Resumen

MEDINA-GARCIA, Liosber; DELGADO-MARTINEZ, Domingo E.; ULATE-ZARATE, José M.  y  GARCIA-DEPESTRE, René A.. Development of speed profile prediction models in flat terrains in Costa Rica. Ing. invest. y tecnol. [online]. 2023, vol.24, n.4, 1868.  Epub 28-Nov-2023. ISSN 2594-0732.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fi.25940732e.2023.24.4.030.

During the last few years, one of the most commonly used methods for evaluating the influence of the geometric design of roads on road safety is the analysis of road design consistency. When evaluating geometric design consistency, it is necessary to know beforehand the operating speed profiles of the road to be analyzed. A common practice is to use existing models of operating speed profiles, which are generally designed for the specific conditions of a particular region or country. However, models for estimating operating speed should be calibrated or developed considering local conditions, and they should also be revised systematically over time. Thus, equations obtained for a given condition should be analyzed taking into consideration local and regional characteristics. The aim of this paper is to develop models for predicting operating speed in Costa Rica by considering the characteristics of geometric design of rural national roads in flat terrains, as well as the features of the existing vehicles in the country. The proposed methodology to develop operating speed models consists of a series of stages: analysis of the roads in the region and definition of fixed parameters to be studied, selection of sites and sampling, speed measurement in selected locations, development of operating speed prediction models, and validation of the proposed models. The results of this study allow for the development of different models for rural national routes in flat terrain for the first time in Costa Rica. The study demonstrates that the proposed equations provide for lower estimations errors, when compared to international models used in other studies.

Palabras llave : Prediction model; operating speed; geometric design consistency; road safety; rural roads.

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