Making minor rural road networks safer: The effects of 60 km/h-zones

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 851 km of roads, and a control study was done on 2105 km 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 (€33,000 per prevented KSI-casualty) is much more favourable than the ratio in urban 30 km/h-zones (€86,000 per prevented KSI-casualty).

► Area wide 60 km/h-zones in a low cost design have been applied to minor rural roads.
► Safety in 20 rural areas improved significantly compared with similar 80 km/h-roads.
► Casualty accidents decreased with 24% overall and with 44% on intersections.
► Prevention of 1 killed or injured victim costs €33000, where urban zones need €86000.
► Traffic calming additional to present speed management may further increase safety.