Speed Limit Setting Practices

ITE Speed Management Webinar

Guan Xu, P.E.
Office of Safety Technologies
Federal Highway Administration
 Setting Speed Limit Practices
• Guan Xu
– USDOT & FHWA Speed Management Program
• Dr. Eric T. Donnell
– Speed Concepts and Case Study Examples
• Randy McCourt
– Speed Limit Setting Practices: NCUTCD Proposal to FHWA
• Matthew Roe
– Urban Speed Limits: Overcoming Barriers to Safe Speeds on
Streets
• Bryan Katz
– USLIMITS2: A Web-Based Tool for Setting Speed Limits
Speeding….
 Speeding….
• Is a cross cutting safety issue
impacts priority safety programs
• 32% 15- to 20- year-old male drivers

• 37% alcohol-impaired driving

• 41% of run off road fatalities

• 22% of intersection fatalities

• 9 percent of pedestrian fatalities

 US DOT Speed Management
Program Team
• Multidisciplinary team: NHTSA, FHWA, and
FMCSA
• USDOT SM Program Goals
– Improve public health and safety by reducing
speeding related fatalities and injuries;
– Achieve improved safety experience for all
road users.
– Promote balanced and integrated approach
 USDOT Speed Management
Program Plan
• https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/docs/
speedmgtprogplan812028.pdf
Data and Data
Driven
Approach (A)

Education and
Research and
Communications
Evaluation (B)
(F)

Engineering (E)
Technology (C)

Enforcement
and
Adjudication (D)
 FHWA Speed Management Program
• program focuses
– Setting appropriate speed limits
– Providing technical assistance to States and
locals
– Promoting SM countermeasures for the safety
of all roadway users
– Integrating SM into the three Safety Focus
Areas
http://www.safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/
 Setting Appropriate Speed Limits
• USLIMITS2
– a web based tool for recommended speed
limits safety.fhwa.dot.gov/uslimits
– NTSB speeding crash study
recommendation H-17-27)
– FHWA Proven Safety
Countermeasures
 Setting Appropriate Speed Limits
• Methods and Practices for Setting Speed Limits: An
Informational Report:
safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/fhwasa12004/
– Engineering approach
– Expert system approach
– Optimization approach
– Injury minimization or
safe system approach
– Case studies
 Setting Appropriate Speed Limits
• Speed Concepts: Informational Guide:
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/fhwasa10
001/#
• FHWA Office of Infrastructure memo – Relationship
Between Design Speed and Posted Speed (October 5, 2015)
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/design/standards/151007.cfm
• NCHRP project 17-76 -- Guidance for the Setting of Speed
Limits
• NCHRP project 17-79 -- Safety Effects of Raising Speed
Limits to 75 mph and Higher
 PARTICIPATE
What guidance/procedure does your
jurisdiction use for setting speed limits?

A. MUTCD
B. State developed policy/procedure
C. Other
 Assistance to States & Locals
• Road to Zero Coalition & Vision Zero Network
– Speeding safety issues; SM countermeasure --
ASE
– Managing speed to safe levels
• Technical assistance to State and locals
– developing and implementing jurisdiction-wide
speed management program plans
 Assistance to States & Locals
• Technical assistance to State and locals
– Peer-To-Peer program (FHWA division office)
– FHWA Speed Management Training Course
course number: FHWA-NHI-380116
(https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/home.aspx)
– Joint FHWA and NHTSA speed management
training course (NHTSA Regional Office)
– USLIMITS2 training (help@uslimits.org)
 FHWA-ITE SM Partnership
• Traffic Calming ePrimer
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/traffic_calm.cfm
• Speed Management ePrimer for Rural Transition Zones
and Town Centers
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/rural_
transition_speed_zones.cfm
• Speed Management Noteworthy Practices
• Develop and implement policy on setting speed limit
 For additional information
• FHWA Speed Management
http://www.safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/

Guan Xu: (Office of Safety)

202-366-5892
guan.xu@dot.gov
 Setting Speed Limit Practices
• Dr. Eric T. Donnell, Ph.D., P.E., Professor of Civil
Engineering, Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania
Transportation Institute

–Speed Concepts and Case Study Examples