EFFECT OF THE ENERGY CRISIS ON EXISTING DESIGN STANDARDS

An immediate reaction to the energy crisis by highway engineers was a proposal to summarily reduce design standards, expecially design speed. This paper discusses why such a reduction should not be effected. Factors that should be considered before standards are reduced are (a) AASHTO definition of design speed, (b) possibility of 88-km/h (55-mph) speed limit being temporary, (c) the effect reducing design speed could have on multimodal corridors, (d) higher order of safety provided by higher design speeds, (e) increased use of smaller cars, (f) liability of highway engineers, and (g) current research on situational design criteria. /Author/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1976/601/601-010.pdf
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=EFFECT+OF+THE+ENERGY+CRISIS+ON+EXISTING+DESIGN+STANDARDS&author=G.+Pilkington&publication_year=1976
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03611981
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Operational Effects of Geometrics. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Pilkington II, George B
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 53-55
• Monograph Title: Freeways, automatic vehicle identification, and effects of geometrics
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 601
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Compact automobiles; Design speed; Design standards; Energy resources; Highway engineers; Highway safety; Liability; Multimodal transportation; Transportation corridors
• Uncontrolled Terms: Energy crisis
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Law; Operations and Traffic Management; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00153160
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309025702
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 31 1977 12:00AM