Safety and road closure benefits resulting from the implementation of Variable Speed Limit (VSL) systems on rural interstates where adverse winter conditions cause high crash rates and frequent road closures were analyzed. The VSL system provides variable, regulatory speed limits to drivers based on real-time traffic, weather, and roadway conditions. In order to isolate the effects of the VSL system from the effects of mild versus severe winters, it was necessary to perform weather-based safety and road closure analyses. Crashes and road closures for five winter seasons on four VSL corridors were analyzed. The results from the analyses show a significant reduction in winter crashes and road closures due to the use of the VSL systems.
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