With effect from 1 October 1985, the general 60kph speed limit in built-up areas in Denmark was reduced to 50kph. This paper discusses the results in terms of accidents and speeds. The accident analysis was performed on the available quarterly accident data as a before-and-after study with a control group. The `before' period consisted of the 39 quarters from January 1976 to September 1985; the `after' period ran for the 9 quarters from October 1985 to December 1987. The control group consisted of accident data from Danish rural areas. It was found that fatalities were reduced by 24.1% and personal injury accidents decreased by 8.7%. Mean speeds fell by 3kph to 4kph. The paper includes several tables and charts of trends in accident statistics.
Abstract