title: Road crossing behavior under traffic light conflict: Modulating effects of green light duration and signal congruency.
abstract: A large number of pedestrians and cyclists regularly ignore the traffic lights to cross the road illegally. In a recent analysis, illegal road crossing behavior has been shown to be enhanced in the presence of incongruent stimulus configurations. Pedestrians and cyclists are more likely to cross against a red light when exposed to an irrelevant conflicting green light. Here, we present experimental and observational data on the factors moderating the risk associated with incongruent traffic lights. In an observational study, we demonstrated that the conflict-related increase in illegal crossing rates is reduced when pedestrian and cyclist green light periods are long. In a laboratory experiment, we manipulated the color of the irrelevant signals to expose participants to different degrees of incongruency. Results revealed that individuals' performance gradually varied as a function of incongruency, suggesting that the negative impact of a conflicting green light can be reduced by slightly adjusting its color. Our findings highlight that the observation of real-world behavior at intersections and the experimental analysis of psychological processes under controlled laboratory conditions can complement each other in identifying risk factors of risky road crossing behavior. Based on this combination, our study elaborates on promising measures to improve safety at signalized intersections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Research Methods and Biopsychology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany; Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany. Electronic address: lange.florian@mh-hannover.de.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.affiliation: Department of Research Methods and Biopsychology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haiduk
authors.affiliation: Department of Research Methods and Biopsychology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boos
authors.affiliation: Department of Research Methods and Biopsychology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tinschert
authors.affiliation: Department of Research Methods and Biopsychology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schwarze
authors.affiliation: Department of Research Methods and Biopsychology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eggert
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D001642:Bicycling / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008029:Lighting; D008297:Male; D000069636:Pedestrians / Q000523:psychology*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012449:Safety / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Congruency effect; Cyclists; Flanker task; Illegal road crossing behavior; Pedestrians; Signalized intersections