In-vehicle stopping decisions advisory system for drivers approaching a traffic-signal

摘要

All drivers are familiar with the basic traffic signal dilemma: whether to enter the intersection orto stop when they see the green phase ending. Wrong decisions to cross may lead to Red LightRunning (RLR) violations and to angle crashes; unnecessary stop decisions lead to excess queueand frustration, and may lead to rear-end crashes.This study examines a conceptual in-vehicle system designed to facilitate decision making ofdrivers approaching a signal. According to the distance from the traffic light and the remainingtime for the green phase, the system provides an auditory and visual indication to drivers if theyneed to stop. We conducted a driving simulator experiment with 20 subjects; each subject drovethrough 28 interurban traffic lights, 14 with and 14 without the evaluated system.Results show 96% reduction in RLR violations, and 70% reduction in the behavioral dilemmazone range. Change in signal crossing decision probability was modest (6% reduction) and notstatistically significant. An exploratory evaluation suggests that driver hesitation during theamber light is substantially reduced, and that intersection clearing time is shorter and much morepredictable. If similar effects will occur in reality, less angle crashes and less rear-end crashescan be expected.