On the 1st March 2003 the Default Urban Speed Limit (DUSL) in South Australia was lowered from 60 kilometres per hour to 50 kilometres per hour. Since this date, all urban roads have a speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour unless otherwise signed. This paper reports the results of an evaluation of the effectiveness of the reduced DUSL and is based on speed surveys and crash data analysis. The study found that, on average, mean speeds have fallen by approximately 2.2 kilometres per hour on streets where the speed limit was reduced and by 0.7 kilometres per hour on arterial roads where 60 kilometres per hour speed limit signs were erected. There was a 19.8 per cent reduction in casualty crashes on 50 kilometres per hour roads and a corresponding 4.6 per cent reduction on 60 kilometres per hour arterial roads when compared with the previous year. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E211985.
Abstract