(gentle music)
- [Narrator] The speed limit sign
is the traffic control device
that virtually all drivers interact with daily.
Research and travel and engineering trends
have a say in the location and displayed speed.
This implementation project
from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute
and the Texas Department of Transportation
aims to enhance the relationship between posted speeds,
the legal limit displayed
on those familiar black and white signs,
and operating speeds, the speed limit
which most drivers are actually traveling.
- Regulatory speed limits are a highly complex issue
involving engineering, human factors,
and political and societal concerns.
- The main issue that led to the need for this research
was the lack of a singular place
to be able to find information about speed zone studies,
really for tech, stock, and personnel to share
with both local elected officials, members of the public,
just basically, anytime somebody comes and says,
"Hey, we would like a speed zone or a speed reduction here."
- [Kay] One of the things that we learned
during the pandemic is that when you have fewer cars
and fewer police enforcement, speeds increase,
and speeding is associated with more severe crashes.
So there's just a greater focus on speeding
and how we can do a better job of managing it.
- Now, we have a one-stop place for the public
to come in for our local elected officials
whenever they wanna get more information on speed zones,
and we have this pamphlet
that we can easily hand out to 'em.
They can talk to your secretary,
they can talk to the engineer, they can talk to anybody,
and they're like, "Here you go,"
and they're gonna get the same information.
- [Kay] There's videos for the engineers
on speed limit-setting procedures
and a video that is intended to be used by citizens
so that they have an understanding
of how speed limits are set.
- [Cathy] We collect speed studies or we collect speed data
of the cars traveling on that section of roadway.
We look at other conditions within that roadway,
whether it's crash data, driveways, future developments,
just general conditions of that specific segment
to determine if that 85th percentile
that we've collected from what drivers are driving
along that stretch is reasonable or if it should be reduced.
- A citizen, if they're concerned with the operating speed
or with the posted speed limit,
they can contact TXDOT or the city with a request
that that corridor be looked at
in terms of resetting the speed limit.
- [Narrator] For more information
and to find the publication for this project,
please visit the TXDOT Research Library
at the link shown below.