Emerging effects around the world

Edinburgh

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh worked with the City of Ediburgh Council in 2019 to gauge the effectiveness of 20 mph restrictions .The study found that a reduction of not only speed but road traffic collisions was achieved across Edinburgh, even without extra traffic-calming measures and police patrols – making the scheme cost-effective. Similar evidence was found in the 20 mph speed limits in Bristol (Bornioli, 2019) .

Netherlands / Norway / Finland

In the Netherlands in 1993, an analysis of 150 30 km/h zones without through traffic and with sufficient speed-reduction measures found an average decrease in the number of injury crashes of 22%.

Oslo in Norway and Helsinki in Finland have both deployed 30 km/h zones effectively as a key part of the success in reducing cyclist and pedestrian deaths to zero in 2019.

Stockholm Declaration

The Stockholm declaration, 2020, was adopted by governments globally, calling to mandate a maximum road travel speed of 20 mph in areas where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix in a frequent and planned manner. Lower speeds in cities, towns and villages are internationally recognised as a key element in reducing road casualties. Speed limits affect everyone, not only motorists and their passengers but pedestrians, cyclists, and communities. As well as influencing safety and risk they can influence quality of life and the environment we live in.

Spain

In May 2021, Spain introduced a new speed limit of 30 km/h on single-lane urban roads in towns and cities. A first evaluation of crash data for the year 2021 compared with 2019 shows that the number of deaths in road crashes on urban roads has decreased by around 25%, which means 97 fewer deaths. The number of fatal pedestrian crashes went down by 32%. Regarding cyclists, the reduction was equal to 48%. These first results communicated by the General Traffic Directorate of Spain are very promising, and the impact of the 30 km/h urban speed limit across the country will be further assessed over time.