Driver Behaviour at Stop Signs: NSW Observational Study 1974

In August 1974, the definition of the STOP sign in New South Wales was changed to match international practice. Driver behaviour was observed at ten STOP sign and two GIVE-WAY sign intersections before and after the change, revealing that the proportion of drivers who actually stopped initially increased and then fell below the original level. The data was collected by the NSW Government and suggests a marked similarity in driver behaviour between the two sign types.

Use Cases

• Modeling changes in driver compliance rates based on observational data before and after a regulatory change.
• Comparing driver stopping and yielding behaviour between STOP and GIVE-WAY signs.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of traffic sign regulations on driver interaction at intersections.

Strengths

• Observations were carried out at ten STOP sign and two GIVE-WAY sign intersections, providing a comparative basis.
• Data collection occurred once before and twice after a specific regulatory change in August 1974, enabling temporal analysis.
• The description provides specific findings on the proportion of drivers who stopped and yielded.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a specific time (1974) and geography (New South Wales, Australia), which may limit generalizability.

Provenance

Source

NSW Government

Collection Method

Observational study of driver behaviour at posted intersections.

Time Range

1974, specifically around August 1974.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-26 18:23:49.676052; freshness should be verified.

Geography

New South Wales, Australia.