Evaluation of the Radar Speed Cameras and Panels Indicating the Vehicles’ Speed as Traffic Calming Measures (TCM) in Short Length Urban Areas Located along Rural Roads

Abstract

Traffic calming measures (TCMs) are implemented in urban areas to reduce vehicles’ speed and, generally speaking, results are obtained. However, speed is still a problem in rural roads crossing small villages without a bypass and with short-length urban areas, since drivers do not normally reduce their speed for that short segment. Hence, various TCM can be installed. It is necessary to maintain a calm area in these short segments to improve road safety, especially for pedestrian aiming to cross the road, and to save combustible by avoiding a constant increase-decrease of speed. Four villages were selected to evaluate the efficiency of radar speed cameras and panels indicating vehicle’s speed. Results showed that the presence of radar speed cameras reduces the speed in the direction they can fine, but with a lower effect in the non-fining direction. Additionally, a positive effect was observed in the fining direction in other points, such as pedestrian crossings. Nevertheless, the effect does not last long and speed cameras may be considered as punctual measures. If the TCMs are placed far from the start of the village they are not respected. Hence, it is recommended to place them near the real start of the build-up area. Lastly, it was verified that longer urban areas make overall speed decrease. However, when drivers feel that they are arriving to the end of the urban area, due to the inexistence of buildings, they start speeding up.

The effectiveness of fixed speed cameras on Iranian taxi drivers: An evaluation of the influential factors

“…Similar studies previously have investigated the influential roadside factors of speeding behavior. An example of these tools is traffic calming measures, which are traffic lights turning red in case of exceeding speed limits by drivers and are used mostly in rural or intercity roads rather than in urban areas to reduce the risk of RTIs in areas with lower existence of traffic lights ( 40 ). It has been shown that the appropriate placement of these tools could prevent excess driving speeds and improve pedestrians' safety passing the roads ( 40 , 41 ).…”

“…An example of these tools is traffic calming measures, which are traffic lights turning red in case of exceeding speed limits by drivers and are used mostly in rural or intercity roads rather than in urban areas to reduce the risk of RTIs in areas with lower existence of traffic lights ( 40 ). It has been shown that the appropriate placement of these tools could prevent excess driving speeds and improve pedestrians' safety passing the roads ( 40 , 41 ). Considering the importance of pedestrian safety strategies and the pedestrian fatality risk in high-speed driving roads ( 42 ), borrowing the experience of these studies could help in controlling the KD challenge.…”

Evaluating Traffic-Calming-Based Urban Road Design Solutions Featuring Cooperative Driving Technologies in Energy Efficiency Transition for Smart Cities

“…While traffic-calming measures (TCMs) have been in place for several years, they have gained renewed attention as a successful strategy to address the evolving challenges of energy-efficient and smart cities. Numerous studies have emphasized the potential benefits of TCMs in mitigating the adverse impacts of motorized traffic on urban centers, ultimately enhancing general traffic conditions and the overall well-being of citizens [3,11,[57][58][59].…”

Evaluating the Influence of Data Entropy in the Use of a Smart Equipment for Traffic Management at Border Check Point

“…The modeling of highway traffic is one of the most important activities for researchers and specialists in the field of transport. This activity helps to understand the process, the importance of data used in the model and the influence over the results [1,2]. The impact assessment for the influence of endogenous and exogenous random events with consequences for users provides the transport infrastructure administration the opportunity to implement a new system based on smart equipment for traffic monitoring and control [3].…”