Use of road markings to narrow lanes for controlling speed in residential areas

This article describes a research study that addressed speeding on residential streets--one of the most common traffic complaints reported to law enforcement officers by residents. Speeding generally occurs on wide streets that have little or no horizontal or vertical curvature so drivers have a long sight distance. Deterring speeders in residential areas is vexing for traffic engineers because solutions are limited. The study shows that longitudinal pavement markings combined with raised pavement markers to create an impression of a narrower street have no effect on the mean speeds or the speed distributions of drivers on residential streets. It is conjectured that the delineated lanes made the driver's task of tracking the roadway easier. It was observed that few drivers straddled or crossed the edgelines, and when they did they quickly corrected their course to stay within their lane of travel.