Assessing Crash Reduction at Stop-Controlled Intersections: A Before-After Study of LED-Backlit Signs Using Crash and Conflict Data

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper is interesting, offering some preliminary insights on the preventive nature of road safety. The motivation is clear; however, the objective statement (at the end of the introduction) needs to be better elaborated.

The importance of proper signage should be more clearly elaborated, because it is almost overlooked during the operation of urban and interurban roadways. You may see and cite other studies as well to strengthen your remarks, e.g., https://doi.org/10.3390/designs8050088.

The case of roundabouts, although expected to improve road safety, is quite often indicative for misconception of priority rules, thereby raising the possibility of traffic incidents. Therefore, the suggested technology could suit the afore-mentioned intersection type.

Please improve the fonts of figure 1.

The aspect of real-scale measures should be acknowledged as a serious limitation in relevant approaches that quite often further stimulate simulation studies. Please elaborate.

It is suggested to avoid using a figure in the conclusions. Alternatively, you could add a small discussion section. Please reconsider.

A list of acronyms is recommended at the end of the paper and before the list of references.

Author Response

Please see the attached response to reviewers.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. The abstract effectively summarizes the study but lacks a clear statement about the novelty of the research.

2. The introduction discusses the problem of accidents at SCIs and mentions LED backlit signs as a potential solution. However, the specific research gap addressed by this study is not explicitly stated.

3. The literature review part lacks a critical comparison of past findings.

4. The methodology section should provide more details on the video processing techniques used to classify driver behaviors. 

5. The results section presents key findings, but some statistical interpretations remain implicit. For example, the conflict reduction percentages (65.5% at night, 46.8% during daylight) should include confidence intervals or significance levels to reinforce their reliability.\

6. Discuss how differences in road design, driver behavior, and weather conditions might affect the applicability of results in other regions.

7. The conclusion should elaborate on how transportation agencies can use these findings to implement LED signage more effectively. 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Refining sentence clarity and improving phrasing in certain sections will enhance readability and academic rigor.

Author Response

Please see the attached response to reviewers.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The research in this paper has gone through long hours of videos which is an appreciated effort. However, I have a fundamental issue with the concept itself. What is the difference in impact on the driver between LED Back-Lit stop signs and flashers? why studying LED back-lit specifically? There are other places in Canada that adapts other techniques to make the stop signs more visible such as retroreflective sheets to stop signs as widely used within School zones in Edmonton.

 

Author Response

Please see the attached response to reviewers.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The comments were addressed and the paper was improved. As a suggestion, a simpler title would be preferable. Please delete (if not necessary) the parenthesis for the case study. This is specified in the abstract. Please also add before the title, the type of the paper (i.e., article); see also, the mdpi template. Thank you.

Author Response

Please see the attached response to reviewers.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thanks for your response

Author Response

We appreciate the reviewer’s acknowledgment and thank them once again for their time and constructive feedback throughout the review process.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx