Improving road safety in difficult times

Suggestions for improving road safety in difficult times include speed reduction.
By MJ Woof April 8, 2020 Read time: 1 min
20 is plenty, according to health researchers – image © courtesy of Adam Hill

Suggestions are being put forward on how best to optimise road safety in these difficult times, when hospitals are under pressure due to the Corona Virus. One important suggestion from a group of five health researchers is that speed limits should be reduced in all urban areas to 20mph/30km/h. Meanwhile speed limits on dual carriageways and motorways should be reduced to 50mph/80km/h according to the researchers.

Lowering speed limits will ensure that any collisions that do occur will be less severe, reducing the risk of crash victims requiring hospitalisation. Crash impact data also shows that lower speed limits also reduce the incidence of collisions.

The five researchers made their call for lowering speed limits in an article published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

The group also pointed out that in countries where speed limits have been reduced, there has been an ensuing drop in road crash numbers and also in the severity of any impacts, with an overall reduction in deaths and injuries.

Highway & Network Management

Related Content

  • Road safety improvements and challenges worldwide
    May 24, 2012
    Road safety is again hitting the headlines worldwide, with new data showing accident reductions being achieved as well as highlighting areas for improvement. Several European nations showed major safety improvements. In Spain, the Home Affairs Office has published encouraging information revealing that the number of fatalities from car accidents fell in 13 out of the country's 17 autonomous regions during 2010. La Rioja region reported a drop of 47%, the best improvement in Spain, while the regions of Astur
    Read More
  • Focusing on workzone safety systems
    March 16, 2012
    The US has seen a major reduction in deaths following accidents in its highway construction work zones, while Europe and other parts of the world are looking at new safety technology and systems to trigger a similar trend. Guy Woodford reports. Work in the US to reduce the likelihood of potentially fatal accidents at highway work zones is paying dividend.
    Read More
  • Improve highway barriers to cope with higher speed
    February 24, 2012
    The UK association Britpave, the British In-situ Concrete Paving Association group, is keen to ensure that the country’s major highways will be able to cope with proposed speed limit increases. According to Britpave much of the UK motorway central reservation barriers may not be fit-for-purpose if the speed limit is increased from112-128km/h (70-80mph) as proposed recently.
    Read More
  • Better road safety can save lives worldwide
    January 24, 2017
    Road safety is an issue that rarely grabs headlines, although it is something that affects people around the globe. Road deaths account for a shockingly high percentage of deaths worldwide, with the risks being particularly high in developing countries. This poses such a threat to public health that the United Nations has been taking steps to address the issue, commencing with its Decade of Action on Road Safety in 2010. The focus has been on developing countries, due to the rapid increase in road deaths in
    Read More

Highlighted Content