Temporary traffic signals experience significantly higher rates of non-compliance than permanent traffic signals.
A UK study of more than 1,500 temporary traffic signal cycles across six roadwork sites found:
🚦 Up to 11% of signal cycles involved a vehicle running a red light.
🚦 Around 30% of cycles involved vehicles entering on amber or red.
🚦 Longer waits and poor visibility increased the likelihood of violations, with some drivers appearing to assume the signals were malfunctioning or unnecessary.
This aligns with work we undertook many years ago in Australia at traffic signals at railway level crossings, which found compliance began to decline after around two minutes of waiting, with a much sharper drop after three minutes.
Where temporary traffic signals are left operating unnecessarily, or cycle times become excessive, driver trust in the signals begins to erode. Keeping wait times as short as practicable is important not only for reducing delay, but also for maintaining compliance and safety.
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Al-Kaisy, A., Hall, F., & Al-Jameel, H. (2014). Red light running and close following behaviour at urban shuttle-lane roadworks. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 69, 1-8.