Evaluation of Driver Behavior in Response to Stop Sign Beacons ()
ABSTRACT
Crashes
at rural intersections are frequently a result of failure to yield. As a result, agencies attempt to find countermeasures
that encourage drivers to stop and yield appropriately. A number of
countermeasures have been utilized to reduce crashes and improve intersection
safety. However, some treatments have been shown to have mixed results, while
for others only limited information about effectiveness is available. Because
even low-cost treatments require some maintenance, it is important for agencies
to have good information about the effectiveness of the various treatments
before investments are made. Stop sign beacons are one such low-cost measure.
This paper discusses results of research which evaluated stop sign beacons. Stop
sign beacons were installed at 10 stop-controlled approaches in the US state of
Iowa. The beacons were set to activate only when an approaching driver was traveling
over a set speed threshold which was set based on whether a driver would be
able to stop. Video data were collected before, at 1-month, and at 12-month
after installation. Type of stop (i.e.,
rolling, no-stop), stop location in reference to the stop bar, and location of
initial brake application were reduced from the video data. The percentage of
drivers who began braking before or after 350 feet were compared. This
threshold indicates the point at which drivers would need to engage in hard
braking based on approach speed and stopping sight distance. At one month, 6 of
the 9 intersections experienced an increase in the percentage of vehicles
braking at 350 feet or before. At 12-month, drivers at more than half of the approaches were braking sooner than the before
period. Results also indicate stopping behavior improved after installation of
the beacons. Most of the approaches (70%) showed an increase in the percentage
of drivers who came to a full stop at 1-month compared to the period before
installation. At 12-month, 71% of approaches showed an increase in drivers who
came to a complete stop. Similar results were found for stopping location.
Around 80% of approaches experienced an increase in the percentage of vehicle
that stopped at or before the stop bar at the 1-month period after installation
and 86% of approaches had an increase at 12-month.
Share and Cite:
Hallmark, S. , Knickerbocker, S. , Hawkins, N. , Thapa, R. and Litteral, T. (2022) Evaluation of Driver Behavior in Response to Stop Sign Beacons.
Journal of Transportation Technologies,
12, 245-257. doi:
10.4236/jtts.2022.122015.
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