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Title:

Setting Speed Limits in Rural and Interurban Two-Lane Highways Using Expert Opinion Crossed with Measurable Roadside Characteristics

Accession Number:

01153404

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Over the last years and mainly after the 1980’s it has been assumed that the design of the road infrastructure should consider an integrated set of requirements such as the surrounding road environment and the presence and characteristics of its users. In the present paper a multinomial logit (MNL) discrete choice model for selecting speed limits is presented as an exploratory method for crossing measurable road-side characteristics and speed limits throughout the full length of rural two-lane highways. The model was developed using as case-study 34km of rural roads in the region of Coimbra (Portugal). The opinion of four traffic safety experts was recorded for each 200m stretch, in both ways, allowing estimating the MNL. The explanatory variables were collected to describe the built-up characteristics of the different stretches of the road and its surrounding environment. The model adjusted well to the data with a pseudo R2 of 0.385. An external data set of 11km was used for validation and the model shown to be consistent with the expert opinion. The variables denoting lateral roadside restrictions proximity were those with higher significance in explaining the choice of lower limits. Comparing the model with the actual speed limits posted in situ, it was possible to conclude that there is a clear mismatch between these limits and the surrounding environment with a significant tendency for posted lower speed limits compared with the limits experts feel it would be safe to drive. This has contributed to a general distrust in this type of signaling and its consequent disregard in Portugal.

Monograph Accession #:

01147878

Report/Paper Numbers:

10-0663

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Correia, Goncalo Homem de Almeida
Silva, Ana Bastos

Pagination:

16p

Publication Date:

2010

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2010-1-10 to 2010-1-14
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

DVD

Features:

References (29) ; Tables (3)

Geographic Terms:

Coimbra (Portugal)

Subject Areas:

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2010 Paper #10-0663

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jan 25 2010 10:19AM