Driver Responses to Green Signal Flash and Countdown Displays at Signalized Intersections: A Comparative Study Using Driving Simulator

Driving behavior at signalized intersections is crucial to traffic safety. In the practice of urban intersection control in China, various kinds of signal phase switching modes exist and result in lots of traffic safety problems. The behavior, in terms of yellow signal obedience or violation, was analyzed in this paper under both green signal flash display (GSFD) and green signal countdown display (GSCD). The data including passing rate, vehicles' velocity, distance from the stop line at the onset of yellow light, driver's gender, age, and driving experience, were gathered by the driving simulator. A binary choice model was developed relating the probability of proceeding through the stop line, which was a function of those data mentioned above. The consequence of this research indicates that, under GSCD, drivers are easier to be caught into the dilemma zone than under GSFD, due to high approaching velocity and aggressive behavior. Moreover, male, 20-30 years-old, and 3-4 years-driving-experience drivers' passing rates are higher than others. The research illustrates that, the selection of signal phase switching mode should be based on drivers' behavior, and avoid equipping GSCD devices at the low-traffic-volume signalized intersections. What's more, it is also suggested that if the vehicle doesn't have a safe stopping distance when facing the yellow light, the driver can pass through the intersection during the yellow light, but cannot exceed the speed limit.