Dutch municipal authorities have been able to institute a maximum speed of 30 km/h roads in zones within built-up areas, since the year 1984. The safety effects of 30 km/h zones are positive. In order to be sure about this, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works has encouraged 15 municipalities to implement a 30 km/h zone and to design an evaluation of the safety effects of these zones. The evaluation research is coordinated by the SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research. The evaluation concerns the changes in: (1) speed; (2) traffic flows; (3) opinions of residents; (4) conflicts; and (5) accidents. It appears that the total number of accidents after the introduction of the 30 m/h zone measure had dropped by 10 to 15%. 30 m/h zone measure had dropped by 10 to 15%. With respect to the number of injury accidents, there were indications that the reduction may have amounted to double that figure. Due to the limited scale of this study, the effects demonstrated a large spread. In general, there has been a speed reduction in the experimental areas. More than 80% of the residents preferred the 30 km/h zone to the situation before its introduction. It is recommended to realise 30 km/h zones on a large scale in The Netherlands.
Abstract