Evaluation of Driver Behavior in Response to Stop Sign Beacons

Abstract

Crashes at rural intersections are frequently a result of failure to yield. As a result, agencies attempt to find countermeasures that encourage drivers to stop and yield appropriately. A number of countermeasures have been utilized to reduce crashes and improve intersection safety. However, some treatments have been shown to have mixed results, while for others only limited information about effectiveness is available. Because even low-cost treatments require some maintenance, it is important for agencies to have good information about the effectiveness of the various treatments before investments are made. Stop sign beacons are one such low-cost measure. This paper discusses results of research which evaluated stop sign beacons. Stop sign beacons were installed at 10 stop-controlled approaches in the US state of Iowa. The beacons were set to activate only when an approaching driver was traveling over a set speed threshold which was set based on whether a driver would be able to stop. Video data were collected before, at 1-month, and at 12-month after installation. Type of stop ( i.e. , rolling, no-stop), stop location in reference to the stop bar, and location of initial brake application were reduced from the video data. The percentage of drivers who began braking before or after 350 feet were compared. This threshold indicates the point at which drivers would need to engage in hard braking based on approach speed and stopping sight distance. At one month, 6 of the 9 intersections experienced an increase in the percentage of vehicles braking at 350 feet or before. At 12-month, drivers at more than half of the approaches were braking sooner than the before period. Results also indicate stopping behavior improved after installation of the beacons. Most of the approaches (70%) showed an increase in the percentage of drivers who came to a full stop at 1-month compared to the period before installation. At 12-month, 71% of approaches showed an increase in drivers who came to a complete stop. Similar results were found for stopping location. Around 80% of approaches experienced an increase in the percentage of vehicle that stopped at or before the stop bar at the 1-month period after installation and 86% of approaches had an increase at 12-month.