70 mph study : final report.

Details

• Creators:
  Donnell, Eric T. ; Hamadeh, Bachir ; Li, Lingyu ; Wood, Jonathan
• Corporate Creators:
  Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute ; Pennsylvania State University
• Corporate Contributors:
  Pennsylvania. Dept. of Transportation. Bureau of Planning and Research
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Before and after studies
  • Crash rates
  • Friction
  • Highway safety
  • Interstate highways
  • Operating speed
  • Pilot studies
  • Rural areas
  • Speed limits
  • Work zones
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-PA-2016-009-PSU WO 13 ; LTI 2016-26
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Pennsylvania
• Edition:
  Final report
• Contracting Officer:
  Pento, Robert
• Corporate Publisher:
  Pennsylvania. Dept. of Transportation
• Abstract:
  In July and August 2014, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission ; (PTC) raised the posted speed limit on rural sections of Interstates 80, 380, and 76 from 65 to 70 mph. The purpose of this study ; was to assess the speed and safety performance of these “pilot” sections. This was done by comparing the operating speeds and ; crash frequencies before and after the posted speed limit increase. Additionally, operating speed data in several work zones were ; collected to assess how drivers comply with posted speed limits in work zones on the pilot sections. An inferred design speed ; method and pavement friction degradation method are proposed as methodologies to assess site conditions on rural Interstate ; roadways with 65 mph posted speed limits. Collectively, the operating speed, safety, inferred design speed, and friction information ; can be used by PennDOT and the PTC to identify candidate locations for 70 mph posted speed limits. The findings suggest that ; mean and 85th-percentile operating speeds increased after increasing the posted speed limit from 65 to 70 mph; however, the ; increases were less than 5 mph. A framework was developed to estimate the safety effects of the posted speed limit increase, ; because only 12 to 16 months of after period crash data were available for the analyses included in this study.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  Contract # 4400008014 ; Work order # PSU 013
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/31049/dot_31049_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.94 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:6e4e68f4bb9ba9956a766586cf95d0aee84bb56454b815454d8f21d2ca794cdf