scholarly journals Traffic calming measures and their effect on the variation of speed

Author(s):  
Hernán Gonzalo Orden

In recent years the number of deaths and serious injuries is decreasing in Spain, but, although the reduction outside the cities has been very strong, inside the urban areas, it has been smaller. This is especially hard if you look at the most vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. In many accidents the speed factor appears closely linked not only to the number, but also to the severity of the accidents suffered inside the urban areas. Therefore, a reduction in the speed would improve the road safety. There are different measures known as "traffic calming measures" whose objectives are to reduce both the number and severity of accidents that occur on urban areas, by reducing the traffic flow through the streets, as well as the speed of the vehicles. However, the efficiency in speed reduction of each measure is not entirely known. That's the reason why they are implanted, in many cases, with no technical basis. The aim of this article is to show the effectiveness in reducing speed of some of the traffic calming measures. To this effect, field measurements were done on street sections with different types of traffic calming measures, in different places of a city of Burgos, in the north of Spain. These measurements were compared with other ones sited on other streets sections of similar characteristics but without traffic calming measures. Finally the conclusions are shown and some recommendations for improving their effectiveness are given.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/CIT2016.2016.4217

2021 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Malaya Mohanty

Traffic condition in India is highly heterogeneous consisting of vehicles of different static and dynamic characteristics. The speeds of all vehicles are non-uniform. Therefore, to regulate the speeds of different category of vehicles while travelling on a sharp turn or while approaching towards an intersection or buildings like schools and hospitals, traffic calming devices are provided on the roads. Speed breakers are one of the most commonly used traffic calming devices in developing countries like India. Geometry of the speed breakers are based on IRC 99 which says that the width of speed breakers should be 3.7 m and the height should be 0.1 m for urban roads. The codal provisions also suggest that the vehicles should be able to cross the speed breaker at an advisory speed of 20 kmph. However, it is observed that most of the speed breakers have faulty geometrical dimensions owing to various problems to the road users. The width of the speed breakers are usually observed to be narrowed down which increases the chance of road crashes due to sudden braking of vehicles encountering it. Further, it also leads to sudden slowing down of the whole traffic stream leading to traffic congestion. It also reduces fuel efficiency of the vehicles leading to overall increase in vehicle operating and maintenance costs. The present study reviews in detail the provisions provided in the IRC code for construction of speed breakers. Thereafter, a practical on field study is conducted to examine the dimensions of various speed breakers across various cities in India, and compare their dimensions with the provisions provided in the IRC code. Further, the operating speed of the vehicles while crossing the speed breaker is also noted down and compared with the suggested speed as provided in the code. Finally, a detailed comparison between speed reduction at the speed breaker and their dimensions has been analyzed. Speed reduction of different category of vehicles has also been examined in detail.


Author(s):  
Vinod Vasudevan ◽  
Aniruddha Rajurkar ◽  
Rahul Soni ◽  
Akhil Tiwari

Traffic safety is a major concern across the world. Since speed is a major cause of traffic crashes, various traffic calming measures are used to enhance the safety of the road users in urban areas. Speed humps and bumps are the most widely used traffic calming devices. As a considerable number of bicyclists use the road along with motorized users, it is important to consider them while deploying any traffic calming devices. Studies have shown that bicyclists experience significantly larger discomfort as compared to motorized vehicles while passing over speed humps. In this study, a modification has been proposed to enhance riding comfort of bicyclists without compromising the traffic calming attribute of a speed bump. This modification is named “K-pass.” Analysis of data collected before and after the modification justifies the effectiveness in reducing the discomfort of bicyclists. Over a period of eight months, 70% of the bicyclists chose to use K-pass. Data also revealed that a high proportion of motorized two-wheeler users also used the K-pass at reduced speeds. It is expected that the K-pass will be a useful modification to the existing speed humps and speed bumps in areas where bicycle usage is expected.


Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 597
Author(s):  
Alicja Sołowczuk ◽  
Dominik Kacprzak

Traffic calming, as a traffic engineering discipline, is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the road engineering process. One of the traffic calming treatments are pedestrian refuges—raised islands located on or at the road centreline. This paper presents factors relevant to the performance of this kind of traffic calming devices retrofitted on the stretches of regional roads in village areas. To this end, speed surveys were carried out before and after the islands in each direction on purposefully chosen test sections. In order to identify the determinants, each test section was characterised by features including the symmetry of the road layout geometry, surrounding features and the existing traffic signs and, last but not least, visibility of the road ahead. The survey data were used by the authors to perform analyses in order to group the speeds at the pedestrian refuges and relate them to specific factors and, finally, identify the determinants of speed reduction. In this way, the authors arrived at a conclusion that the performance of pedestrian refuges depends on a number of factors rather than solely on their geometric parameters. The analyses showed that the pedestrian refuge geometric parameters, features located in its proximity that influence the driver’s perception and placement of appropriate marking, can, in combination, result in achieving the desired speed reduction and ensure safety of non-motorised users. These hypotheses were tested on a stretch of a regional road in village area at three points of the process: before upgrading, after installation of pedestrian refuges, and after retrofitting of enhancements.


