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Analysis and modelling of traffic flow under variable speed limits

Highway infrastructure is expensive so there is increasing pressure to make best use of that existing and newly built. For motorways, variable speed limits can be used to manage high traffic flows effectively. We applied a complementary combination of statistical and traffic flow analyses to the abundant data that are available for UK motorways. From this, we found that causality in traffic flow varies: at low flows, traffic conditions depend on the inflow, whilst in congested conditions, they depends instead on the prevailing speed. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for effective use of available and novel traffic management measures.