Tools for Managing Speed Based on Factors Influencing Driver Speed Selection

Managing speed and speeding behavior is a major challenge for state departments of transportation (DOTs) and their law enforcement partners. Speeding is a factor in approximately one-third of all traffic deaths. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of speeding-related fatalities increased by 25 percent from 2013 to 2022. Rural and tribal roads experience disproportionally high rates of traffic fatalities and face added challenges with speeding. While speeding is a well-documented problem, less is known about the relationships between speeding behavior, risk perception, driver workload, and key factors such as roadway features and characteristics. There is limited understanding of the relationship between driver speed selection and roadway features, the driving environment, and the associated cognitive workload. Although countermeasures to reduce speeding are continuously being implemented, the proportion of traffic fatalities attributed to speeding-related crashes has remained relatively the same for many years. New research is needed to develop a better understanding of speeding behavior, risk perception, and driver workload to support development of countermeasures to reduce the role of speeding in traffic crashes. The objectives of this research are to develop (1) a guide for use by state DOTs and their law enforcement partners to discourage speeding behavior, with emphasis on rural and tribal roads and (2) tools to support implementation of the guide.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5877

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $800,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 17-144

• Sponsor Organizations:

  State Departments of Transportation (participating member states of American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO))

  American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Project Managers:

  Retting, Richard

• Performing Organizations:

  Exponent

  Bellevue, WA  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Campbell, John

• Start Date: 20260624
• Expected Completion Date: 20290623
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Drivers; Driving behavior; Human factors; Operating speed; Rural highways; Speeding
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01956834
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 17-144
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: May 29 2025 1:06PM