A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR ESTIMATING MOTORWAY SPEEDS AND SOME RESULTS OBTAINED UNDER THE EMERGENCY 50 MPH LIMIT

This paper describes a new method of estimating speeds on motorways and other roads where conditions freely permit overtaking. A number of test runs are made along the route in which the test vehicle is driven at roughly constant speed and the numbers of overtaken and overtaking vehicles are recorded together with the journey time and distance on each run. The emergency 50 mph speed limit in the United Kingdom came into force on 8 December 1974 in response to a national oil shortage. /TRRL/

• Corporate Authors:

  University College London

  Centre for Transport Studies, Gower Street
  London,   United Kingdom  WC1E 6BT
• Authors:
  • WRIGHT, C C
• Publication Date: 1975

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 11 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Average travel speed; Energy; Freeways; Fuels; Passing; Speed; Speed limits; Supply; Tests; Travel time; Trip length
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• Old TRIS Terms: Fuel shortage
• ITRD Terms: 697: Journey time; 2752: Motorway; 1822: Overtaking; 5408: Speed; 624: Speed limit; 6255: Test; 8119: United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00133613
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Road Safety Study and Research Fund, Belgium
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 13 1976 12:00AM