Analysis of drivers’ lane-changing behavior on approaching signalized intersections

The lane-changing behavior of drivers has a significant impact on the traffic efficiency and safe operation of signalized intersections. The analysis of lane-changing behavior can help to better understand drivers’ lane-changing decision-making mechanism. According to the lane-changing motivations and outcomes, drivers’ lane-changing behavior on approaching signalized intersections is subdivided into two types in the current work: co-directional lane-changing (CLC) and turning lane-changing (TLC). A comparative analysis of drivers’ behavioral characteristics between CLC and turning TLC is conducted based on an observational study. The results reveal that a Log-Normal distribution provides the best fit to the duration of both CLC and TLC, and there is a significant difference in the mean values of the following characteristic parameters: the lane-changing execution position, the space headway and relative speed between the lane-changing vehicle and its leading vehicle in the destination lane, the space headway and relative speed between the lane-changing vehicle and its following vehicle in the destination lane, and the inverse time to collision of lane-changing.