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

Motorist speed is a key factor in crash severity, and “Safer Speeds” is a core component of the Safe System Approach to improving road safety. The concept of achieving a “community speed” is highlighted in NCHRP Report 737: Design Guidance for High-Speed to Low-Speed Transition Zones for Rural Highways, which notes that speed management treatments can lead to immediate reductions in vehicle speeds, along with a “halo effect” that extends beyond the treatment area. However, it is unclear to what extent state departments of transportation (DOTs) are coordinating or systematically applying speed management treatments. Furthermore, it is unclear if some state DOTs seek to overlap the halos of a series of treatments to achieve such community speeds, or more generally how state DOTs view their progress with respect to speed management efforts. There is a need to document current state DOT policies and practices to better understand how states approach speed management at a system level, and how those approaches translate to implementation on local corridors and networks. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOT speed-management policies and practices with a focus on system-wide and area-wide approaches that are applied along networks and corridors. Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to): Documented statewide speed management policies; Speed management practices aligned with the Safe System Approach; Practices for setting target speeds; Policies for setting speed limits based on roadway characteristics or other factors (e.g., school zones, functional class); Planning approaches for achieving “community speed” targets; Data collection practices for measuring speed management performance; Case examples of speed management implementations, including performance at the intervention site and across the surrounding corridor or area; and Identified gaps in speed management practices, implementation strategies, and data collection. 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.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5982

Language

• English

Project

• Funding: $65,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  20-05/Topic 57-05

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  American Association of State Highway and 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
• Project Managers:

  Turner, Anne-Marie

• Start Date: 20241001
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Policy; Speed control; Speed limits; State departments of transportation; Traffic calming; Traffic safety
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Policy; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

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