Road Safety Differences between Priority-Controlled Intersections and Right-Hand Priority Intersections

This study analyzes interactions between two vehicles at right-hand priority intersections and priority-controlled intersections and will help to gain a better insight into safety differences between both types of intersections. Data about yielding, looking behavior, drivers’ age and gender, approaching behavior, type of maneuver, order of arrival, and communication between road users are collected by on-site observations. Logistic regression models are built to identify variables that affect the probability that a violation against the priority rules will occur and the probability that a driver will look to the side when entering the intersection. The number of right-of-way violations is significantly higher at the observed right-hand priority intersection (27% of all interactions) than at the priority-controlled intersection (8%). Furthermore, at the right-hand priority intersection, the behavior of drivers on the lower-volume road is more cautious than the behavior of drivers on the higher-volume road, and violations are more likely when the driver from the lower-volume road has priority. This situation indicates that the higher-volume road is considered as an implicit main road. At both intersection types, there is a higher probability of a right-of-way violation when the no-priority vehicle arrives first: this condition indicates that yielding is partly a matter of first come, first served. For both intersections, the way a driver approaches the intersection (i.e., stopping, decelerating, or holding the same speed) is highly relevant for the occurrence of a right-of-way violation and the probability that the driver will look to the sides on his or her approach to the intersection.