What is the "Correct" Speed Limit?

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Publicado 2024-05-05
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There's a trend towards lower speed limits in cities all over the world, but why is this happening? What is the research behind it? And what is the "correct" speed limit for cities, anyway?

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References & Further Reading

Confessions of a Recovering Engineer
Charles "Chuck" Marohn
www.confessions.engineer/

SWOV Fact sheet - The relation between speed and crashes
safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speedmgt/ref_mats/fhwasa1304/R…

Rosén, E., Stigson, H. & Sander, U. (2011). Literature review of pedestrian fatality risk as a function of
car impact speed. In: Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. 43, nr. 1, p. 25-33.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21094293/

NACTO - Impact Speed and a Pedestrian’s Risk of Severe Injury or Death
nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2011Pedestria…

Nilsson, G. (1982). The effects of speed limits on traffic accidents in Sweden. In: Proceedings of the international symposium on the effects of speed limits on traffic accidents and transport energy use, 6-8 October 1981, Dublin. OECD, Paris, p. 1-8.

Kinetic energy management in road traffic injury prevention: a call for action
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4288294/

Stopping Distance Calculator
www.omnicalculator.com/physics/stopping-distance

New crash tests show modest speed increases can have deadly consequences - IIHS News
   • New crash tests show modest speed inc...  

Speed and the Laws of Physics
Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec
web.archive.org/web/20221108022042/https://saaq.go…

Shaffer, D.M., Maynor, A.B. & Roy, W.L. The visual perception of lines on the road. Perception & Psychophysics 70, 1571–1580 (2008). doi.org/10.3758/PP.70.8.1571

Driver Reaction Time
Marc Green - Human Factors & Science
www.visualexpert.com/Resources/reactiontime.html

The Effect of Driving Speed on Driver’s Visual Attention: Experimental Investigation
link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-07515-…

The Critical Ten - Stgreets.mn
streets.mn/2015/04/02/the-critical-ten/

Zhang, W., & Peterson, M. (2011). Predicting Patterns of Potential Driver Distraction Through Analysis of Eye-Tracking Data.
onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/conferences/2011/RSS…

Why Speeding – Just a Bit – Can Be Dangerous
ARCON Forensic Engineers
arconforensics.com/system/ckeditor/attachment_file…

Serious Injuries 2018 - European Road Safety Observatory
road-safety.transport.ec.europa.eu/system/files/20…

Svenson, Ola (February 1981). "Are We All Less Risky and More Skillful Than Our Fellow Drivers?" (PDF). Acta Psychologica. 47 (2): 143–148. doi:10.1016/0001-6918(81)90005-6.

McCormick, I. A.; Walkey, F. H.; Green, D. E. (June 1986). "Comparative Perceptions of Driver Ability: A Confirmation and Expansion". Accident Analysis & Prevention. 18 (3): 205–208. doi:10.1016/0001-4575(86)90004-7. PMID 3730094.

E. Verheijen and J. Jabben, Effect of electric cars on traffic noise and safety,
RIVM report 680300009/2010, www.rivm.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/680300009.pdf

Alexander RG, Macknik SL, Martinez-Conde S. Microsaccades in Applied Environments: Real-World Applications of Fixational Eye Movement Measurements. J Eye Mov Res. 2020 May 15;12(6):10.16910/jemr.12.6.15. doi: 10.16910/jemr.12.6.15. PMID: 33828760; PMCID: PMC7962687.

Slowing city traffic cut road deaths by a quarter
www.ed.ac.uk/news/2022/slowing-city-traffic-cut-ro…

Too Fast, Too Furious: New York City’s Speeding Epidemic
transalt.org/reports-list/too-fast-too-furious-new…

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Chapters

0:00 Intro
0:45 False Start NJB Logo
0:51 Real NJB Logo
0:56 Why 30km/h?
1:33 Noise
2:27 Kinetic Energy
3:33 Mass
4:24 Microcars
5:08 Walking & Cycling
6:15 Avoiding Crashes
7:39 Visual Perception
9:00 SMIDSY
9:29 Overconfidence
9:55 "That guy"
10:20 Mobility vs Safety
11:07 Faster and Slower
12:25 Too Much Traffic?
13:07 Brainerd Traffic Lights
14:50 Removing Traffic Lights
15:56 Painfully Inefficient Stroads
16:32 Building Great Streets
17:30 Fuel Efficiency
18:33 The Benefits
19:47 Conclusion & Assholes
20:20 Ground News

