Evaluating Safety Effects of Variable Speed Limit System using Empirical Bayesian Before-After Analysis

Variable speed limits (VSL) have been increasingly used to improve traffic safety on freeway mainlines. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the safety impacts of the VSL system implemented on Interstate 5 in Washington since 2010. An observational Empirical Bayesian (EB) before-after analysis was conducted based on 9787 crashes that occurred in the 72-month period. The analysis was conducted for all crashes, and crash severity levels. The EB before-after result implied that the total crash count was reduced by 29% with a standard deviation of 5% after the VSL system was applied in Washington. The counts of crashes with no injury and possible injury decreased more than crashes with severe injuries. The evaluation results of this study are particularly valuable for policy making associated with VSL system implementation projects.

Supplemental Notes:
- This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANB25 Standing Committee on Highway Safety Performance.
Corporate Authors:
Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001
Authors:
- Pu, Ziyuan
- Li, Zhibin
- Zhu, Wenbo
- Cui, Zhiyong
- 0000-0002-5780-4312
- Wang, Yinhai
Conference:
- Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting
- Location: Washington DC, United States
- Date: 2017-1-8 to 2017-1-12
Date: 2017

Language

English

Media Info

Media Type: Digital/other
Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
Pagination: 12p
Monograph Title: TRB 96th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

TRT Terms: Crash analysis; Crash injuries; Crash severity; Highway safety; Variable speed limits
Geographic Terms: Washington (State)
Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

Accession Number: 01626388
Record Type: Publication
Report/Paper Numbers: 17-05863
Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
Created Date: Feb 23 2017 2:56PM