Speed management.

285 Pages·2006·3.335 MB·English

by  OECD

SPEED MANAGEMENT
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
Speeding is the number one road safety problem in
CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT
a large number of OECD/ECMT countries. It is
responsible for around one third of the current,
unacceptably high levels of road fatalities. Speeding
has an impact not only on accidents but also on
the environment, energy consumption and quality
of life, particularly for residents in urban areas.
Reducing average speeds on the roads by only 5% will
save around 20% of current fatalities. There is good
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experience available on how to quickly reduce the
extent of speeding and thereby reduce current fatalities R
and injuries. Reduced speeding will also reduce the T
adverse environmental and social impacts associated N
with excessive speed, particularly in urban areas.
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Comprehensive measures are required which are best
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developed as part of a coordinated speed management

policy package. What contributions can be made by
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infrastructure improvements, speed limits, signing and
education, as well as by enforcement? Which are the C
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most cost-effective elements of a speed management P
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policy? What are the prospects for the use of new E
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technologies which encourage drivers to choose M
appropriate speeds and assist in achieving greater E
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compliance with speed limits? N S
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This Report, prepared by a Working Group of the Joint G E
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OECD/ECMT Transport Research Centre, addresses M R
the key issues, highlights the improvements in policy E
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and operations needed to reduce the extent T T
of speeding. It outlines a framework for achieving SPEED
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the best possible safety outcomes while protecting
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the environment and supporting sustainable mobility.
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The report is compelling reading for all those interested
MANAGEMENT
in addressing the major speed-related problems that S
are widespread in OECD/ECMT member countries and N
will become increasingly important in developing
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countries as levels of motorisation increase.
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(77 2006 02 1 P) ISBN 92-821-0377-3 2006
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT
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ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 30 democracies work together to address
the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of
efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as
corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The
Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to
common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies.
The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
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part in the work of the OECD.
OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and
research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and
standards agreed by its members.
This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The
opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official
views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries.
Also available in french under the title:
LA GESTION DE LA VITESSE
© OECD 2006
No reproduction, copy, transmission or translation of this publication may be made without written permission. Applications should be sent to OECD
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EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT (ECMT)
The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) is an inter-governmental
organisation established by a Protocol signed in Brussels on 17 October 1953. It comprises the
Ministers of Transport of 43 full Member countries: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, FRY Macedonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey,
Ukraine and the United Kingdom. There are seven Associate member countries (Australia, Canada,
Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States) and one Observer country (Morocco).
The ECMT is a forum in which Ministers responsible for transport, and more specifically inland
transport, can co-operate on policy. Within this forum, Ministers can openly discuss current problems
and agree upon joint approaches aimed at improving the use and ensuring the rational development of
European transport systems.
At present, ECMT has a dual role. On one hand it helps to create an integrated transport system
throughout the enlarged Europe that is economically efficient and meets environmental and safety
standards. In order to achieve this, ECMT assists in building bridges between the European Union and
the rest of the European continent at a political level. On the other hand, ECMT also develops
reflections on long-term trends in the transport sector, and more specifically, studies the implications
of globalisation on transport.
In January 2004, the ECMT and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) brought together their transport research capabilities by establishing the Joint Transport
Research Centre. The Centre conducts co-operative research programmes that address all modes of
inland transport and their intermodal linkages to support policy-making throughout member countries.

Also available in French under the title:
La gestion de la vitesse

Further information about the ECMT is available on Internet at the following address:
www.cemt.org
© ECMT 2006 – ECMT Publications are distributed by: OECD Publishing,
2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16, France