Todos los comentarios (21)
  • @NotJustBikes
    Compare news coverage from diverse sources around the world on a transparent platform driven by data. Try Ground News today and get 40% off your subscription: ground.news/notjustbikes
  • @GoodStreeets
    Wait, you don't understand, I NEED to get to the next traffic light 15s faster!
  • @maoschanz4665
    you missed the correct answer to the "let's set it at 0" argument: YES there are streets where it should be 0, it's called a pedestrian area
  • @derickcastillo9083
    I was pulled over by a cop one time for doing 35 mph in a 30 mph zone. It was down hill and I was on my bicycle. The cop said that I was impeding traffic. I asked how could be impeding traffic if I was actually speeding! He said, "People want to go faster than that!"
  • @Hyziant
    “Multiple studies have shown that about 80% of people think they are an above average driver” This is probably one of my favorite stats now
  • @justinress2782
    Having trams and buses (in a separate lane) go faster has also the positive effect, that you are overtaken if you sit in a car and might think to yourself that next time you should sit in that tram instead of your car.
  • @jeremiahlee1175
    Me, an American, panicking 6 minutes in realizing that 30kph is about 18mph. There actually might be riots in the streets, I casually mention lower speed limits and some people act like I said I'm sending CPS to take their kids.
  • @alorynelftuber
    The part where you say "lets not permanently disable people to save a few minutes on your commute" hit me hard. My aunt was run over in LA while riding a bike about a decade ago and is still in a vegetative state. Then a few years ago I was in a crash myself. I got rear-ended at a light by someone who didn't stop. I lost my sense of balance from it and walk with a cane. Both times, they ran off and were never held accountable. In both cases, a reduction of speed might have saved us from life-long disabilities. My aunt wouldn't be permanently brain damaged, and I wouldn't be stuck walking with a cane so I don't fall over. Things need to change, obviously a lot more than just raw speed. Your videos give me hope that people will listen soon, and start aiming for those changes.
  • @samuellickiss8463
    I find it baffling how people think driving faster automatically means you get to your destination faster. To a point, sure, but the number of things that slow drivers down means the gains to be made by driving faster are typically minimal - roundabouts, traffic lights, tractors, cyclists, big hills, etc. The number of times I've been overtaken only to see the driver immediately need to slam on the brakes because the traffic ahead is slow... People think in that immediate moment with little awareness of the bigger picture. Basically, most people are crap drivers.
  • @4rchD1abl0
    "Well if 30 mph is safer, why not make it 0 mph?" I agree. All cars should do 0 mph in a city centre. I'm glad we had this discussion.
  • @rienksjoerdsma
    I like how we went from "that's a topic for a future video" to "watch this previous video if you want to know more".
  • @JebbyMan
    I'm an american police officer, I have worked loads of car accidents, they are awful scenes. Things I have noticed: 1: SUVs/Trucks cause more injuries on other drivers. 2: Due to an economic reliance on cars, people who shouldn't drive, are driving. I went to a traffic crash once, 2 teenagers just driving down a neighborhood street in a sedan(25 MPH/40 Km/PH speed limit) A mom in an SUV runs a stop sign turns infront of them, and they crash, which resulted in both teenage boys being transported to the ER. We need to get rid of the reliance on cars in this country
  • @empressmarowynn
    I work at a childcare center and we have to cross the parking lot twice to get to our playground. The first crossing is very short and very few cars go through it so it's pretty safe. The other one is just past the entrance and therefore every single car that enters has to go through it. There's a stop sign on either side of the crosswalk yet we constantly deal with people rolling right through it. Even when we have a group of 15 children and 4 adults taking up literally the entire space they'll still try to roll it and squeeze around us. Like dude, you can wait an additional 15 seconds for literal toddlers to finish crossing. Some of the older kids have taken to making their own stop signs and they spend part of their time in the playground standing by the fence that's right by the one sign waving them and shouting at drivers to stop. When a 5 year old knows how to obey traffic laws better than an actual licensed driver then you know it's bad.
  • @zethkarrade
    The shout out to Not Just Bikes really confused me for a second. I shall now go and touch some grass.
  • Bologna in Italy introduced an extensive 30km/h limit on many of its central roads. In two weeks they had 21% less accidents, 27% less pedestrians involved in accidents, 14 less injured people and 0 deaths (compared to 1 the previous year). In just the first two weeks
  • @Capybellie
    It's very simple. Cities are for people, not for cars. Almost every time I have seen test runs where cars are limited in a street or part of a city, the people living there, the shops, everyone was happy. But everyone not living there is complaining like someone took their car away.
  • @scoapproductions
    My town implemented 20 mph (32 kmh) speed limits on almost all streets and residential roads. They are entirely ignored by drivers and law enforcement.
  • @VulpineDemon
    From your other video on the history of Jay Walking, it really shows that cars were invented with a selfish intent in mind. Add some 50's propaganda, some 20's propaganda, sprinkle some "you need to buy our bigger vehicles to be safer in your vehicle" in the 2010s, and it all adds up to "I want to inconvenience everyone around me and only care about myself and getting to my location."
  • @hendman4083
    How creepy is it that car insurance companies actively oppose lowering speed limits?
  • @Piciusaronius971
    My first job after getting driver license was pizza delivery, In a small town in Poland. In Poland cities are mostly limited to 50 km/h, and residential areas are limited to 30 km/h, with some exceptions in bigger cities on major roads, where the limit is 70 km/h. At first, as a new driver I was speeding all the time to get the food on time, I was young and dumb. I had one client that ordered everyday and was on the other side of town (around 5-7km from the pizza spot), and one day I decided to test how much time i gain by speeding. So i took the timer, measured the time one day while speeding, and the next day I measured time without speeding. The difference was 10 seconds. I stopped speeding after that. No matter what, something is going to stop you in the town sooner or later, it can be red lights, stop sign or give way sign, turning left, roundabout, or just pedestrian walking on the crossing(you have to give way for pedestrians on crosswalks in Poland). Speeding just don't make any sense in cities, best way to save time driving in cities is to drive dynamically by paying attention to the road and going as soon as you can go, BUT NOT FAST.