Evaluation of speed cameras finds reduction in injury crashes

A before and after study by the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics, Transportøkonomisk institutt (TOI) of 223 speed cameras that were installed between 2000 and 2010 in Norway found a statistically significant reduction of injury crashes by 22 per cent on road sections between 100 metres upstream and one kilometre downstream of the speed cameras. For killed and severely injured (KSI) and on longer road sections none of the results are statistically significant. However, speed cameras that were i
January 30, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A before and after study by the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics, Transportøkonomisk institutt (TOI) of 223 speed cameras that were installed between 2000 and 2010 in Norway found a statistically significant reduction of injury crashes by 22 per cent on road sections between 100 metres upstream and one kilometre downstream of the speed cameras.

For killed and severely injured (KSI) and on longer road sections none of the results are statistically significant. However, speed cameras that were installed in 2004 or later were found to reduce injury crashes and the number of KSI on road sections from 100 m upstream to both one kilometre and three kilometres downstream of the speed cameras. Larger effects were found for KSI than for injury crashes and the effects decrease with increasing distance from the speed cameras.

At the camera sites (100 metres up- and downstream) crash reductions are smaller and non-significant, but highly uncertain and may be underestimated. The study has controlled for trend, volumes, and changes of speed limits and other road characteristics.

Regression to the mean is controlled for by using the Empirical Bayes method.
Enforcement

Related Content

  • Need for balance on UK speed enforcement funding cuts
    February 2, 2012
    Trevor Ellis, Chairman of the ITS UK Enforcement Interest Group, considers the implications of the UK Government's decision to withdraw funding for road safety camera partnerships
    Read More
  • Transport Scotland opts for Vysionics average speed enforcement
    April 23, 2014
    Traffic control specialist Vysionics ITS has won a deal to deliver Europe’s longest average speed enforcement system. This will be installed on a 220km stretch of the A9 in Scotland. The installation will be the first time average speed cameras will have been used on such a long stretch of road on a permanent basis, rather than for short term use during road repairs. The current road configuration is a mixture of single and dual carriageway which carries a high proportion of HGV traffic. Part of the lon
    Read More
  • Study finds speed cameras cut fatal accidents
    March 15, 2012
    In the first study of its kind in Qatar, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha (WCMC-Q) have found a dramatic decrease in fatal motor injuries following the deployment of speed cameras. The research – Motor vehicle injuries in Qatar: time trends in a rapidly developing Middle Eastern nation – has been published in the peer-reviewed British medical journal, Injury Prevention. Most speed cameras in Qatar were installed during 2007, giving researchers the opportunity to examine injury rates befo
    Read More
  • RAC survey shows big safety gains with average speed enforcement
    January 11, 2017
    Cheaper and easier communications are providing authorities with new options for influencing driver behaviour. Colin Sowman reports. It’s official; Average speed cameras (ASCs) cut the number of fatal or serious injury crashes by more than a third.
    Read More

Highlighted Content