This paper describes an investigation into the occurrence of accidents at traffic lights, with the aim of discovering whether configurations of signs, traffic lanes, and lights affected the number of accidents. The most important accident predictor, in both rear-end collisions and accidents occurring after the showing of the red light, was average daily traffic: the number of collisions increases with increase in traffic volume. The authors conclude that some configuration-specific features are relevant in the case of rear-end collisions but that driver attitude is more important in collisions after a red light. The study should enable traffic engineers to improve the planning or updating of traffic lights. For the covering abstract see ITRD E113725 (C 22328 CD-ROM).
Abstract