Speed Management: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners

This manual is part of a series produced as a follow-up to UN Resolutions on road safety and World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention, which call for addressing key road safety risk factors by UN Member States. Speeding causes up to 40% of road fatalities, making it the most serious road safety problem in many countries. The higher the speed, the longer the required stopping distance, and the less time the driver will have to react to a hazard. In the case of a collision, more kinetic energy has to be absorbed in a high speed impact, making it more violent. Making the drivers aware of the risks involved, improving compliance with speed limits and reducing unsafe driving speeds are not easy tasks. The manual provides step-by-step guidance on why speed management is important, how to assess the situation in a country, how to design, plan and implement a programme, including obtaining funding, setting up a working group, developing an action plan, introducing legislation, as well as how to monitor and evaluate the programme. It also looks at how engineering, enforcement and educational measures may influence speed management. Case studies illustrating examples of successful and non-successful initiatives are presented throughout the manual.