Pilot Test of Heed the Speed - a Program to Reduce Speeds in Residential Neighborhoods

Higher vehicle speeds are associated with more severe pedestrian injuries and increased chance of a fatality, particularly on residential roadways. There has been significant work on engineering approaches to traffic calming as a means of reducing neighborhood speeds. There have, however, been few attempts to combine public information, enforcement and innovative marking techniques with engineering changes as a means of enhancing speed reductions. The focus of the current study was therefore to determine the additive effect of enforcement and education on speeds in residential neighborhoods. Six neighborhoods, three each in two cities, Phoenix and Peoria, Arizona, were selected for a Heed the Speed program. Yard signs, pamphlets and other education materials were distributed to area residents. The police increased enforcement patrols, warnings and tickets for speeding violations. Speed tables or speed humps and innovative pavement markings that created the illusion of impediments were also utilized. The program was evaluated by a pre/post mailed survey, by police data forms completed at each stop and by multiple waves of speed measurements using on-road traffic counters. The survey showed a strong increase in knowledge of the program, awareness of enforcement efforts and acceptance of the need to moderate speeds. The police stop records showed that most violators were neighborhood residents. Speed measurements showed significant reductions in all 6 neighborhoods and on all but one of the test roads within the neighborhoods. Speed compliance increases ranged from 17% to over 117%. Mean speed reductions ranged from approximately 0.5 mph to over 3.5 mph. The extent of the speed reduction across a large sample of vehicles per day suggests that Heed the Speed programs could be effective in reducing crashes to pedestrians and in limiting the injury severity when a crash does occur.