Paper presented at the 33rd Annual Southern African Transport Conference 7-10 July 2014 "Leading Transport into the Future", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.
International research indicates that decreasing speed limits in urban areas is a reliable
means of reducing traffic injuries/deaths. This research project synthesizes the literature
around urban speed limits, and questions why SA urban limits remain at 60km/h when
international good practice suggest that lower levels offer improved protection for all road
users. The project has two distinct components: the first is the development of a
comprehensive discourse about the role of speed in crashes, and the proven effects of
reducing speeds on injury levels. The second involves a qualitative evaluation of the
positions and attitudes of road authorities in South Africa (engineers and policy makers) to
determine levels of knowledge, attitudes and practical obstacles that may influence the
adoption of lower speed limits. The research shows that there is only partial appreciation
for the safety benefits achievable through reduced urban limits. Further, among those
professionals who reflected an awareness of such benefits internationally there appears to
be a degree of skepticism that reduced speed limits in South Arica would bring similar
benefits. This suggests that the knowledge of how speed limit reductions can work – and
indeed have worked - to reduce crashes, is possibly limited.
