A Naturalistic Study of Vehicle Acceleration and Deceleration at an Intersection

Approaching an intersection and braking to a stop, as well as accelerating from a stop, is a common occurrence in daily life. While the experience is routine, the actual rate of deceleration and acceleration has not been analyzed from an orthogonal aerial perspective. The aerial perspective provides video footage that allows for accurate planar motion tracking and does not influence the drivers’ actions in any way. This paper examines the behavior of drivers at two separate signal light controlled intersections to determine both the rate at which they slow down to a stop, and also the rate at which they accelerate through the intersection after a signal change. The paper will also address the acceleration rate differences of vehicles who are first to reach the intersection in comparison to those that are directly behind another vehicle, as well as the lag in reaction between vehicles as they begin to accelerate from a stop.