Politics and Speed Zoning in Texas

Aren CambreENCE 7391

9-22-04

Agenda

• Speed Zoning Basics• Texas Statutes• Texas Administrative Code (Rules)• Flowcharts

Speed Zoning Basics

• Key concept: 85th percentile speed

• Separates “reasonable” from “unsafe”

• Speed limits usually should be 85th percentile speed

Best Practice Speed Zoning

• Measurement• Analysis• Set the limit

Start

Crash rate?All others Unusually high

Other measuresavailable

Other correctivemeasures inadequate

Finish

Available corrective

measures?

Sometimes lower bound is “50th percentile rounded up”

Set speed limit between 67th and

85th percentile speed (each

rounded to nearest 5 MPH)

Research crash causes

Set Speed Limit at 85th percentile

speed (rounded to nearest 5 MPH)

Measure 85th Percentile Speed

Correct problems (striping, road configuration,

signage, signal timing, pedestrian limitations, etc.)

Reality

• Lots of political interference– Rules– Statutes– Loopholes

Texas Statutes

• Statutes are laws passed by Texas Legislature

• Several statutes affect speed limits and speed zoning

• All in Transportation Code

Two Key Statutes

• § 545.351. MAXIMUM SPEED REQUIREMENT– “Reasonable and prudent”

• § 545.352. PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMITS– Various statutory (default) speed limits,

including:• On rural roads day:• In city streets:• In alleys:• Etc.

Altering the “Default” Limit

• Should US 75’s speed limit be 30 MPH inside city limits?

• Jurisdictions can change default speed limits with restrictions

Texas Transportation Commission

• 3 member commission that oversees TxDOT

• Political appointees• Given power to change speed limit of:

– Any non-city road in state highway system– Any limited-access road in state highway

system, even if in city• TTC speed limits overrule any other limits

Powers of TTC• § 545.353. AUTHORITY OF TEXAS

TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO ALTER SPEED LIMITS.

• § 545.3531. AUTHORITY OF TEXAS TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH SPEED LIMITS ON TRANS-TEXAS CORRIDOR.

• § 545.3535. AUTHORITY OF TEXAS TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO ALTER SPEED LIMITS ON CERTAIN ROADS.

• If default limit is “unreasonable or unsafe,” may declare new limit.

• Must do traffic investigation.• Must follow “Procedures for Establishing Speed Zones.”

TTC, Cont.

• Generally capped at• allowed in certain rural counties• allowed on “Trans-Texas Corridor”• No more environmental speed limits.• May set “wet weather” speed limit.

TTC, Cont.

• FM roads:– Allowed to consider “local public opinion” on

FM road speed limits on request of county commissioners

– But still must use “sound and generally accepted” engineering practices

Regional Tollway Authorities

• § 545.354. AUTHORITY OF REGIONAL TOLLWAY AUTHORITIES TO ALTER SPEED LIMITS ON TURNPIKE PROJECTS.

• Generally same powers as TTC on roads they own.

Regional Mobility Authorities

• § 370.033. GENERAL POWERS.• Generally same powers as TTC on roads

they own.

County Commissioners

• § 545.355. AUTHORITY OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT TO ALTER SPEED LIMITS.

• Generally same authority as TTC on county roads except:– No lower than except for residential, non-

thoroughfare roads, which can be .– Maximum speed limit is , except Harris

County can set on roads it owns. (Harris County owns some toll roads.)

Cities

• § 545.356. AUTHORITY OF MUNICIPALITY TO ALTER SPEED LIMITS.

• Generally same powers as TTC except can only set up to .

Military Reservation

• § 545.358. AUTHORITY OF COMMANDING OFFICER OF UNITED STATES MILITARY RESERVATION TO ALTER SPEED LIMITS.

• Generally same powers as TTC except can only set up to .

Minimum Speed Limit

• § 545.363. MINIMUM SPEED REGULATIONS.

• Toothless: can ignore minimum speed limit for “safe operation or [to be] in compliance with law.”

