Safety effects of 30 km/h zones in the Netherlands.

Since 1983, Dutch municipal authorities can institute a maximum speed of 30 km/h on roads or in zones within built-up areas. The safety effects of 30 km/h zones are supposed to be positive. In order to be sure about this, the Ministry of Transport has stimulated 15 municipalities to implement a 30 km/h zone and set up an evaluation ofthe safety effects of these zones. The evaluation research is coordinated by the Institute for Road Safety Research (SWOV). The evaluation concerns the changes in traffic flows, opinions of residents, conflicts, and accidents. This paper gives the results of the evaluation. (A)