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Slow Down Save Lives
Lowered Speed in Residential Communities
+Facts & physics
Pedestrians have a 90% chance of surviving a collision when the
impact speed is 30 km/h or less, but the likelihood of survival falls to
less than 50% when the impact speed is 45 km/h or more, and is only
20% when the impact speed is 64 km/h or more
(Pasanen, 1991; Ashton and Mackay, 1983 in WHO, 2004).
+Facts & physics
+Misconception: #1
Lowered speed in residential areas will increase my
travel time
Repeated studies have found that due to traffic congestion, lights and other
factors, more than 40% of travel time is stationary.
Increasing speed in residential areas only slightly improves travel time, while
significantly decreasing
pedestrian safety.
Source: Driving speeds and pedestrian safety Helsinki City Planning Department Traffic Planning Division
+Misconception: #2
Lowered speed without enforcement will not increase
safety – and enforcement is too costly to implement
According to the Helsinki City Planning study, “a 30 kph speed limit, without any physical
countermeasures or extended enforcement, compared with a traditional 50 kph limit, may reduce
pedestrian accident costs (risk of death) by one third.”
Camera enforcement offers an opportunity for a more cost effective method of enforcement.
The same study determined that when, “effective speed camera enforcement forces most
common drivers to comply with speed limits
on their daily trips” the pedestrian accident
costs would be reduced by 50 percent.”
Source: Driving speeds and pedestrian safety Helsinki City Planning Department Traffic Planning Division
+Misconception: #3
Pedestrians are careless: texting, listening to music, crossing
mid-street and not looking before stepping into the street.
It is their responsibility to look out for their own safety – roads are for
cars.
People make mistakes and in North America, pedestrians bear the brunt of that
responsibility. Current legal speed in residential communities exceed 60km/hr before a
ticket is granted, resulting in a greater than 50% chance of fatality if struck at that speed.
Roads were not created for cars, roads were created for people, and the responsibility is
equally shared by all road users as well as administration who design roads, to determine
safe speeds for greatest chance of survival.
As stated in the Swedish “Vision Zero”, people fail but our systems should not. “No loss of
life is acceptable.”
+Vision Zero:
“no loss of life is acceptable”
Vision Zero is an approach to road safety out of Sweden
and can be summarized in one sentence: “No loss of life is
acceptable.”
Vision Zero has “huge potential” and positive results to date with
“fatalities involving unprotected pedestrians in Sweden down by almost
50% in the last five years.”
Vision Zero Explained – click here
+Vision Zero – a concept that is
rapidly gaining momentum
New York City Boston
San Francisco Chicago
Austin Portland
Los Angeles Seattle
Sacramento Edinburgh (Scotland)
Long Beach, CA
+Why lowered speed on
residential streets
Pedestrian fatalities are on the rise in most urban centers, and more and more people are calling for measures to change
that trend.
Lowered speed is a critical outcome if we are to achieve safer streets in residential communities, as the law of physics is
universal. When streets are marked at 50km/hr, speed may exceed 60km/hr before a penalty is given.
At this speed, a pedestrian has a less than 50% survival rate.
Initiatives such as Vision Zero, support tactics and measures that encourage lowered speed, either through posted
lowered speed limits with enforcement, or physical measures such as street design.
The goal is to lesson impact and reduce injury and fatalities in areas where we live, we walk and we encourage our
children to play.
+Your feedback?
What speed would you prefer to see on residential streets? You are welcome to share your opinion on our survey:
http://slowdownsavelives.com/traffic-survey/
Sign the Petition for Calgary to slow down speeds in residential communities:
http://slowdownsavelives.com/petition/
If you have questions or would like more information, please email: SlowDownSaveLives
