The development of this research project was based largely on experience in the Houston urban area where truck rollover crashes have occurred on several freeway-to-freeway connector ramps in the past decade. Truck rollovers crashes have occurred on several freeway-to-freeway connector ramps in the past decade. Truck rollovers are typically high impact and high visibility incidents that can snarl traffic during any time of day. Those incidents tend to require several hours for cleanup, often result in injuries or fatalities, and can result in high traffic delays within the freeway interchanges. While several previous studies have examined the relationship between truck crashes and ramp geometry, this study focused on examining the relationship between vehicle operations and current advisory speed signing practices and whether there should be a distinction between passenger cars and trucks with respect to advisory speed signing on freeway-to-freeway connectors. The primary goal of this research project was to examine the speed characteristics of passenger cars and vehicles with high centers of gravity on freeway connectors and determine if there were any discernable differences in the speed characteristics between the two vehicle types. Included in the category of vehicles with high centers of gravity are 18-wheel tractor-trailers, single-unit trucks, vans, and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs). The research narrowed its focus to seven freeway-to-freeway connector ramps in the Houston urban area; each generally located on the northern and eastern sections of Interstate Highway (IH) 610 at United States Highway (US) 290, IH 45 North, US 59 Eastex, and State Highway (SH) 225 interchanges.
Evaluation of Vehicle Speeds on Freeway-to-Freeway Connector Ramps in Houston
2002
108 pages
Report
No indication
English
Transportation & Traffic Planning , Transportation , Road Transportation , Transportation Safety , Speed signs , Trucks , Passenger vehicles , Speed , Urban areas , Literature review , Highway signs , Heavy duty trucks , Tractor trailers , Dump trucks , Interchanges , Houston(Texas) , Freeway connectors , High center of gravity , Freeway-to-freeway connectors , SUV(Sport utility vehicle) , Comfort level , Lateral acceleration
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