Impact of Speed Limits and Road Characteristics on Free-Flow Speed in Urban Areas
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 2
Abstract
The paper documents studies of posted speed limit (PSL) changes on the free-flow speed on urban roads. Before and after field measurements were conducted, changing the existing PSL from 50 to 40 or . The analysis was conducted on the mean free-flow speed difference and speed variability. The data collected were also used for multiple regression analysis, including PSL changes and selected self-explaining road characteristics. The results showed that a decreased PSL caused a small () but significant reduction in the mean free-flow speed and speed variance, which might lead to a 10% reduction of severe injury accidents. Furthermore, the PSL reduction had a larger impact on faster drivers and higher road network classes. Conversely, an increased PSL resulted in a increase in the mean free-flow speed but no change on speed variability. The regression results indicated that the free-flow speed was heavily influenced by road characteristics, such as carriageway width, road environments, and the presence of on-street parking and sidewalks. Arterial roads presented the largest impact. The PSL had a relatively small impact.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 2 • February 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 18, 2014
Accepted: Jul 1, 2015
Published online: Oct 16, 2015
Published in print: Feb 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Mar 16, 2016
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