Speed is a major factor in overall road safety performance. Excessive and inappropriate speed is accountable for about one third of fatal collisions and is an aggravating factor in most collisions. 2,100 lives could be saved each year if the average speed dropped by only 1 km/h on all roads across the EU.Part I of this report examines the latest data on speed observations and speed enforcement activities from across the EU and other countries that form part of ETSC’s Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) programme. It also looks at the main measures of speed management at national level, including safe and credible speed limits and speed limit enforcement. It gives examples of policies that have led to progress in speed management and outlines areas for improvement. Part II looks at how the EU can contribute to better speed management, including mandating vehicles that help drivers to comply with speed limits, road safety performance indicators (SPI), safer road infrastructure and improved cross-border enforcement of traffic laws. Recommendations for national and EU policymakers are made throughout and a shorter list of priority measures is given at the end of the executive summary. To accompany this report an analysis by Henk Stipdonk 'The mathematical relation between crash risk and speed; a summary of findings based on scientific literature' is published at www.etsc.eu/pinflash36. (Author/publisher)
Abstract