How human behavior influences traffic design

View profile for Syed Kazmi

Executive Manager at New Jersey Department of Transportation

Human behavior is one of the most critical factors in traffic design. Roads and intersections don’t exist in isolation; they’re used by people with varying habits, abilities, and limitations. Good traffic design accounts not just for vehicles, but for the full range of human behavior. “Every intersection is unique, and its design must reflect the behaviors of the people who use it. While layouts may look the same on paper, in reality each location functions differently because human behavior is never identical.”

Early estimates show a sharp drop in traffic fatalities — an 8.2% decline — in the first half of 2025. “These preliminary figures are encouraging and reflect NHTSA’s close collaboration with state and local partners, especially law enforcement, to improve safety on our roads,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser said. “But even as we see progress, these numbers are far too high, and we remain focused on reducing traffic fatalities even further.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/euAb4vBu

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John Campi

AECOM, Sr. PM, Client Account Manager

3w

Syed, you could not have said it better. Human factors plays a role in highway engineering. I wait a bit on every traffic signal now because so many drivers go through the red signal. It seems like driving has become more challenging during and after Covid19.

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