Drivers' decision-making at signalised intersections: an optimisation of the yellow timing

In 1979, in The Netherlands a research program was started into the red-light discipline of road users. The reason for doing so was the impression that the number of 'run-red' offenses had been increasing rapidly during the previous years. From the field study it is concluded that an extension of the yellow-time from 3 to 4 sec. in urban areas halves the number of run-red offenses by car drivers, even after a habitation period of one year. A yellow-time of 4 sec. in urban areas is completely in agreement with a simple model for calculating the required yellow time, based on reaction time, deceleration and approach speed. Language: en