Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 repealed the national maximum speed limit. As a result, many of the states have increased posted speed limits to 105 km/h (65 mph) for select multilane highways. This study evaluates the distribution of the speed and studies the influence of site characteristics, light conditions, and type of vehicle on the field-measured free-flow speed. The suitability of the Highway Capacity Manual multilane highway rules of thumb for freeflow speed to both an 89- and a 105-km/h (55- and 65-mph) posted speed limit condition is also discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Special Report 209: Highway Capacity Manual, 3rd ed., 3rd rev. TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1997.

Garber

N. J.

, and Gadiraju

. Impact of Differential Speed Limits on the Speed of Traffic and the Rate of Accidents. In Transportation Research Record 1375, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1992, pp. 44–52.

Dixon

K. K.

, Wu

C. H.

, Sarasua

, and Daniel

. Posted and Free-Flow Speeds for Rural Multilane Highways in Georgia. Journal of Transportation Engineering, ASCE, 1998.

Pline

J. L.

Traffic Engineering Handbook, 4th ed. Institute of Transportation Engineers; Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1992.

Trevedi

K. S.

Probability and Statistics with Reliability, Queuing, and Computer Science Applications. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1982.

McShane

W. R.

, Roess

R. P.

, and Prassas

E. S.

. Traffic Engineering, 2d ed. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1998.

Freund

R. J.

, and Wilson

W. J.

. Statistical Methods, rev. ed. Academic Press, 1997.

Harkey

D. L.

, Robertson

H. D.

, and Davis

S. E.

. Assessment of Current Speed Zoning Criteria. In Transportation Research Record 1281, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1990, pp. 40–51.

Fitzpatrick

, Shamburger

, and Fambro

. Design Speed, Operating Speed, and Posted Speed Survey. In Transportation Research Record 1523, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1996, pp. 55–60.

10.

Wright

P. H.

Study of Effects of 65 mph Limit on Speeds and Safety. Final Report, Project No. 8714. Georgia Department of Transportation, 1988.

11.

Seneviratne

P. N.

, and Islam

M. N.

. Speed Estimates for Roadway Design and Traffic Control. In Transportation Research Record 1375, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1992, pp. 37–43.

12.

Moore

D. S.

, and McCabe

G. P.

. Introduction to the Practice of Statistics, 2nd ed. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 1993.

Estimating Free-Flow Speeds for Rural Multilane Highways

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References