SPEED LIMITS AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH

The author discusses the effect of speed limits upon accident rates, and considers that all evidence shows that lower speed limits produce less accidents of a less serious nature. It is considered to be imprudent to raise speed limits again without consulting a medical organization. A detailed analysis of accident rates between November 1973 and July 1975 shows highly significant reductions in injury accident rates on motorways and all-purpose roads. It was stated that compliance with existing limits had fallen off recently because of enforcement difficulties, but a 10 per cent increase in the accident rate was claimed during the last quarter of 1976. From the public health point of view, it is also important to appreciate that the effect of speed restrictions is most apparent in the more serious accidents. Although the main argument for imposing the speed restrictions, that of fuel economy is no longer valid, the author suggests that the reduction of accidents produced by the speed restrictions is a more powerful argument for their retention. /TRRL/

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00071447
• Corporate Authors:

  British Medical Association

  BMA House, Tavistock Square
  London WC1H 9JR,   United Kingdom 
• Publication Date: 1977-4-23

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 1045-46
• Serial:
  • BMJ
  • Volume: 1
  • Issue Number: 6068
  • Publisher: British Medical Association
  • ISSN: 0959-8138
  • Serial URL: http://www.bmj.com/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash rates; Crash severity; Freeways; Highways; Injuries; Injury severity; Law enforcement; Public health; Speed limits; Traffic control
• Uncontrolled Terms: Enforcement
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 1612: Accident rate; 1534: Enforcement (law); 2755: Highway; 2163: Injury; 2752: Motorway; 1623: Severity (accid, injury); 624: Speed limit; 8119: United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00163158
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Report/Paper Numbers: Analytic
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 16 1978 12:00AM