Private Roads

• § 542.006. SPEED RESTRICTIONS ON PRIVATE ROADS.

• Private, rural subdivisions can petition for speed limits.

Speed Limits and Civil Cases

• § 542.206. EFFECT OF SPEED LIMITS IN A CIVIL ACTION.

• Guilt is not proven just because you are speeding.

• Driver negligence must be proven.

Passing an Emergency Vehcile

• § 545.157. PASSING AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLE.

• 20 under or move over.

Other• Vehicles transporting “electric power

transmission poles” may not exceed .• Vehicles transporting mobile homes may not

exceed .• Certain vehicles authorized by ports bordering

Mexico cannot exceed .• School busses may not exceed (or if not

inspected).• Speed limit is if in county park in county

bordering Gulf of Mexico.

Texas Administrative Code

• “Rules” and “regulations” created by Texas agencies.

• “Procedures for Establishing Speed Zones” in this.

Procedures for Establishing Speed Zones

• Detailed document that defines:– Regulatory and Advisory Speeds– Defense of current speed zoning practice– Actual speed zoning procedure– Procedure for approval of speed zones– Procedure for applying advisory speeds

Actual ProcedureStart

This flowchart only includes the steps involved in

determining the speed limit in a standard speed zone. As

such, it does not contain details about determining zone boundaries, school

zone speed limits, transition zones, and so forth.

Determine 85th percentile speed

Consider other factor?

Above averagecrash rate

Too few vehiclesin study

“Additional roadwayfactors”

Recommended speed limit up to 7 MPH below 85th

percentile speed.

Set recommended speed limit with

“trial runs.”

Recommended speed limit up to 10

MPH below 85th percentile speed.

“Additional roadwayfactors” and aboveaverage crash rate Recommended

speed limit up to 12 MPH below 85th

percentile speed.

Recommended speed limit within 5

MPH of 85th percentile speed.

No otherfactors

85th percentile speed is average of adjacent speed

zones.

Adjacent speedzones are less than

7 MPH different

Actual recommended speed limit established per

“professional judgment of supervising engineer.”

The actual speed limit can be up to 5 MPH above or 5-

12 MPH below the 85th percentile speed depending

on which “other factor” applies.

Environmental Speed Limit

Neverapplied

Further reduce speed limit by 5

MPH

Applied on or beforeSept. 1, 2003

Jurisdiction

City or militaryreservation

Recommended speed limit

Reduce to 60 MPH.

Above 60 MPH

Location of speed zone

TexasTransportationCommission

Recommended speed limit

Recommended speed limit

County with less than10 people per square mile

County with 10 or morepeople per square mile

Reduce to 75 MPH.

Above 75 MPH

Reduce to 70 MPH.

Above 70 MPH

Finish

Due to a 2003 law, no new ESLs may be declared, and existing ESLs may not be

further reduced. Even though the TxDOT ESL regulations

allow for up to 15 MPH below, only 5 MPH below

limits existed when this law went into effect.

60 MPHor less

75 MPHor less

70 MPHor less

Turnpike Authority

Recommended speed limit

On Texas Transportation

Corridor, regardless of

county

Reduce to 85 MPH.

Above 85 MPH

85 MPHor less

County size

Road Type

Recommended speed limit

Increase to 20 MPH.

Below 20 MPH

20 MPHor more

Recommended speed limit

Increase to 30 MPH.

Below 30 MPH

30 MPHor more

In a residence district,not major thoroughfare

Other

Road TypeMore than 2.8 million residents

2.8 million or fewer residents

Limited access

County

Other

Reality

Start

Measure 85th percentile speed

Find any excuse in the book to lower

85th percentile speed as much as

possible

Celebrate when we find a loophole or

exception that allows us to further

lower 85th percentile speed

Ignore engineering recommendations and lower speed even further by

resolution

Post super low speed limit,

thereby creating artificially high percentage of

“speeders”

“Clamp down” on “speeding crisis” and coerce even

lower limits

Questions?