Chapter 3: Speed Zone Studies
Anchor: #i1002041Section 1: Overview
Anchor: #i1002046Engineering and Traffic Investigation
This chapter includes a description of how to conduct an engineering and traffic investigation as the basis for establishing a regulatory speed zone along a roadway. This investigation is commonly called a “speed zone study.”
Sound and generally accepted engineering practices are an integral part of such speed zone studies and are discussed in Section 4 of this chapter.
Anchor: #i1002068Scope of Study
The speed zone study should cover the entire length of a potential zone, even though an analysis of the data may later indicate that the actual limits of the area that requires zoning are less than the limits of the potential zone.
A speed zone study consists of the following principle areas:
- determining the 85th percentile speed
- crash study
- developing of strip maps
- speed zone design
- rechecks of speed zones.
This chapter contains sections describing each of these areas.