01557913

Component

Improving driver safety is a process that requires new methods and inventions, which often creates mixed reactions amongst drivers. Such is the case with the variable speed limit (VSL) pilot project administered by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute for the Texas Department of Transportation. The VSLs are designed to produce slower, safer vehicle speeds in order to reduce congestion and speed differentiation, but how the public would react to these new speed limits was questionable. This research focused on analyzing public perception of VSLs in the earliest stages of the project and determining the reasons for these perceptions. Positive feedback was desired primarily for the sake of greater driver compliance to the VSLs. Using various social media sites and live streams, individual responses were compiled by researchers to determine driver feedback. An overwhelming majority of responses were negative mainly due to misconceptions about the purposes of VSLs. However, it appeared past experience with or a pre-developed understanding of VSLs most often resulted in positive feedback. These results suggested that residents of the study should have been better informed about VSLs before deployment for the sake of a reception that would help the study’s operation.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANB10 Transportation Safety Management. Alternate title: Public Reception of Variable Speed Limits.

01550057

15-4670

English

11p

2015

Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References

Attitudes; Compliance; Plan implementation; Public opinion; Social media; Variable speed limits

Texas Department of Transportation

Texas

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I73: Traffic Control

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2015 Paper #15-4670

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 30 2014 1:33PM