Managing Road Traffic Speed: Challenges, Opportunities, and New Developments

Abstract

Nowadays, speeding has become a primary concern globally because of its significant impact on increasing the frequency and severity of road crashes, fuel consumption, and environmental pollution. These problems have created an urgent need for advancements in managing vehicle speeds to mitigate the negative impacts of speeding. Concerning this, strategies such as setting speed limits, traffic calming measures, police enforcement, and spot speed camera enforcement (SSCE) have been widely investigated for their suitability and impacts on speed management. Although such conventional measures are effective, depending on circumstances, in reducing vehicle speed in the vicinity of the interventions, studies have shown that their impact is limited in space, leading to the problem of event migration. The promising approaches to solving such limitations are the use of variable speed limits (VSLs), intelligent traffic calming devices, sectional speed enforcement systems (SSES), and intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) systems. Despite their limitations, conventional speed management measures are continuing to be implemented predominantly around the world because of their lower initial cost of installation and implementation. This paper provides an overview of the scientific evidence regarding the impact of state-of-the-art speed management measures on speed-related outcomes. Furthermore, it presents the current progress and prospects for advancing speed management strategies to improve road safety and environmental protection.