Determination and Utilization of Dilemma Zone Length and Location for Safety Assessment of Rural High-Speed Signalized Intersections

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to see how the dilemma zone length and location are related to intersection safety at rural high-speed signalized intersections. For that, dilemma zones at 30 rural signalized intersection approaches where similar traffic operations and land-use conditions are present were identified, and traffic conflicts associated with the dilemma zones were investigated. Drivers’ stop or go behaviors as well as vehicle dynamics (e.g., vehicle speeds and locations) during the yellow and red clearance intervals were collected and analyzed to determine the dilemma zone length and location of each site. Red-light running violations and vehicles’ abrupt stops were also collected to investigate the relationship between such conflicts and dilemma zone length and location. As a result, two dilemma zone conflict models were developed. The analysis results show that the conflict models are accurate enough to predict the safety level of high-speed signalized intersections using the two dilemma zone variables. Results show that the chance of intersection angle conflicts increases if the dilemma zone is located farther from the intersection stop bar. Results also show that there would be a high chance of rear-end conflicts if the dilemma zone length is longer. The models were validated with additional datasets, and acceptable root means square error and mean absolute percentage error values were obtained as a result.