Research conducted by ATSB, MUARC, CASR and other road safety research organisations clearly demonstrate the benefits of reducing speeds on arterial roads, however there are two schools of thought on how these speed reductions could be achieved: 1. Reduce speed limits across the board and enforce the limits to obtain compliance. 2. Educate drivers on the risks associated with exceeding the speed limit, and then enforce existing limits with a reduced enforcement tolerance. In order to progress the debate on which strategy should be adopted, in April 2005 the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia commissioned market research to determine the level of community acceptance of lower speed limits on urban arterial roads, what impact drivers believed it would have on their travel time, and what attitude they would have to reduced enforcement tolerances. Subsequently most of the other motoring organisations have followed suit and this paper reviews the results of this survey and the implications of these results on the introduction of lower speed limits in Australia. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E214057. Printed volume contains peer-reviewed papers. CD-ROM contains submitted papers.
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