REALISTIC SPEED ZONING - WHY & HOW

BEFORE-AND-AFTER STUDIES CONSISTENTLY DEMONSTRATE THAT THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN TRAFFIC SPEEDS FOLLOWING THE POSTING OF NEW OR REVISED SPEED LIMITS. NO PUBLISHED RESEARCH FINDINGS HAVE ESTABLISHED ANY DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POSTED SPEED LIMITS AND ACCIDENT FREQUENCY, ALTHOUGH SHORT- TERM REDUCTIONS HAVE RESULTED FROM SATURATION ENFORCEMENT. ON THE OTHER HAND, POLICE AGENCIES NECESSARILY RELY ON REASONABLE AND WELL RECOGNIZED SPEED LAWS TO CONTROL BEHAVIOR CLEARLY OUT OF LINE WITH THE NORMAL FLOW OF TRAFFIC. SPEED ZONING SHOULD BE RESERVED FOR THOROUGHFARES WITH APPRECIABLE VOLUMES OF TRAFFIC WHERE SUCH ZONING CAN BE SHOWN TO FACILITATE THE ORDERLY MOVEMENT OF TRAFFIC BY INCREASING DRIVER AWARENESS OF A REASONABLE SPEED. TRANSITION SECTIONS BETWEEN RURAL AND SUBURBAN CONDITIONS USUALLY REQUIRE "REMINDER" ZONING; BUSINESS OR RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS THAT BARELY SATISFY THE LEGAL DEFINITION FOR AUTOMATIC 25 OR 30 MPH LIMITS CAN ALSO BE ZONED TO ADVISE THE THE DRIVER OF A SAFE SPEED AND TO AVOID CONFUSION IN DETERMINING IF VEHICLE CODE PRIME FACIE LIMITS APPLY. MEANS OF CONDUCTING ENGINEERING AND TRAFFIC SURVEYS TO DETERMINE THE ADVISABILITY OF SPEED ZONING IN GIVEN AREAS ARE PRESENTED.

  • Corporate Authors:

    Automobile Club of Southern California

    2601 South Figueroa Street
    Los Angeles, CA  United States  90007
  • Publication Date: 0

Media Info

  • Features: Figures;
  • Pagination: 15 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00228367
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: May 29 1973 12:00AM