Impact of countdown signals on traffic safety and efficiency: a review and proposal

Fuquan Pan; Jingzhou Yang; Lixia Zhang; Changxi Ma; Jinshun Yang; Pingxia Zhang

doi:10.48130/DTS-2023-0016

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Digital Transportation and Safety ›› 2023, Vol. 2 ›› Issue (3) : 200-210. DOI: 10.48130/DTS-2023-0016

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Impact of countdown signals on traffic safety and efficiency: a review and proposal

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Abstract

Countdown signals for motorized vehicles, which are intended to ensure safety on the road and regulate motor vehicle speed limits at road intersections, are still considered a relatively novel concept. These signals have been adopted by only a few countries, and the number of cities that use them is limited. This review aims to summarize the effects of countdown signals on traffic safety and efficiency and to determine the consistency and differences of existing research propositions on the matter. Based on the review, considerable research presents evidently different conclusions in the areas of driver red-light running and traffic safety. Particularly, some studies propose that countdown signals reinforce traffic safety, whereas others consider that such signals adversely affect traffic safety. Meanwhile, related literature provides varying conclusions on the aspect of traffic efficiency for vehicle headway. At present, the number of studies conducted regarding the driving behaviors of motorists toward countdown-signalized intersections is insufficient. Accordingly, such inadequate diversity in research causes difficulty in completely assessing the benefits and disadvantages of countdown signals. In this paper, an important future research direction on microcosmic driving psychological and physiological data combined with macro-driving behavior is proposed.

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Countdown signals / Driving behavior / Red-light running / Traffic safety / Traffic efficiency

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Fuquan Pan, Jingzhou Yang, Lixia Zhang, Changxi Ma, Jinshun Yang, Pingxia Zhang. Impact of countdown signals on traffic safety and efficiency: a review and proposal. Digital Transportation and Safety, 2023, 2(3): 200‒210 https://doi.org/10.48130/DTS-2023-0016

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The authors are grateful for the support provided by the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (ZR2020MG021 and ZR2022MF332) and the Humanities and Social Science Planning Fund of Chinese Ministry of Education (18YJAZH067).