Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among young people. Lowering speed limits in any community save lives. The United Nations are urging policy makers to implement 30km/h speed limits in urban areas with the campaign Streets For Life #Love30.
May 17-23 is this year’s Global Road Safety Week, a campaign by the UN and World Health Organisation highlighting the importance of safe roads.
Addressing road safety is crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular those affecting health security, sustainable cities, poverty and reducing inequalities.
The number one cause
The risk of someone dying in a traffic incident increases significantly with speed. In high-income countries, speed contributes to about a third of deaths on the roads.
Above 30 km/h impact speeds, pedestrians are at considerably greater risk of death. This is even greater for the young and elderly. In the distance a 30km/h car can stop, a 50km/h car is still driving. Additionally, higher speeds narrow motorists’ peripheral vision and impact their reaction times.
Europe has already slowed down
Road traffic deaths are not evenly distributed across the world. Low- and middle income countries represent 90 percent of the world’s road traffic deaths, even though people in these countries only own about half of the world’s vehicles.
Most European countries have good speed limit laws, according to the WHO with the criteria of no more than 50km/h in urban areas and local authorities allowed to modify national speed limits.
Slowing down will also help with combatting climate change. For example, Sweden reported that the most effective tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles were their speed camera program.
In addition, speed reductions would help reduce traffic related pollution, including noise pollution. It increases efficiency, by vehicle maintenance costs and reduces fuels costs.
Global Road Safety Week and Love 30
Campaigns are an important tool to raise awareness on the dangers of speeding and benefits of lowering speed limits. The Global Road Safety Weeks have been held periodically since 2007.
The 2021 campaign marks the 6th campaign and advocates for Streets for Life by making 30 km/h speed limits the norm for cities worldwide in places where people mix with traffic.
Everyone is welcome to join the campaign using the hashtags #Love30 #StreetsForLife or sign an open letter ahead of next year’shigh-level meeting among world leaders on road safety. The open letter aims to send a message ahead of the meeting to bring a united message demanding streets for life.