Author(s):  
Isradias Mirajhusnita ◽  
Ros Ayu Nisya’ul Fitri ◽  
Muhammad Yusuf ◽  
Muhamad Yunus

Tegal city station which is in the center of Tegal city. Activities in and out of station visitors lead to a density of road capacity. As well as the smoothness of traffic also depends on the condition of the road pavement. This study aims to determine the level of road service and evaluation of road pavement thickness as well as to provide alternative ways of handling road problems on Jalan Semeru, Jalan Pancasila and Jalan Kolonel Sudiarto which are influenced by road users around the Kota Tegal station. The benefits of the research provide material for consideration of regional structuring policies and input data on road improvement planning for related agencies. The research method is qualitative, namely analyzing the level of road service with LOS calculations according to the 1997 Indonesian Road Capacity Manual and evaluating pavement thickness with CESA calculations according to the 2013 Road Pavement Design Manual. Data analysis was obtained from field measurements and traffic volume calculations. The results of the calculation of the analysis of the level of road service on Jalan Semeru, Jalan Pancasila and Jalan Kolonel Sudiarto are at service level C, namely stable current conditions with an average speed of 30 km / h due to side obstacles so that the driver has limitations in choosing speed, it is recommended to add and traffic sign confirmation. Evaluation of the structure of the pavement layer on Jalan Pancasila is adequate for the next 20 years of planning life. Meanwhile, Jalan Semeru with a length of 610 meters and a width of 550 meters as well as Jalan Kolonel Sudiarto with a length of 845 meters and a width of 700 meters need to be thickened with a layer of wear layer (AC-WC) with a thickness of 4 cm at a cost of Rp. 1,256,137,000.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-53
Author(s):  
David McTiernan

As the road authority for the unclassified (i.e. local) roads in their local government area, councils have the legislated responsibility to manage their road infrastructure; this fundamentally includes the safety of road users on their networks. Almost 70% of the 392 fatalities on NSW roads in 2017 occurred on country roads (Transport for NSW, 2018). The contribution of the local road network to road trauma across Australasia is significant with over half (52%) of all fatal and serious injuries recorded on roads that are the sole responsibility of local government (McTiernan et. al., 2016). Governments at all levels - Local, State and Federal – can no longer ignore the contribution of local roads to the national tragedy and trauma occurring each year. Without a concerted effort by all tiers of government to address road safety performance on the vast local road network, Australia will not achieve the 30% reduction target in fatal and serious injuries as set out in the National Road Safety Plan. Unfortunately, the current status for managing safety on local roads sees a myriad of systemic hurdles and failures that ultimately result in local government not making road safety a genuine priority. But what is required to change this situation? Two case studies are presented to assist a discussion about some of the systemic failures that contribute to local councils not taking, or not being able to take, action to make road safety a genuine priority.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 4002
Author(s):  
Alicja Barbara Sołowczuk ◽  
Dominik Kacprzak

In recent years, in which a considerable increase in the road traffic volumes has been witnessed, traffic calming has become one the key issues in the area of road engineering. This concerns, in particular, trunk roads passing through small villages with a population of up to 500 and the road section length within the village limits of ca. 1400–1700 m. A successful traffic calming scheme must involve primarily effective reduction in inbound traffic speed. A review of the data from various countries revealed that chicanes installed in the transition zones may have a determining effect on the success of the traffic calming project. The effectiveness of such chicanes depends mainly on the type of chicane, its location on the carriageway, its shape and the size of the lateral deflection imposed by the chicane on the inbound lane. The purpose of this study was to identify the speed reduction determinants in traffic calming schemes in village transition zones, based on a central island horizontally deflecting one lane of a two-lane two-way road with 50 km/h speed restriction. As part of the study, vehicle speeds were measured just before and after the chicanes under analysis. Furthermore, the inbound lane traffic volumes were measured in field and a number of factors were identified, including the applied traffic management scheme, road parameters, view of the road ahead and of the village skyline, isolated buildings, road infrastructure and adjacent roadside developments. The obtained data were analysed with a method employing tautologies of the selected 32 factors affecting the drivers’ perception. A single aggregate parameter was proposed for assessing the coincidence of the influence of selected factors on speed reduction. The analysis of the existing schemes and the results of statistical analyses carried out in this study confirmed the authors’ hypothesis that the combined selected factors produce a desirable effect and that they should be additionally enhanced by the application of solar powered devices.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayed Shwaly ◽  
Amal AL-Ayaat ◽  
Mohamed Hamed Zakaria

