Citation

Byrne BF, Roberts RR. Transp. Res. Rec. 1975; 538: 69-74.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1975, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Data on average speeds of free-flowing automobiles were collected from a study of vehicle speed and placement on an Interstate bridge in West Virginia. Because the study included data collected in the summers of 1973 and 1974, it was possible to compare mean speeds for each summer to determine whether the nationwide speed limit of 55 mph (89 km/h) had any effect. It was found that mean speed declined from 61.0 mph (98.2 km/h) in 1973 to 54.5 mph (87.7 km/h) in 1974. The standard deviation of the distribution also declined from 9.2 mph (14.8 km/h) to 6.0 mph (10.0 km/h), thus providing another possible explanation for the reduction in automobile accidents.

Language: en