The Effects of Countdown Signal on Driver Behavior at Intersection in a City

Countdown signal can be used to remind drivers when the colors of signal change and help them choose appropriate driving behavior to go through an intersection between stoppings and crossings. It is a method to reduce complexity of judgments for drivers when the colors of a signal change. In China, the study on the effects of countdown signal at intersections on drivers’ violating behavior is few. From the results of the investigative questionnaire, more than 85% of drivers and pedestrians preferred countdown signal to no-countdown signal. More than 85% of drivers and pedestrians thought the intersection with countdown signal was safer than the intersection with no-countdown signal. The paper will be researched on an intersection with four legs in Beijing fangzhuang district in the virtue of video recorders. It analyzed the drivers’ behavior during seven days before and after installing the countdown signal respectively, which was digit-display countdown timing and showed the whole green and red time. The findings indicated that traffic volumes were quite similar before and after installing the countdown signal, however, the drivers’ behavior of yellow-crossing and red-running decreased significantly after installing the countdown signal.