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FHWA Home / Safety / Intersection / Signalized Intersections | Intersection Safety

Signalized Intersections

With approximately one–third of all intersection fatalities occurring at signalized intersections, it is important to assess and design these intersections with safety in mind.

Traffic signals are often chosen for operational reasons, and in some cases may represent a trade–off between safety and mobility. Some proven countermeasures that can reduce crashes at signalized intersections include:

  • Backplates with retroflective borders
  • Leading pedestrian interval
  • Yellow change intervals

On this web page, learn about these and other signalized intersection safety strategies.

Outreach and Education Resources

Technical Materials and Research

Connections to Other Transportation Safety Topics

Signalized Intersection Safety
Source:FHWA
Top Resources

 

Automated Enforcement

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) does not own or operate automated enforcement systems, which include red–light cameras. Automated enforcement systems are not considered a traffic control device, so they are not governed by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

State–specific survey information about automated enforcement systems collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) can be found on NHTSA's web page.

Additional questions, including those about tickets/citations, should be directed to the local (or State) police, traffic engineering department, or public works department.

Image sources: About Intersection Safety: MoDOT, FLKR, licensed under CC BY 2.0.; Safe System Intersections: deberarr, iStock/Getty Images Plus; Intersection Control Evaluation: CreativeNature_nl, and smolaw11, iStock/Getty Images Plus; Stop–Controlled Intersections: James Andrews, iStock/Getty Images; Corridor Access Management: FHWA; Roundabouts: FHWA; Crossover Intersections: FHWA; Reduced Left–Turn Conflict Intersections: FHWA; Signalized Intersections: FHWA; Other Intersection Designs: NCDOT
Page last modified on March 12, 2021
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Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000