FOREWORD - 5
FOREWORD
Speeding on the roads is a serious societal and public health issue in all countries.
This project assesses the extent and impact of speeding in member countries, drawing on research
results and experience to date and takes into account the responses from 23 OECD and ECMT
countries to a survey conducted as part of the study.
The report focusses on the key issues related to speeding including road safety fatalities and
injuries and adverse environmental impacts, highlights the policy and operational improvements
needed and outlines a policy framework for reducing the extent of speeding on the roads. The report
puts forward research-based, policy-oriented recommendations for addressing the wide-spread
problems with speeding and its adverse impacts on fatalities and injuries as well as its impacts on the
environment and the general quality of life in developed areas.
The Speed Management report is the result of two years of work by a group of expert researchers
in the field of road traffic safety from many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) and European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) countries.
Working group members came from Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, the
United Kingdom and the United States. A complete list of participants is provided in the Appendix.
The Joint OECD/ECMT Transport Research Centre was established in January 2004. It has
50 full member countries and reports directly to Ministers, as well as to the OECD Council. The
Mandate of the Centre is as follows:
“The Centre shall promote economic development and contribute to structural
improvements of OECD and ECMT economies, through co-operative transport research
programmes addressing all modes of inland transport and their intermodal linkages in a
wider economic, social, environmental and institutional context”.
This report is one of three road safety reports prepared concurrently by the Joint OECD/ECMT
Transport Research Centre, along with Achieving Ambitious Road Safety Targets and Young Drivers:
The Road to Safety.
It is hoped that this report will assist policy-makers, road safety professionals and researchers in
addressing comprehensively the speeding problem, thereby reducing the overall impact of traffic
crashes on individuals, families, communities and societies.
SPEED MANAGEMENT – ISBN 92-821-0377-3 - © ECMT, 2006
6 – TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS REPORT
TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS REPORT
Throughout this report, the following terminology will be used:
(cid:127) Excessive speed means speeds above a prescribed speed limit.
(cid:127) Inappropriate speed means speeds too high for the prevailing conditions, but within the
speed limit.
(cid:127) Speeding encompasses both excessive and inappropriate speed.
Accident / Crash
The working group decided to use the term “accident” throughout the report, as it reflects the
terminology used in the majority of the participating countries. It is synonymous, in this report, to the
word “crash” widely used in North America and other regions.
SPEED MANAGEMENT – ISBN 92-821-0377-3 - © ECMT, 2006
ABSTRACT - 7
ABSTRACT
ITRD* NUMBER E130442
Speeding - which encompasses excessive speed (i.e. driving above the speed limits) or
inappropriate speed (driving too fast for the prevailing conditions, but within the limits) - is
dangerous. As well as being a causation factor in around one third of fatal accidents, speed is an
aggravating factor in the severity of all accidents. It has also serious consequences on the environment
and energy consumption. Speed management can be defined as a set of measures to limit the negative
effects of excessive and inappropriate speeds.
This report is the output of an expert Working Group which worked over a period of 2 years and
conducted an in-depth survey on speed management practices in OECD/ECMT countries. It analyses
the effects of speed on safety but also on the environment and the quality of life and assesses the
extent of speeding in OECD/ECMT countries. It reviews speed management measures including:
infrastructure, signs and signing, vehicle technologies, education and training, enforcement and new
technologies, such as intelligent speed adaptation. Finally, it describes how individual measures can be
combined in the framework of a speed management policy and highlights the specific needs of
developing countries in terms of speed management.
Subject Classification: Accidents and the human factor; Environment
Subject Codes: 83; 15
Keywords: accident, behaviour, cause, developing countries, driver, enforcement (law),
environment, fatality, offence, policy, research project, severity (accident, injury), social cost, speed,
speed limit, speed limiter, technology, traffic restraint, traffic sign.
* The International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) database of published information on transport
and transport research is administered by TRL on behalf of the Joint OECD/ECMT Transport Research
Centre. ITRD contains over 350 000 bibliographical references, and about 10 000 are added each year. Input
to the ITRD database is provided by more than 30 renowned institutes and organisations from around the
world. For more details about ITRD, please contact [email protected] or see the ITRD website at: www.itrd.org.
SPEED MANAGEMENT – ISBN 92-821-0377-3 - © ECMT, 2006

TABLE OF CONTENTS - 9
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD............................................................................................................................ 5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................13
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................23
References................................................................................................................................30

PART I: THE PROBLEM OF SPEED.................................................................................31
CHAPTER 2. EFFECTS OF SPEED.......................................................................................33
2.1. Introduction................................................................................................................34
2.2. Benefits of speed........................................................................................................34
2.3. Adverse impacts of speed...........................................................................................34
2.4. Effects at network level..............................................................................................48
2.5. Policy considerations..................................................................................................49
References................................................................................................................................50
CHAPTER 3. THE EXTENT OF EXCESSIVE SPEED AND OPINIONS ABOUT SPEED..53
3.1. Extent of excessive speed...........................................................................................54
3.2. Some psychological considerations related to speed...................................................57
3.3. Opinion surveys conducted in Europe and North America..........................................60
3.4. Policy considerations..................................................................................................64
References................................................................................................................................65

PART II: HOW TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF SPEEDING?..................................67
CHAPTER 4. ROAD CATEGORISATION AND ROAD ENGINEERING............................69
4.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................70
4.2 History of infrastructure speed management...............................................................70
4.3. Road function and road category as a basis for self explaining roads..........................71
4.4. Non built up areas......................................................................................................73
4.5. Transition zones.........................................................................................................74
4.6. Built up areas.............................................................................................................74
4.7. Engineering measures.................................................................................................76
4.8. Future of infrastructure measures...............................................................................82
4.9. Implementation issues................................................................................................83
4.10. Policy considerations..................................................................................................83
References................................................................................................................................84
SPEED MANAGEMENT – ISBN 92-821-0377-3 - © ECMT, 2006