That is why in February 2020, governments endorsed the Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety to address speed management as a key road safety intervention, in particular to "strengthen law enforcement to prevent speeding and mandate a maximum road travel speed of 30 km/h as appropriate in areas where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix in a frequent and planned manner-- The Stockholm Declaration underscores that efforts to reduce speed have a beneficial impact on air quality and climate change as well as being vital to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries. The Stockholm Declaration based its call for low-speed streets on studies from recent decades In cities such as Graz, Austria; London, UK; New York, USA; and Toronto, Canada, which indicated that 30 km/h speed limits and zones yielded reductions - often significant - in road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths. Evidence shows that 30 km/h streets where people mix with traffic not only save lives, but also promote walking, cycling and a move towards zero-carbon mobility.
Following the Stockholm Declaration, in August 2020, heads of 194 countries at the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 74/299 "Improving global road safety" which also echoed the promise of enforcing 30 km/h as maximum speed limit.
The 30 km/h speed limits and zones are being replicated in many cities worldwide. This includes in Brussels, Paris and cities across Spain, which from 11 May 2021 mandates in all the country's municipalities 30 km/h speed limits on dual carriageways and 20 km/h on single carriageways with a pavement which does not differ in height from the road's surface. 30 km/h zones are also being put in place in sections of cities worldwide, from Bogota', Colombia to Accra, Ghana and Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
In Tanzania, road injuries reduced by as much as 26%. In Toronto, Canada, road crashes fell by 28% since speed limits were reduced from 40 to 30 km/h in 2015, which led to a reduction in serious and fatal injuries by two thirds. In Colombia, Bogota has included 30km/h zones in a package of measures in its Speed Management Plan that have reduced traffic fatalities by 32%. A study from London found that lower speed limits were associated with a 42% reduction in road casualties, while in Bristol the introduction of 20mph limits was associated with a 63% reduction in fatal injuries between 2008 and 2016.
30please.org
One of the strong advocates of maximum speed limit of 30 km/h is Lena Huda, who founded 30please.org and said to CNS (Citizen News Service) some weeks back: "I grew up in Germany, which is a car-loving nation, where the car industry is influential. However, I felt much safer there when I walked or cycled. Car drivers did not feel that they "owned" neighbourhood streets. They were watching out for kids and people riding bikes. The presence of children playing on the streets is a welcomed sight in German neighbourhoods- not a reason for an angry Facebook post that children should be "road aware" and not scoot or cycle on the road in front of cars."
Lena noticed a change when she relocated from Germany to Australia. She said to CNS "I wonder if people really have considered what it means for this generation of children to be constantly supervised and driven to places. Most children in Australia are driven to school even though most children live within 2 km of their school." She added "I am surprised that kids are not free to ride through their neighbourhoods. I have met many parents worried about road safety; many do not allow their kids to walk to school due to these concerns."
"The default speed limit in Australia is 50 km/h and around some schools we have tiny school zones with 40 km/h speed limits," said Lena Huda. "There is less than 10% risk that somebody walking will be killed at an impact speed of 30 km/h but a 85% risk at 50 km/h. That is why I founded 30please.org, a campaign for 30 km/h to be the speed limit in neighbourhoods in Australia. In Wollongong, we have set up partnerships with local organisations to get more children to walk and cycle to school and make it safer. Our kids deserve to be free to ride their bikes in their streets and build healthy habits for their life."
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