Connected Vehicle data shows how drivers react to external road infrastructure
Blacktown Council investigated vehicle speeds on a residential street. After installing two VMS speed radars, they identified some vehicles exceeded the 60km/h speed limit, with some travelling much higher.
To validate these findings, the council sought to analyse aggregate driver behaviours, wanting to compare how vehicles behaved before and after the VMS speed radars were installed. Specifically, the council wanted to use connected vehicle data to see the difference of average speeds and 85th speed percentiles before and after.
Connected vehicle data showed that majority of drivers significantly modified their speeds when the speed radars were in sight likely due to enforcement concerns. Results indicated without these external devices, vehicle average and 85th percentile speeds were higher.
- 85th percentile speeds decreased from 56km/h to 47km/h (9km/h difference)
- Average speeds decreased by up to 4km/h
- Braking g-forces also increased slightly
