网红头条

KENNESAW, Ga. | Jun 4, 2025

A 网红头条 professor is studying whether school zones in Georgia are made safer through automated speed enforcement.

Sunanda Dissanayake, professor of civil engineering, is gathering data on determining the effectiveness of automated speed enforcement near schools, then analyzing that data to offer recommendations that help to create guidelines for local governments and transportation authorities.

鈥淟ook at the basic laws of physics,鈥� Dissanayake said. 鈥淚f you go faster than what is desired and there鈥檚 a collision between two or more things, the damage is going to be higher due to the higher energy dissipation. That means more injuries and more fatalities, and this is especially harmful in school zones because we are dealing with the vulnerable population of young children.鈥�

Dissanayake, who also chairs the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, received a grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation for the project, 鈥淓ffectiveness of Automated Speed Enforcement in School Zones and Guidance for Continuous Usage in Georgia.鈥�

鈥淪peed management is always a challenge for the transportation community, because if you drive, you know that we always drive above the speed limit, when conditions permit it,鈥� Dissanayake said.

Dissanayake has worked on more than 50 research projects in this area. For this project, she is looking at the crash data from the locations where there are automated speed enforcement devices versus the locations where there are not present. Additionally, she is comparing the number of crashes and the severity of these crashes.

The data Dissanayake is analyzing includes crash data, field data, and survey data. Crash data explains what happened, what time the incident occurred, and any injuries or fatalities that were reported, while field data uses the automated speed enforcement devices鈥� readings, and survey data offers the public a chance to give their opinions about their feelings toward the devices.

鈥淔or the most part, we are all drivers,鈥� Dissanayake said. 鈥淎nd especially in Georgia, everybody loves to drive fast. When it鈥檚 very congested, you can鈥檛 really speed, but if it is open, we feel free to drive faster.鈥�

In addition to supporting schools and local governments, Dissanayake鈥檚 work reinforces the importance of providing clear, evidence-based recommendations to law enforcement and transportation agencies. This means evaluating the effectiveness of policies and ensuring that public resources鈥攕uch as taxpayer dollars鈥攁re directed toward ideas that substantially improve school zone safety.

While automated speed enforcement in school zones is a heavily debated topic, Dissanayake鈥檚 research will show whether the practice has the potential to save lives and reduce injuries, especially involving school children.

鈥淭his is where policy and engineering kind of come hand in hand,鈥� Dissanayake said. 鈥淣ot every driver will like this kind of policy, but on the other hand, if we can compromise a little bit, it will improve the safety of all road users.鈥�

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 网红头条 offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. 网红头条is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. 网红头条is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.