Speed Management

Speed Management is the comprehensive approach to establishing, communicating, and enforcing appropriate vehicle speeds on roadways to minimize crash severity and protect all road users. Since crash severity increases exponentially with impact speed, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists, managing travel speeds is one of the most effective strategies for reducing traffic fatalities and serious injuries. GISGISGeographic Information Systems (GIS) enable users to analyze and visualize spatial data to uncover patterns, relation...-based speed analysis maps measured travel speeds from probe vehicle data, radar studies, and connected vehicle feeds against posted speed limits, road design characteristics, and adjacent land uses. Speed differential analysis identifies corridors where actual speeds significantly exceed posted limits, indicating enforcement or engineering needs. Crash severity mapping correlates speed with injury outcomes to prioritize interventions on the most dangerous corridors. Applications include speed limit setting that uses context-sensitive design principles rather than the conventional practice of posting limits at the 85th percentile speed. Automated speed enforcement programs use cameras at locations with documented speed-related safety problems. Road diet conversions reduce lanes to calm traffic on overbuilt streets. Variable speed limit systems adjust posted speeds based on weather, congestion, or work zone conditions. Safe System-aligned approaches set speed limits based on crash survivability for the most vulnerable road users present.