Surveys of vehicle speeds and the factors affecting them were carried out in 1987-90 in Poland and in 1990-91 in Finland. This paper presents and compares the results of those surveys. In addition, comparisons with Hungarian and Dutch results are made. Relationships of mean travel speed and platoon length with traffic flow as a basis for comparisons are shown as bivariate linear regression equations. Speeds in Poland and Hungary are in general lower and more affected by volume than those in Finland and Holland. The results indicate that road technical standard, vehicle fleet characteristics and technical condition of vehicles have a key influence on vehicle speeds. Differences were also observed also observed in headway distributions in Poland and in Finland. Platoons in Finland are longer than those in Poland at corresponding flow levels. A conclusion for future research is that an exchange of data and experience among Central and Eastern European countries is extremely desirable. (A)
Samenvatting