Online Survey of Driver Comprehension of the Flashing Yellow Arrow for Right-Turn Signal Indications
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 146, Issue 7
Abstract
This paper presents the results of an online survey of licensed driver comprehension of the right-turn signal displays with a focus on the flashing yellow arrow (FYA) and also including the circular green and red and red arrow. Recruitment postcards were mailed to a random sample of 9,872 residents in Oregon. The online survey yielded 399 responses. The open-ended responses were coded for comprehension and analyzed. The results suggest that FYA for right turns is well understood by Oregon drivers despite its current novelty (only two locations at the time of the research). Importantly, survey respondents were more likely to recognize the yielding requirement of the permissive movement and associate the yielding with pedestrians with the FYA over the circular green (CG) display. The research also confirmed that the expected driver response to the red arrow display for right turns is not well understood (only 52% of the respondents correctly stated the expected driver response). Binary logistic regression modeling revealed that the driver’s age and their educational level were significant factors in comprehension.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request (deidentified survey response data, survey instrument, model analysis code).
Acknowledgments
This project was funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation under study number SPR 789. The authors would like to recognize the contributions of time and technical expertise provided by Mark Joerger, Julie Kentosh, Katie Johnson, and Scott Black with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
References
Asante, S. A., S. A. Ardekani, and J. C. Williams. 1993. Selection criteria for left-turn phasing, indication sequence, and auxiliary sign. Arlington, TX: Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Texas at Arlington.
Bonneson, J. A., and P. T. McCoy. 1993. Evaluation of protected/permitted left-turn traffic signal displays. Lincoln, NE: Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Boot, W., N. Charness, N. Roque, K. Barajas, J. Dirghalli, and A. Mitchum. 2015. The flashing right turn signal with pedestrian indication: Human factor studies to understand the potential of a new signal to increase awareness of and attention to crossing pedestrians. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Dept. of Transportation.
Brehmer, C. L., K. C. Kacir, D. A. Noyce, and M. P. Manser. 2003. Evaluation of traffic signal displays for protected/permissive left-turn control. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board of the National Academies.
Currans, K., Gehrke, S., and K. Clifton. 2015. “Visualizing neighborhoods in transportation surveys: Testing respondent perceptions of housing, accessibility, and transportation characteristics.” In Proc., 94th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board of the National Academies.
Drakopoulos, A., and R. W. Lyles. 2014. “An evaluation of age effects on driver comprehension of flashing traffic signal indications using multivariate multiple response analysis of variance models.” J. Saf. Res. 32 (1): 85–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4375(00)00046-3.
FHWA (Federal Highway Administration). 2001. MUTCD interpretation: Right turn on red arrow. Washington, DC: FHWA.
Hassan, S. 2016. “Right turns on red arrow by state: Does your state allow it?” In Presented at 95th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
Henery, S., and R. Geyer. 2008. Assessment of driver recognition of flashing yellow left-turn arrows in Missouri. Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Dept. of Transportation.
Hosmer, D. W., Jr., S. A. Lemeshow, and R. X. Sturdivant. 2013. Applied logistic regression. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Hurwitz, D., C. Monsere, S. Kothuri, H. Jashami, K. Buker, and A. Kading. 2018. Improved safety and efficiency of protected/permitted right-turns in Oregon. Salem, OR: Oregon Dept. of Transportation.
Jashami, H., D. Hurwitz, C. Monsere, and S. Kothuri. 2019. “Evaluation of driver comprehension and visual attention of the flashing yellow arrow display for permissive right-turns.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2673 (8): 397–407. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119843093.
Knodler, M. A., D. A. Noyce, K. C. Kacir, and C. L. Brehmer. 2005. “Evaluation of flashing yellow arrow in traffic signal displays with simultaneous permissive indications.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1918 (1): 46–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198105191800106.
Knodler, M. A., D. A. Noyce, K. C. Kacir, and C. L. Brehmer. 2006a. “Analysis of driver and pedestrian comprehension of requirements for permissive left-turn applications.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1982 (1): 65–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198106198200109.
Knodler, M. A., D. A. Noyce, K. C. Kacir, and C. L. Brehmer. 2006b. “Potential application of flashing yellow arrow permissive indication in separated left-turn lanes.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1973 (1): 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198106197300102.
Knodler, M. A., D. A. Noyce, K. C. Kacir, and C. L. Brehmer. 2007. “An evaluation of driver comprehension of solid yellow indications resulting from implementation of the flashing yellow arrow.” In Proc., Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
McHugh, M. L. 2012. “Interrater reliability: The kappa statistic.” Biochem. Med. (Zagreb) 22 (3): 276–282.
Noyce, D. A., and K. C. Kacir. 2001. “Drivers’ understanding of protected-permitted left-turn signal displays.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1754 (1): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3141/1754-01.
Noyce, D. A., and C. R. Smith. 2003. “Driving simulators evaluation of novel traffic-control devices: Protected-permissive left-turn signal display analysis.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1844 (1): 25–34. https://doi.org/10.3141/1844-04.
Ryan, A., E. Casola, C. Fitzpatrick, and M. Knodler. 2019. “Flashing yellow arrows for right turn applications: A driving simulator study and static evaluation analysis.” Transp. Res. Part F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 66 (Oct): 324–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2019.09.013.
Schattler, K. L., A. Rietgraf, B. Burdett, and W. Lorton. 2013. Driver comprehension and operations evaluation of flashing yellow arrows. Rantoul, IL: Illinois Center for Transportation.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 146 • Issue 7 • July 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 27, 2019
Accepted: Jan 13, 2020
Published online: Apr 30, 2020
Published in print: Jul 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Sep 30, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.