Study Details
Study Title: Making minor rural road networks safer: The effects of 60 km/h-zones
Authors: Jaarsma et al.
Publication Date:JUL, 2011
Abstract: For safety reasons a maximum speed limit of 60 km/h has been applied to minor rural roads in the Netherlands since 1998. To support this structurally, a part of these roads have also received additional physical measures in a so-called "low cost design" that is expected to reduce the number of traffic casualties by 10-20%. This measure has been implemented as much as possible in an area oriented way. To measure the design's effectivity, road safety in 20 specific rural areas was studied for 5 years before changes were implemented and, on average, 3.5 years thereafter. The study examined 851km of roads, and a control study was done on 2105km of comparable roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h. Both the study and the control roads are managed by water boards. Results show that the measures implemented on the roads in the 60 km/h-zones had statistically significant effects (p < 0.05) on casualty accidents (-24% overall), especially at intersections (-44%). This high reduction is probably caused by the concentration of technical interventions at intersections. Both outcomes are somewhat higher than previously expected and are comparable with the outcome of a meta-analysis of safety effects on area-wide urban traffic calming schemes. However, the cost-effectiveness ratio of the 60 km/h zones measures (D 33,000 per prevented KSI-casualty) is much more favourable than the ratio in urban 30 km/h-zones (D 86,000 per prevented KSI-casualty).
Study Citation: Jaarsma, R., Louwerse, R., Dijkstra, A, de Vries, J., and Spaas, J., "Making minor rural road networks safer: The effects of 60 km/h-zones." Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 43, No. 4, Oxford, N.Y., Pergamon Press, (2011) pp. 1508-1515.
CMFs Associated With This Study
Category: Speed management
Countermeasure: Lower posted speed from 80 km/h to 60 km/h
| CMF | CRF(%) | Quality | Crash Type | Crash Severity | Roadway Type | Area Type |
|---|
| 0.82 | 18 |  | Non-intersection | K | Minor Collector | Rural |
| 0.76 | 24 | | All | K | Minor Collector | Rural |
| 0.69 | 31 | | Fixed object | K | Minor Collector | Rural |
| 0.79 | 21 | | Head on | K | Minor Collector | Rural |
| 0.44 | 56 | | Parking related | K | Minor Collector | Rural |
| 0.86 | 14 | | Truck related | K | Minor Collector | Rural |
Countermeasure: Lower posted speed from 80 km/h to 60 km/h at intersections
| CMF | CRF(%) | Quality | Crash Type | Crash Severity | Roadway Type | Area Type |
|---|
| 0.56 | 44 | | All | K | Minor Collector | Rural |
| 0.53 | 47 | | Angle | K | Minor Collector | Rural |
