Citation

Abaza OA. Accid. Reconstr. J. 2020; 30(1): 44-54.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Accident Reconstruction Journal)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) has introduced passing lanes along two lane highways to allow drivers to pass slow-moving vehicles. Passing lane safety is a concern, as the geometrical and traffic features of these lanes may contribute to risk-taking by drivers. Differential speed limits (DSL) have been proposed as one potential solution. With DSL, the right lane operates at a slower speed than the left lane, which can facilitate more passing vehicles. The author performs a trial study of Milepost 59-60 on the Seward Highway to determine the effectiveness of DSL. The study includes a literature review, driver surveys, traffic analysis, and video analysis. The author concludes that, not only is DSL implementation ineffective as a countermeasure to high rates of severe crash rates on the highway, DSL may actually contribute to an increase in such traffic safety issues.

Language: en

Keywords

Highway safety; Literature reviews; Traffic flow; Driver performance; Two lane highways; Alaska; Passing lanes; Seward Highway (Alaska)