Research on the Reasons for Route Deviation at F‐Shaped Intersections Based on Navigation Operation Data

Driver deviations from planned routes during navigation threaten road safety and reduce traffic efficiency, with F‐shaped intersections emerging as a high‐risk scenario. This study investigates deviation causes using real‐world navigation operation data and hourly aggregated observations. A generalized structural equation model (SEM) with a zero‐inflated negative binomial link is applied to disentangle direct effects of external conditions and indirect effects mediated by traffic flow and congestion. Key findings include the following: exit/entrance roads ( β = 0.135, p < 0.001) and road type ( β = 0.100, p < 0.001) exert the strongest direct effects on deviations, while traffic congestion mediates 12% of the indirect effect of weather conditions on deviations. An actionable design takeaway is that extending advance signage on high‐risk segments reduces deviations by 18% [−14%, −22%] at median traffic flow, providing targeted technical support for F‐shaped intersection optimization to improve road safety and traffic efficiency.