Effects of reducing and enforcing speed limits in selected arterial roads in Bogota

López, José Segundo; Perez-Barbosa, David; Lleras, Natalia; Hidalgo, Darió; Adriazola-Steil, Claudia · 2021 · Crossref

DOI: 10.24908/ijesjp.v8i2.14276

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Summary

This study evaluates the impact of a Speed Management Program (SMP) implemented in Bogotá, Colombia, which reduced speed limits from 60 to 50 km/h on five arterial corridors with the highest concentration of traffic crash victims. Motivated by the city’s adoption of a "Vision Zero" approach and the identification of speeding as the primary risk factor for road fatalities, the research aims to determine the effects of this intervention on vehicle speeds, crash severity, and the geographical distribution of victims. The study also examines whether the measure influenced speeds in adjacent corridors where limits were not changed. The researchers analyzed data from November 2017 to February 2019, comparing three periods before and after the November 2018 implementation. Speed data were collected using 350 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth sensors that captured anonymous mobile device signals, providing nearly 1.46 million records. Crash data from 2014 to 2019 were categorized by severity (injuries vs. fatalities) and type (run-overs, collisions, others). The analysis compared the five managed corridors against 13 control corridors without speed management, utilizing statistical tests to assess significance in speed changes and crash distributions. Results indicated that average speeds in managed corridors decreased by 1.48 km/h during daytime and 3.04 km/h during nighttime. Control corridors also saw reductions, averaging 0.7 km/h during the day and 2.2 km/h at night, suggesting a city-wide trend or spillover effect. Crucially, the SMP led to a 16.6% reduction in fatalities in the targeted corridors. However, the number of crashes with injuries increased by 10.5%. The study attributes this to a reduction in crash severity rather than frequency; specifically, run-over crashes, which are often fatal, decreased by 10%. The data revealed that nighttime speed reductions were more pronounced and correlated with the drop in fatalities, whereas daytime changes were less significant. The findings highlight that while speed limit reductions effectively save lives by reducing crash severity, they may not reduce the total number of injury incidents. The geographical analysis suggested a "risk compensation" phenomenon, where crash hotspots shifted to nearby locations lacking enforcement, indicating that stricter nighttime enforcement is necessary to maximize effectiveness. The study concludes that aligning speed limits with road context is a vital public health measure, particularly for protecting vulnerable users in low-income areas, but requires comprehensive enforcement to prevent the displacement of risk.

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• speed management

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• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes