Investigating driver yielding behavior at roundabout approaches

A survey was conducted with 463 participants to investigate the effect of pavement marking configurations at roundabout approaches on yielding behavior. Participants were asked to indicate where they would yield in an overhead view, given four different pavement marking configurations in a dynamic portion of the survey. Statistical comparisons found the distributions of yielding locations differ significantly. "Shark teeth" pavement marking resulted in participants yielding five feet further upstream than scenarios without. "YIELD" alone had the greatest variance, while "shark teeth" pavement markings result in the smallest variance in yield locations. Demographics, roundabout understanding, and whether drivers thought roundabouts provided a safety benefit did not result in different driver yielding locations. The results suggest drivers yield in different locations depending on different pavement marking configurations at roundabout approaches, which may influence the number of rear-end collisions. These findings can help impact future pavement marking application decisions.