Characteristics and Traffic Flow and Safety in 55 and 65 MPH Speed

摘要

The overall objectives of this research were to assess the effect of the increased speed limit on safety, travel speeds, and other unanticipated impacts including the shifts in lane distribution, traffic diversions, and spillover effects-such as, increase in average speeds and crashes in highway sections that did not increase their speed limits. The specific objectives were to: conduct a comprehensive and critical review of the literature to assess the effect of increased speed limits; identify studies that have used a valid methodology by controlling for confounding factors and used appropriate statistical methods; determine if changes in speed limits have resulted in unanticipated impacts such as traffic diversions to faster routes, changes in the lane distribution, and spillover effects; develop a request for proposal (RFP) for data collection and analysis to determine if the increase in speed limit in New Jersey has resulted in unanticipated impacts.