Did You Know?

by Airton Kohls; Source: FHWA

FHWA Speed Limit Tool

USLIMITS2 is a web based tool designed to help practitioners set reasonable, safe, and consistent speed limits for specific segments of roads. USLIMITS2 is applicable to all types of roads ranging from rural local roads and residential streets to urban freeways.

User-friendly, logical, and objective, USLIMITS2 is of particular benefit to local communities and agencies without ready access to engineers experienced in conducting speed studies for setting appropriate speed limits. For experienced engineers, USLIMITS2 can provide an objective second opinion and increase confidence in speed limit setting decisions. Additional information can be found at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/uslimits/

Roadway Safety Noteworthy Practices Database

Many state and local highway agencies are implementing data-driven, strategic approaches to roadway safety program planning, implementation, and evaluation. These practices can reduce staff time, save money and other resources, and reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries. The FHWA Office of Safety is collecting and making these practices available in the Roadway Safety Noteworthy Practices Database at http://rspcb.safety.fhwa.dot.gov/noteworthy/default.aspx

Safety practices can be searched by State or topic, including funding, intersection safety, road safety audits, roadway departure, safety culture, speed management, vulnerable road users, performance measures, etc.

Designing Roadways for the Aging Population

The proportion of the United States population age 65 and over will increase significantly in the coming decades. The effects of aging on people as drivers and pedestrians are highly individual. Challenges that may impact people as they age include declining vision, decreased flexibility and psychomotor performance, and changes in perceptual and cognitive performance. Design practices that explicitly recognize these changes will better serve this growing segment of the nation's population.

This Handbook for Designing Roadways for the Aging Population provides practitioners with a practical information source that links aging road user performance to highway design, operational, and traffic engineering features. This Handbook provides over 50 ways to make your roads safer for aging users and supplements existing standards and guidelines in the areas of highway geometry, operations, and traffic control devices.

The information in this Handbook should be of interest to highway designers, traffic engineers, and highway safety specialists involved in the design and operation of highway facilities. In addition, this Handbook will be of interest to researchers concerned with issues of aging road user safety and mobility. The Handbook is available online at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/older_users/#training.

Back-Contents-Forward