In Egypt, it is believed that speed humps are the cheapest and best solutions to reduce vehicles speed and thus reduce the number of potential accidents. Due to the lack of specifications in Egypt that govern the installation of speed humps, they were spread randomly and with different dimensions without adequate studies. Consequently, this practice can cause adverse effects on the road users and the surrounding environment. For this purpose, a questionnaire was designed to discuss the different effects of using speed humps in Kafr El-Sheikh city as a typical model in the Egyptian cities. To verify that the questionnaire is appropriate for the intended task, it was evaluated by 30 respondents aged 18 years and over. After the trial process, the required corrections were made to the proposed form of the questionnaire. Then, final questionnaires were distributed and 1000 responses were collected from all road users, whether they were pedestrians, drivers, owners of vehicles or vehicle repairmen by using face-to-face interviews. The responses were analysed using SPSS program. The results reflected that the installation of speed humps contributed greatly to reduce vehicles speed, the flow of traffic and accidents rate. On the other hand, the results proved that humps also contribute significantly to the environmental pollution, damage to the pavement and vehicles especially when they are poorly designed and located. The majority of respondents attributed the random spread of the speed humps to the weakness of the authorities in law enforcement and the prevention of the installation of new humps without authorization. Finally, with the widespread use of speed humps and with the exception of the positive impact on traffic safety, it also has negative impacts on both the economy and the environment. Finally, the use of speed humps can cause many harmful effects to the neighbourhood, if there no strict control on its installation process. Unless specifications and some standards should be strictly followed, other means of traffic calming measures should be considered.


2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arafat Suleiman Yero ◽  
Tijanni Y Ahmed ◽  
Mohd Rosli Hainin

A major road link in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria is the Bauchi – Maiduguri highway that is a 425 km road that links a section of the north east region to other regions of Nigeria. The goods and services to the region are basically transported by road.  This has increased vehicular traffic that resulted in increased road accident rates over the years.  It is paramount to investigate the major causes of vehicle accidents on this highway as much has not been done to investigate accident cases on the route. The five year accident record on that route was obtained from the Federal Road Safety Corp of Nigeria,   the Nigeria Police traffic unit, and the Nigeria union of road traffic workers. The study indicated that speed violation by drivers and bad road conditions contributes greatly in the rate of accidents along the route. Hence the study recommends better road maintenance culture and more sensitization of the road users and enforcement of speed limits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heriberto Pérez-Acebo ◽  
Robert Ziółkowski ◽  
Alaitz Linares-Unamunzaga ◽  
Hernán Gonzalo-Orden

Traffic calming measures (TCM) are placed in urban areas to improve road safety, and among them, vertical TCMs are widely employed. Many researches are focused on the influence of the geometry of each measure on speed reduction, but it is demonstrated that drivers forget its effect and speed up after it. Therefore, placing consecutive TCMs can help to maintain a safe area. However, scarce literature can be found about the adequate spacing between them. Hence, the aim of this paper is to analyze the adequate distance between TCMs. Various streets with variable distances and different vertical TCMs were evaluated in Poland and Spain, including raised crosswalks, raised intersections, speed humps and speed cushions. The intermediate point between two TCMs was selected as the place where the maximum speed is achieved. Results showed that there was a good correlation between the speeds at intermediate points and the distance between TCMs, with a determination coefficient around 0.80. For an 85th percentile of the speed under 50 km/h, a maximum distance of 200 m between TCMs is recommended, and for a value of 40 km/h, 75 m.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrius Vaitkus ◽  
Donatas Čygas ◽  
Vilma Jasiūnienė ◽  
Laura Jateikienė ◽  
Tadas Andriejauskas ◽  
...  

Road accidents are one of the leading causes of death in the world, particularly among young people. Excessive speed is one of the main risk factors in road traffic safety, increasing accident probability and affecting accident severity. Experimental research of the traffic calming measures allocation effect on the driving speed is presented in this paper. The research has been carried out on two aspects. The first one with respect to the mean speed and the second one regarding instantaneous speed. However, the paper is not only restricted by the above research. Standardized survey interview and questioning, a survey of public opinion, was carried out to find out the road users’ opinions about the need for traffic calming measures and speed control measures. Finally, the authors presented their insights and recommendations for the installation of speed humps and gateways and their optimum spacing.


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