1. Home
  2. RIP
  3. View Record
https://www.nationalacademies.org/trb/events

Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices. Topic 57-05. Statewide Speed Management Practices Supporting the Safe System Approach

Background Vehicle speed is recognized as a key determinant in crash risk and crash severity. As speeds increase road users have less time to react and crash forces become more severe. The Safe System Approach aims to eliminate fatal and serious injury crashes, with Safe Speeds serving as a core element. Through speed management strategies, Safe Speeds seeks to reduce vehicle speeds and speed related crash risk and crash forces to improve safety outcomes for all road users. Speed management treatments can lead to immediate reductions in vehicle speeds that extend beyond the treatment area. While the U.S. DOT has adopted the Safe System Approach, it is unclear to what extent state departments of transportation (DOTs) are coordinating or systematically applying speed management treatments in the context of the Safe System Approach. There is a need to document current state DOT policies and practices to better understand how they approach speed management from policy to implementation. Objective The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOT speed management policies and practices statewide with a focus on supporting the Safe System Approach. Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to): Policies and practices for setting speed limits based on roadway characteristics or other factors (e.g., school zones, functional classification, context classifications); Planning and programing, scoping, and design practices for speed management projects; Speed management policies and practices (including referenced resources) and how they are aligned with the elements and principles of the Safe System Approach; Case examples of speed management implementation, including performance at the intervention site and across the surrounding corridor or area, and findings from after studies; Practices for setting target speeds; Utilization of speed management tools for geometric or operations design; Data collection, including measuring speed management performance; Identified gaps in speed management practices, implementation strategies, and data collection; and What series of treatments are used for speed management. Information will be gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified. Information sources (partial): Torbic, D., et al. NCHRP Report 737: Design Guidance for High-Speed to Low-Speed Transitions Zones for Rural Highways, 2012. Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.17226/22670. Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT). Washington State Injury Minimization and Speed Management Policy Elements and Implementation Recommendations, 2020. https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/InjuryMinimization-SpeedManagement-PolicyElements-Recommendations.pdf. Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). FDOT Design Manual 202–Speed Management, 2022. https://fdotwww.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/roadway/fdm/2022/2022fdm202speedmgmt.pdf. California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Traffic Calming Guide: A Compendium of Strategies. https://Dot.ca.Gov/-/Media/Dot-Media/Programs/Safety-Programs/Documents/Traffic-Calming/Final-Traffic-Calming-Guide_v2-A11y.pdf. Safe System Approach for Speed Management: https://highways.dot.gov/sites/fhwa.dot.gov/files/Safe_System_Approach_for_Speed _Management.pdf

Language

  • English

Project

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01972940
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
  • Contract Numbers: Project 20-05, Topic 57-05
  • Files: TRB, RIP
  • Created Date: Nov 26 2025 4:24PM