Two problems related to the recent deterioration of traffic safety in Poland are presented in the paper. Firstly, drivers' behaviour during the change interval in traffic signal control is investigated on the basis of empirical measurements of entering and clearing times, clearing speed, entering acceleration and other parameters. It has been found that signal timings are very effective from the capacity point of view, but dangerous, as drivers use the all amber light and the first seconds of the red light (including all-red) for entering the intersection. Very serious overlapping of clearing and entering time distributions has occurred for left turning movements; both permitted and from separate phases. permitted and from separate phases. Red light violation by pedestrians is the second investigated problem as it is recently more common behaviour of pedestrians than before and more dangerous. Various factors affecting the pedestrian's safety were investigated on the basis of wide empirical measurements in order to develop accident prediction model for pedestrians. It has been found that crosswalks with the refuge are more dangerous. Finally some recommendations for the improvement of traffic safety are given. (A) The German title of this article is: Reaktion der Verkehrsteilnehmer auf die Strassensignalisation.
Abstract