Traffic Calming: The Way Ahead in Mixed Traffic

Abstract

Traffic calming is about measures to reduce vehicle speeds to below 50 km/h in order to reduce injury accidents, pollution and to make areas more liveable for people. Reduction of speed below 50 km/h is the most central measure as it both reduces risks and makes streets less attractive to car drivers. Traffic calming focuses on vulnerable road users, primarily pedestrians. In this paper, I have scrutinised efforts ever since the nineteenth century to improve safety for pedestrians. My conclusion is that lots of efforts are made, however without actually solving the basic problem, namely to strike a balance between the interests of pedestrians and the interests of motorists. The solutions have a clear tendency to give high priority to motorised traffic without improving. The safety for pedestrians is an acceptable level. One of the best examples is to make crossings—primarily zebra crossings—safe. I present an example from Sweden showing that pedestrian risks were higher on zebra crossings than on locations where there were no facilities for pedestrians. After a change of the law in the beginning of 2000, giving priority to pedestrians over motorists at zebra crossings, there was an increase of risk. This is where traffic calming comes in. By introducing effective speed reduction at the crossing the risk went down to approx. half. Round-top humps are the most effective measures, and an example from Gothenburg in Sweden shows that this kind of hump can be introduced on a very large scale and actually reduce pedestrian (and bicycle) risk significantly. The problem is that these humps are not designed optimally, thereby producing annoyance without necessarily producing the best safety outcome. Another efficient traffic calming measure is small roundabouts which can reduce severe accidents with pedestrians very significantly (up to 80% reduction) and still offers quite good mobility for all road users. Finally, a study of traffic calming in India is presented. Comparisons of the speed reduction produced with the help of humps in the city of Lund, Sweden and similar ones in the city of Jaipur, India, showed that the speed calming effect was very similar in Lund and Jaipur. This result was very encouraging in the sense that based on this it was hypothesised that traffic calming should work in a fairly similar way in India as in many countries in (primarily) Europe. Large-scale trials in India would be extremely helpful in learning more about traffic calming which could assist low- and middle-income countries in forming new strategies making life for pedestrians both safer and more liveable.