01031537

Component

Achieving speed limit compliance in school zones may be particularly difficult when there is a Stop sign or traffic signal located within the school speed limit zone, as drivers may forget about the lowered speed limit as they accelerate from a stop at the intersection. One potential means of improving compliance in these situations is to install a rear-facing beacon on the School Speed Limit sign assembly. The rear-facing beacon reminds drivers approaching the end of the school speed zone that the reduced speed is still in effect. This paper describes the results of such an installation at five study sites. At each site, researchers used radar guns to collect speed data over the last 500 ft of the school speed zone before and after the installation of the rear-facing beacon. Data at three of the five sites clearly indicate a reduction in mean and 85th percentile speeds, plus a decrease in the percentage of vehicles exceeding various thresholds above the school speed limit. These speed reductions were found to be statistically significant. Data at the other two sites were inconclusive due to differences in control data at one site and confounding traffic conditions at the other site that limited the sample size. Researchers concluded that a rear-facing flashing beacon placed at the boundaries of school speed zones is a potentially effective means of improving compliance with school speed limits at locations where drivers are prone to forget they are subject to the school speed limit.

01020180

06-1572

English

16p

2006

Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting

CD-ROM

Figures (1) ; References; Tables (5)

Compliance; Drivers; Speed zones

Rear-facing beacon; Speed limit beacons; Speed reduction

Highways; Society; I10: Economics and Administration

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2006 Paper #06-1572

TRIS, TRB

Mar 3 2006 10:43AM