{"id":232,"date":"2011-10-14T22:52:04","date_gmt":"2011-10-14T21:52:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/injury-prevention\/?p=232"},"modified":"2011-10-14T22:52:04","modified_gmt":"2011-10-14T21:52:04","slug":"lower-highway-speed-limits-get-you-there-more-quickly-from-slate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/injury-prevention\/2011\/10\/14\/lower-highway-speed-limits-get-you-there-more-quickly-from-slate\/","title":{"rendered":"Lower highway speed limits get you there more quickly (from Slate)"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fascinating article in Slate provides evidence suggesting that slower highway speed limits may actually get you to your destination more quickly! This apparent paradox has some seemingly good evidence behind it. For example, some recent trials on a congested highway in Colorado had highway patrol vehicles\u00a0 \u201criding in tandem with lights ablaze\u201d travelling at 55 mph. This \u201cpacing\u201d (rolling speed harmonization) is based on the idea \u201cthat by encouraging speed compliance and reducing speed differential between vehicles, volume throughput can be maximized without a physical increase in roadway dimensions.\u201d\u00a0The notion builds on a traffic engineering principle that large speed differentials are dangerous. \u201cStudies show that, regardless of the average speed on the highway, the more a vehicle deviates from the average speed, the greater its chances of becoming involved in a crash.\u201d<\/p>\n

So why not just have everyone travelling at the same fast speed and you have the best of both worlds?<\/p>\n

The answer come from another \u2018law of traffic\u2019 \u2013 that it takes exponentially longer to get out of a traffic jam than to get into one. Rather than having drivers go full-tilt into a jam at a tunnel entrance, for example, drivers would approach more slowly. Thus, even though their speed is reduced, the system is now processing vehicles faster. The writer cites the \u2018rice-and-funnel\u2019 effect<\/a> popularized by a former U.S. transportation commissioner: The slower your pour the rice, the faster it gets through the bottleneck.<\/p>\n

Apparently several European studies show that technologies that generate varying speeds (VSL) depending on traffic conditions, do under the right conditions, help reduce crashes and improve highway throughput (even when mean speeds are lowered). Generally, traffic engineers assert that a highway can move more vehicles per hour at 55 mph<\/a> than 85 mph. The problem is getting drivers to change their speed. A VSL system needs robust enforcement to maximize speed compliance. In Europe, automated speed cameras and similar technologies typically do the enforcement. However, as one expert noted, \u201cthat\u2019s not going to sell very readily over here.\u201d Speed cameras are a tougher sell in the United States because Americans relish their freedoms\u2014even if it\u2019s the freedom to drive into a traffic jam.<\/p>\n

For more on this intriguing idea check \u2013<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.slate.com\/articles\/life\/transport\/2011\/10\/rolling_speed_harmonization_how_colorado_fights_congestion_on_i_.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A fascinating article in Slate provides evidence suggesting that slower highway speed limits may actually get you to your destination more quickly! This apparent paradox has some seemingly good evidence behind it. For example, some recent trials on a congested highway in Colorado had highway patrol vehicles\u00a0 \u201criding in tandem with lights ablaze\u201d travelling at […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nLower highway speed limits get you there more quickly (from Slate) - Injury Prevention: Editor's Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/injury-prevention\/2011\/10\/14\/lower-highway-speed-limits-get-you-there-more-quickly-from-slate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lower highway speed limits get you there more quickly (from Slate) - Injury Prevention: Editor's Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A fascinating article in Slate provides evidence suggesting that slower highway speed limits may actually get you to your destination more quickly! 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