Subasish Das, P.H.A.J.M. van Gelder