Safety Implications of Mandated Truck Speed Limiters on Freeways

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study funded by Transport Canada to investigate the safety implications of mandated truck speed limiters. The study adopted a microscopic simulation approach that was applied to a number of maximum speed control strategies, including 105 km/h. The sensitivity of safety performance with respect to changes in geometric and traffic scenarios was investigated. The study found that truck speed limiters produced positive safety gains for different assumed volumes and percentages of trucks and different compliance levels. Under certain conditions, such as high volumes and high percentage of trucks, speed limiters produced a reduction in safety.