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Solar-Powered Active Road Studs and Highway Infrastructure: Effect on Vehicle Speeds

Llewellyn, Richard; Cowie, Jonathan; Fountas, Grigorios

Authors

Richard Llewellyn



Abstract

Vehicle speeds have a direct relationship with the severity of road crashes and may influence their probability of occurrence. Solar-powered active road studs have been shown to have a positive effect on driver confidence, but their impact on vehicle speed in conjunction with other road features is little understood. This study aims to address this gap in knowledge through a case study of a 20 km section of a strategic major road featuring a variety of highway infrastructure features. Before-and-after surveys were undertaken at 21 locations along the route using manual radar speed measurement. Analysis of nearly 10,000 speed measurements showed no statistically significant change in mean speeds following the implementation of the road studs. Linear regression models are proposed for two different posted speed limits, associating road features with expected vehicle speed. The models suggest that vehicle speeds are chiefly influenced by merges, curves, gradients, and ambient light conditions. The findings of this study should provide confidence that active road studs may be implemented without a negative impact on speed-related safety. The work also provides further expansion of the evidence base describing the effect of highway infrastructure features on vehicle speeds.

Citation

Llewellyn, R., Cowie, J., & Fountas, G. (2021). Solar-Powered Active Road Studs and Highway Infrastructure: Effect on Vehicle Speeds. Energies, 14(21), 7209. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14217209

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 30, 2021
Online Publication Date Nov 2, 2021
Publication Date 2021-11
Deposit Date Nov 10, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Energies
Publisher MDPI
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 14
Issue 21
Pages 7209
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/en14217209
Keywords active road studs; highway infrastructure; vehicle speeds; road safety; road features
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2820584

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.







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