Analysis of the efficiency of traffic lights turning red in case of exceeding speed limit

Abstract

Due to the presence of various traffic calming measures (TCM) and traffic lights in urban areas, the speed of vehicles is maintained low. Nevertheless, a problem arises in the frontier between urban and non-urban areas because drivers must adapt their speed and behavior to new conditions. This risk becomes even greater in rural roads that penetrate small villages without a bypass and with a short urban segment, since drivers do not normally speed down in these segments. Various measures can be installed, but traffic lights that turn red if the speed limit is exceeded is not usually considered as a TCM in the literature. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze the efficiency of traffic lights turning red in case of exceeding speed limit. The village of Ábalos in Spain was selected for this research, with an urban area of 630 m and this type of traffic lights in both directions. Results showed that drivers do not respect the speed limit - and hence, the red light - when they are placed separately. However, if they are placed next to a crosswalk, their effect is increased. Consequently, it is recommended to place these traffic lights with a crosswalk to reinforce the efficiency of both TCMs.