Effects of Advanced Warning Flashers on Driver Interaction with Signalized Intersections

Abstract

This study carried out a human factors analysis of the effects of advanced warning flashers (AWFs) on simulated driving performance, during interaction by drivers with simulated signalized intersections, as they traversed one of four different simulated driving task environments (SDTEs) that featured: (1) a total distance of 11.3 mi; (2) AWFs present (test) or not present (control) at every intersection; (3) low (50 mph - LSL) or high (65 mph - HSL) speed limit; (4) 10 intersections per SDTE; (5) 2 intersections per SDTE assigned to one of 5 vehicle-proximity-to-yellow (VPTY) levels: all green, and 0, 2, 3.5, and 5 sec. Results indicate that AWFs tend to slow vehicle speeds and acceleration, and increase braking, for test compared with control trials, effects more pronounced for LSL compared with HSL trials. Results also point to two groups of Ss with distinctly different driving behaviors during test trials, with Ss in one group showing more cautious, and those in the other more risktaking, behavior during interaction with AWF intersections. This finding suggests that it may be unrealistic to expect AWFs to influence the behavior of all drivers in a consistently beneficial way during driver-signal interactions.

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