Using SHRP2 naturalistic driving data to examine driver speeding behavior

Area of Science:

• Traffic Safety Research
• Transportation Engineering
• Driver Behavior Analysis

Background:

• Speeding is a significant factor in fatal crashes, contributing to 26% of all such incidents in 2017.
• Understanding speeding behavior is crucial for developing effective traffic safety strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the frequency and characteristics of speeding episodes using naturalistic driving data.
• To identify patterns in speeding behavior among different driver demographics.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of vehicle speed data from 2,910 drivers (aged 16-64) collected during the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study.
• Parsing speed data into speeding episodes (SEs) and free-flow episodes (FFEs) to quantify speeding frequency and duration.

Main Results:

• Nearly all drivers (99.8%) exhibited speeding episodes, averaging 2.75 SEs per trip.
• Higher-speed episodes (≥15 mph over limit) were common, with most drivers spending less than 5% of free-flow time speeding.
• Younger drivers showed a trend towards higher percentages of time spent speeding compared to older drivers.

Conclusions:

• The study quantifies the prevalence of speeding and identifies demographic trends, particularly among younger drivers.
• The developed methods provide a foundation for identifying high-risk speeders and informing targeted countermeasures for crash reduction.