This study assesses the effect of different enforcement and policing options, freeway engineering and design features, and education programs on motorist compliance with bus and car pool lane restrictions and ramp metering. It includes data reviewing the effects of four waves of special enforcement activities in terms of violation rates, safety and accident occurrences, and driver attitudes about the lanes. It also analyses the effectiveness and costs of different enforcement strategies, and makes recommendations (specific to California) on future approaches to enforcement on reserved-lane and metered facilities. Appendices include a glossary of terms, a listing of freeway ramps studied by enforcement visibility and violation category, schedules of enforcement activities and the resultant violation rate changes for all four enforcement waves, and delays to motorists resulting from the first wave of enforcement activities. The study was able to link enforcement programs to reduced trip times and accident rates on freeways. In addition to these benefits, the study found that in many places ramp enforcement was "profitable," in the sense that each citation brings considerably more money into the treasury of the local jurisdictions than it costs different agencies to issue and process (P. 6-11).
Abstract