Effects of drivers' speed during the yellow-light signal and satisfaction of drivers at the intersections with the red-light cameras

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to investigate driver's speed behaviors during the yellow-light period and how satisfied they were at the intersections under the Red-Light Cameras (RLC) project. The survey data was collected before the project implementation and 3 months after the project began. The data was analyzed by calculating the correlation between the distances from the intersection and the drivers’ speeds entering the intersections during the yellow signal. In addition, the satisfaction was evaluated with 400 samples based on the questionnaire conducted when the RLC project was ongoing. The results showed that drivers speeded up significantly during the yellow signal when they were approaching the stop line, both at the intersections under the project and at the other intersection. Besides, it was found that the speed during the yellow light reduced significantly at all distances, i.e, 14-40% (6.5-22 km/hr.), resulting in 20-meter reduction of the maximum length of movement during the yellow signal period, compared to an unchanged distance at the control intersection. The analytical results corresponded to the 56% reduction of red-light runners after RLC project began. As for the drivers’ satisfaction towards the RLC project, it was found that the majority (64%) showed positive satisfaction, and that 67% reported that the project resulted in speed reduction. In addition, some variables were found to significantly correlate with the attitudes towards RLC project. The study's findings can be used as references, and the approach can be applied in other locations to prevent traffic collisions at intersections.

Keywords

• rlc
• yellow light
• red-light running
• red-light camera
• satisfaction