Skip to main content

Fewer UK pedestrians killed as drivers stop speeding

Latest road safety figures from the UK Department for Transport (DfT) show that compliance with 30mph (48km/h) urban speed limits continues to improve while pedestrian fatality levels are falling.
April 19, 2012 Read time: 1 min
RSSLatest road safety figures from the UK 1837 Department for Transport (DfT) show that compliance with 30mph (48km/h) urban speed limits continues to improve while pedestrian fatality levels are falling.

In 1998, 69 per cent of cars were driven faster than the limit in 30mph zones in free-flow conditions: by 2010 this had dropped to 46 per cent. Those exceeding 40 mph in a 30mph limit has halved since 2003, now down to 16 per cent. At the same time, traffic levels are declining on all types of road, a trend observed from 2006 onwards.

Pedestrian fatalities have also reduced significantly, down 40 per cent since 2005 from 671 to 405. Ninety-six per cent of pedestrian accidents happen on urban roads.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Measuring alertness to avert drowsy driver incidents
    December 21, 2015
    Falling asleep at the wheel is the primary cause in thousands of deaths on American and other roads, with truck drivers the most at-risk group. David Crawford investigates measures to counter drowsy driving.
  • Airborne traffic monitoring - the future?
    March 1, 2013
    A new frontier in the quest to monitor road traffic is opening up… but using airborne drones to reduce the jams comes with some thorny issues. Chris Tindall reports. Imagine if you could rely on a system that provided all the data you needed to regulate traffic flow, route vehicles and respond swiftly to emergencies for a fraction of the cost of piloting a helicopter. That system exists, but as engineers and traffic managers start to explore the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – more commonly k
  • Cost benefit: Toronto retimings tame traffic trauma
    July 11, 2018
    Canada’s largest city reckons that it is saving its taxpayers’ money simply by altering the way traffic lights work. David Crawford reviews Toronto’s ambitious plans to ease congestion. Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis (and the fourth largest in North America), has saved its residents CAN$53 (US$42.4) for every CAN$1 (US$0.80) spent over a 2012-2016 traffic signal retiming programme, according to figures released by its Transportation Services Division. The programme covered 1,275 signals (the city’s to
  • Development banks pledge US$175 billion for clean transport
    June 21, 2012
    Eight of the world’s largest multilateral development banks (MDBs) banks yesterday pledged to invest US$175 billion over the next 10 years to support sustainable transport in developing countries. The pledge was made at the UN Sustainable Development Conference in Rio de Janeiro (Rio+20) by the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, CAF- Development Bank of Latin America, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Islamic Developme