With financial support from the National Road Safety Foundation and in partnership with IIHS, Maryland conducted a speed management pilot project in Bishopville, with success in reducing vehicle speeds.
GHSA, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Road Safety Foundation partnered to fund and evaluate a speed management pilot project in Maryland that was completed in the summer of 2022. This project employed a comprehensive approach that included infrastructure improvements, equitable traffic enforcement, public education and outreach, and advocacy.
The effort in Bishopville, described in detail in a report by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office, focused on a 2.4-mile section of the road that is a popular route for beachgoers in the summer months and is known to have a speeding problem. In July 2021, the lanes were narrowed by doubling the width of the painted edge and center lines to 10 inches to help slow traffic. In addition, speed feedback signs, which show drivers how fast they are going as they pass, were installed in two locations.
During the pilot project, average speeds fell 9% and the odds that a vehicle on the road was speeding dropped by three-quarters. The effects largely faded once the measures were discontinued.
