Date: March 3, 2022

To: The USF Board of Trustees

From: Alyssa Kassos
Subject: Optimal Speed Limit for Campus Roads

Overview

With the large population of college students attending the University of South Florida, it is important to
reassess and understand the university’s transportation and traffic rules. This document discusses the
implications an inefficient speed limit that is set for campus roads, research pertaining to the process of setting
a speed limit, and its implications.

Background Information

Speed limits are specifically designed to appoint an appropriate maximum driving speed under favorable
conditions when traveling (US Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration, 2012). There
are several ways to find an appropriate speed limit for a road, one being an engineering approach. This strategy
uses an “85th percentile” method where the speed limit is based off the results from 85 percent of the traffic use
on this road. The current speed limit on most roads on the Tampa campus is 25 mph. The University of South
Florida’s campus has many activities provided for students on campus which add to the high population on
campus. With many individuals traveling on campus roads and pedestrians walking on campus, it is beneficial
to find an optimal speed limit for this university.

Explanation of Problem

Throughout the years at the USF Tampa campus there has been a debate on what the appropriate optimal speed
should be on campus roads. In previous years, the USF campus’ speed limits ranged from 10 mph to 30 mph
(Cruz, 2013). With changing speed limits throughout campus, it could cause confusion for some drivers. The
fluctuation between speed limits on the roads can cause drivers to speed over or under the set speed limit
which could lead to dangerous consequences. The inconsistent speed limits across campus may also lead to a
decreased efficiency of traveling from point A to point B.

• A study performed by Dr. Pei-Sun Lin and his team performed a speed limit study on the USF
campus in June of 2013. The study’s findings showed that the average speed on campus was
24.57 mph and a standard deviation of 3.97 mph (Cruz, 2013).
• As a result of this study, there were recommendations to enforce the speed limit of 25 mph based
on the 85th percentile of speeds gathered from this study. The 25-mph speed limit is the current
speed limit for most roads on the Tampa campus.

With inefficient speed limits set, there may also be an increased amount of car accidents, traffic delays, and
speeding tickets. In 2012, 775 speeding citations were issued by the USF campus police and there was a total
of 306 traffic accidents on campus (Douillard, 2013). With changing and inefficient speed limits, it can result
in accidents, delays, and speeding tickets. The USF campus is growing and congestion has been increasing
more than in the past (Douillard, 2013). With the increase in population on campus, more individuals are
traveling on campus roads and increasing the number of pedestrians walking on campus. More drivers on
campus roads can increase traffic delays and with an inefficient speed limit, there could be more incidents of
accidents on campus.
Causes of Problem

The speed of an automobile coincides with accidents that can occur. When individuals drive with high levels
of speed, the driver has less time to react and less control of the automobile. If a driver crashes when driving at
a high speed, the more energy is behind the crash and its more likely the crash will result in a more serious
accident. There is evidence that shows that at 30 mph the chance of a pedestrian being killed or injured is 45%
while at 20 mph the percentage significantly decreases to 5% (Pilkington, 2000). Over the years there has been
an increase in students on campus. More students on campus create congestion which can increase the total
amount of traffic delays and accidents on the campus roads.

Inconsistent speed limits can not only cause confusion among drivers on campus, but the inconsistency can
also cause drivers to disregard the speed limit. The inconsistency of speed limits violates driver expectancy and
can lead to drivers ignoring the speed limits put in place (U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway
Administration, n.d.). If a driver disregards the set speed limit that is the chosen to be the maximum speed
limit for that specific road under favorable conditions, it may cause consequences. If a driver chose a speed
under the speed limit it may cause more traffic delays or cause an accident. Similarly, if a driver chooses to
speed over the speed limit, it could cause a more serious accident as well.

Impacted Population

There are many individuals that travel on campus throughout the week. That may be USF students, professors,
and other campus staff. Professors and students use campus roads to commute to their classes. Students may
walk from class to class or choose to drive through campus roads. All the individuals using campus roads are
impacted by the speed limit that is chosen for the campus. The speed limit directly affects how traffic is
handled, how fast individuals will be navigating through the roads, safety of pedestrians and drivers, delays on
campus, and accidents that may occur. The chosen speed limit can affect students and staff as they travel on
these roads consistently. A properly set speed limit can help enhance uniform traffic, efficient travel time, and
less automobile accidents.

Works Cited

Cruz, B. A. (2013, October 16). USF Speed Limit Study. CUTR - Center for Urban Transportation Research | University of South

Florida. https://www.cutr.usf.edu/2013/10/usf-speed-limit-study/

Douillard, J. P. (2013, September 24). USF Ramps Up Speed Limit Enforcement. Vanguard Attorneys.

https://www.vanguardattorneys.com/blog/usf-ramps-up-speed-limit-enforcement/

Pilkington, P. (2000, April 29). Reducing the speed limit to 20 mph in urban areas. US National Library of Medicine National

Institutes of Health (NCBI). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127572/

US Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration. (2012, April). Methods and Practices for Setting Speed

Limits: An Informational Report - Safety | Federal Highway Administration.

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/fhwasa12004/

U.S. Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration. (n.d.). Noteworthy Speed Management Practices - Safety |

Federal Highway Administration. https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/fhwasa20047/sec8.cfm