Research Links Speed Increases with Increased Accidents and Accident Severity, Though Lower Speed Increases Only Effect Crashes Marginally

Download or read book Research Links Speed Increases with Increased Accidents and Accident Severity, Though Lower Speed Increases Only Effect Crashes Marginally written by Kenneth A. Winter and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Changing speed limits on low speed roads has little or no effect on crashes. Relationships between speed limit increases, accident rates and accident severity are complex and have not always been clearly understood in the past-especially due to countless other variables that can influence crash rates and severity, including: highway design, vehicle design, speed enforcement, environmental attributes, weather conditions, and characteristics of the driving population. After forty years of research there is still no consensus about the implications of raising speed and accident severity among studies that only explore only accident fatalities. In addition, few studies to date have provided adequate control of many other factors that can influence the findings of a before-after evaluation. However, the "ordered probit" model of evaluation is considered by some to be a legitimate approach to studying the effects of speed limit changes on crash injury severity. Seemingly simple questions regarding speed and accidents have proven difficult to answer. Do increases in speed limits at lower or higher speed levels result in increases in severity or crashes or of injuries suffered in those crashes? What are the implications for such speed increases on Virginia's secondary or rural roads where "low-speed increases" from 25-35 mph or 35-45 mph might be considered? A thorough literature search from the 1960s to the present reveals some widely held beliefs about speed limits and safety that may seem obvious, but are worth considering.