Exploring the Impacts of Yellow Light Duration on Intersection Performance Under Driving Behavior Uncertainty: A Risk Perception and Fuzzy Decision-Based Simulation Framework

In existing traffic simulation software or studies related to traffic flow at signalized intersections, the treatment of yellow lights is often simplified or overlooked. However, driving behavior during the yellow phase is characterized by significant uncertainty, which can lead to discrepancies between simulation results and real-world conditions. To address this issue, this paper develops a driving behavior model based on risk perception and fuzzy decision-making and integrates it into a simulation framework to replicate continuous driving behaviors at isolated signalized intersections. The performance of intersections under varying yellow light durations is analyzed, yielding some key findings. For instance, when vehicles strictly adhere to the designed speed, increasing the yellow light duration from 3 s to 5 s results in higher traffic volumes under high traffic density. Furthermore, real-time traffic speed fluctuations stabilize, and the occurrence of unsafe driving behaviors decreases. The concept of risk perception is employed to explain the underlying mechanisms behind these phenomena. This paper provides both a theoretical foundation and a simulation framework for more detailed representations of driving behaviors and for explaining the fundamental principles governing intersection performance.