Comparison of Driver Behavior and Saturation Flow between China and The Netherlands

A survey in 3 Chinese cities shows that the utilization of the roads around intersections is 20 to 30% worse compared to two cities in The Netherlands. This paper gives evidence, explains some causes and discusses ways for improving. The driving behavior in Chinese cities appears to differ from that in the Dutch cities by the fact that in Chinese cities the gaps in saturated traffic flows are much more irregular and often larger and that drivers tend to change lanes shortly before and after the stop line. All of these driving behaviors reduce the effective capacity. A better driving discipline is expected to eliminate the very large gaps and improve the saturation flow at intersections consequently. This may result in more safety, less queues and a larger reserve capacity for intersections.