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Background
Speeding contributes to approximately one-third of all road trauma and is a persistent driving behavior that brings harm both to the vehicle occupants as well as other more vulnerable road users. In 2018, speeding-related crashes resulted in 9,378 deaths which is a staggering 26 percent of all crash fatalities1. Speeding is often also accompanied by distracted driving and driving under the influence. For example, between midnight and 3 a.m., 68 percent of speeding drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking2. Some suggest that progress on the issue of speeding is limited at best.
Agencies who want to address speeding are often faced with a lack of resources in setting appropriate speeds for conditions, pushback on changing speed limits, a lack of resources for countermeasures or enforcement, and restrictions or opposition to automated enforcement.
Several recent documents have supported understanding speeding issues and offering well thought-out ways agencies can advance the state of speed management addressing enforcement, education, engineering, and cultural realities3. In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers a Speed Management Program course to State and local jurisdictions, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) offers a course on Speed Management through the National Highway Institute, and FHWA and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) have a number of Speed Management resources for practitioners4.
The report provides another avenue of information for practitioners in that it summarizes eight case studies which highlight noteworthy practices from across the U.S. over a range of speed management issues.
Summary of Case Studies
This document highlights eight noteworthy speed management practices across a range of areas from advocacy to countermeasures. A brief summary of the noteworthy practices is provided in the table below.
Title | Noteworthy Practice | Takeaways |
---|---|---|
Strategic Speed Management Program |
The City of Austin, TX identified speeding as a key factor in 24% of fatal crashes. The area population is expected to double in 30 years and vulnerable road users are overrepresented in fatal crash statistics. |
|
Self-Enforcing Roadways |
The City of Golden, CO was faced with rebuilding a critical urban arterial where the 85th percentile speeds were 48 mph and the posted speed limit was 35 mph. They also had to address a high number of pedestrian and bicycle crashes and selected a self-enforcing roadway design which includes roundabouts and a center median. |
|
Setting Credible Speed Limits |
New Hampshire DOT is working to promote "reasonable and safe" speeds for conditions and in a number of instances found that raising the existing speed limit was the appropriate solution. |
|
High Visibility Enforcement |
The Oro Valley Police Department created a High Visibility Enforcement program designed to target intersections that have high crash rates. The program is conducted as an educational initiative for motorists in contrast to a traditional enforcement detail. |
|
Successful Strategies for Adoption of Safety Cameras |
Adoption of safety cameras is often difficult due to legislative and public concerns. New York City used a data-driven and comprehensive approach to implement safety cameras in school zones. |
|
Targeted Reporting of Speeding-Related Crashes |
Arizona updated crash form coding instructions to distinguish between speeding-related violations and those more appropriately defined as impaired. |
|
Consistent Speed Limits for Vulnerable Road Users |
Provides an overview of how six agencies set consistent speed limits to address vulnerable road users. |
|
Network Approach to Setting Speed Limits |
Discusses New Zealand's network-wide approach to developing speed limits which assigns speed limits based on characteristics such as roadway type, alignment, roadside hazards, land use, etc. |
|
- Speed. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. www.iihs.org/topics/speed. Accessed April 2020.
- Stop Speeding Before It Stops You. Traffic Safety Marketing. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. US Department of Transportation. https://icsw.nhtsa.gov/newtsm/tk-speeding/. Accessed April 2020.
- Speeding Away from Zero: Rethinking a Forgotten Traffic Safety Challenge. Governors Highway Safety Association. January 2019.
- Speed Management for Safety. Institute for Transportation Engineers. www.ite.org/technical-resources/topics/speed-management-for-safety. Accessed April 2020.