Citation

Baumgaertner W. ITE J. 1981; 51(1): 19-23.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, Institute of Transportation Engineers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

At 13 RTOR (right turn on red) sites in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties, Maryland (Washington, D.C. metropolitan area), data were collected on 10,850 right turning vehicles for four different periods between Dec 1976 and Jan 1978. This time frame marked the beginning and continuation of broad-scale application of sign permissive RTOR. Of the 4910 vehicles that turned right on red, 3161 (64.4%) failed to stop in compliance with the law, a violation rate significantly higher than that found in other studies. This noncompliance rate increased over time and is attributed to two related factors: the changing environment for allowing RTOR, and the learning process (motorists learning that they need not always fully stop before turning right on red). Of the vehicles that failed to stop before turning right on red, 1.9% did so unsafely. It is concluded that driving must be modified as it relates to RTOR, both by a public information and education campaign and by increased enforcement.