Several places in Norway will now consider making zones with speed limits of 30 km/h permanent and more widespread. The experience is good, the explanation is.
Drivers should be prohibited from driving faster than a small moped. That is, 30 km/h.
This kind of ban is now being imposed in several places in Norway, following a study by
The Danish Institute of Transport Economics (TØI) has investigated the effect of prohibiting drivers from driving faster than 30 km/h.
This is reported by the news agency NTB.
– Speeds decreased and the number of traffic accidents was significantly reduced in all the cities we found data from, says Aud Tennoy, research manager for urban development and urban transport at TØI.
It looked at European cities that have introduced 30 km/h in a larger number of areas, entire cities or as a general speed limit without simultaneously introducing physical speed-reducing measures such as speed bumps or road narrowing.
According to the Norwegian researchers, virtually no drivers would mind being banned from driving more than 30 km/h.
– The results are robust across the cities we have data from. Our assessment is that the initiative can be expected to have effects that contribute to more sustainable urban development also in other cities that implement it, including Norwegian cities, says Tennoy.
Now the Danish Public Roads Administration will look at the report, for a number of recommendations for traffic regulations in Norway, possibly landing on the table of national politicians.
Not everyone thinks that 30 km/h is a good idea. According to TØI, the concerns are primarily based on a fear that Norwegians will move more slowly with a new ban.
There are also doubts about whether drivers will even comply with such a low speed limit, and whether the proposal from the researchers is contrary to Norwegian legislation.
TØI also concludes that passengers on public transport in particular will have to put up with longer travel times. However, the consequences of the longer travel times are not great enough for the researchers to withdraw their recommendation for a ban.
¨However, we don't need to look all the way to Norway to find hatred for drivers in general. Here at home, a politician in Odense municipality has even admitted that they are setting the speed limit in the city down to 20 km/h to inconvenience drivers as much as possible. Read more about it here .
