Title: Roles of driver and vehicle characteristics in speed choice along rural highways

Authors: Bashar H. Al-Omari; Ashraf Al Jafari

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Jordan University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan ' Senior Transportation Engineer, Arabtech Jardaneh, P.O. Box 9532, Amman 11191, Jordan

Abstract: A total of 2510 vehicle speed observations were measured from a straight section of a rural two-lane two way highway in Jordan. The mean speeds were above the maximum allowable speed (acceptable limit for citations) for passenger cars, vehicles with engine sizes of 1800 cc or more, new vehicles (1-10 years), vehicles with 1-3 passengers and drivers wearing seat belts. They were above the speed limit (posted limit on the traffic sign) and below the maximum allowable speed for young adult and adult drivers, male drivers, non-seat belt users, pickups, busses, vans, medium age vehicles (11-15 years), vehicles with four passengers and vehicles with engine sizes of less than 1800 cc. However, they were below the speed limit for older drivers, female drivers, trucks and older vehicles (>15 years). Loaded pickups and trucks had lower speeds than unloaded ones.

Keywords: speed management; driver age; driver gender; seat belts; vehicle type; vehicle age; vehicle occupancy; vehicle load; vehicle engine size; rural roads; Jordan; passenger cars; pickups; trucks.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEME.2015.072551

International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics, 2015 Vol.5 No.3/4, pp.181 - 195

Received: 26 Dec 2013
Accepted: 08 Dec 2014
Published online: 19 Oct 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article