Public Reception to Variable Speed Limits

Improving driver safety is a process that requires new methods and inventions, which often creates mixed reactions amongst drivers. Such is the case with the variable speed limit (VSL) pilot project administered by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute for the Texas Department of Transportation. The VSLs are designed to produce slower, safer vehicle speeds in order to reduce congestion and speed differentiation, but how the public would react to these new speed limits was questionable. This research focused on analyzing public perception of VSLs in the earliest stages of the project and determining the reasons for these perceptions. Positive feedback was desired primarily for the sake of greater driver compliance to the VSLs. Using various social media sites and live streams, individual responses were compiled by researchers to determine driver feedback. An overwhelming majority of responses were negative mainly due to misconceptions about the purposes of VSLs. However, it appeared past experience with or a pre-developed understanding of VSLs most often resulted in positive feedback. These results suggested that residents of the study should have been better informed about VSLs before deployment for the sake of a reception that would help the study’s operation.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANB10 Transportation Safety Management. Alternate title: Public Reception of Variable Speed Limits.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Stone, Ryan
  • Kuhn, Beverly T
  • Yates, Justin
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2015-1-11 to 2015-1-15
• Date: 2015

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 11p
• Monograph Title: TRB 94th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Compliance; Plan implementation; Public opinion; Social media; Variable speed limits
• Identifier Terms: Texas Department of Transportation
• Geographic Terms: Texas
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01557913
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 15-4670
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 27 2015 10:28AM