60 km/h not enough? Paris implements 30 km/h speed limit

Speed limits play an important role in making the roads safer. It helps reduce the number of accidents by allowing motorists to react to the changes in the flow of traffic more efficiently. It also makes the streets safer for all road users, which includes cyclists, and pedestrians.  

Slower speeds aim to lessen accidents

As such, Paris is implementing a 30 km/h speed limit that aims to trim down accidents, reduce noise, and lessen pollution. It is said that 60 percent of the city is already implementing the 30 km/h speed limit. Of note, a poll revealed that 59 percent of Parisians are in favor of the said speed limit. 

However, not all streets in Paris will follow the 30 km/h speed limit. Several key routes are not covered by the said speed limit, which includes Champs Elysées that has a 50 km/h speed limit, and the Boulevard Périférique (70 km/h).  

Limiting the speed to 30 km/h is a global campaign that was launched last May 2021 during the 6th UN Global Road Safety Week. The campaign is called Streets for Life, which calls on policy-makers to set the vehicle’s speed limit to 30 km/h on streets where there are a high number of pedestrians and cyclists. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that low-speed streets in urban areas translate to safer, more environmentally friendly, and livable cities. The WHO added that more than 1.3 million people die in road traffic crashes every year, which is one person every 24 seconds. WHO claims that excessive speed is one of the main factors contributing to the road traffic injury problem.  

Streets for Life campaign is calling for a 30 km/h speed limit

The organization goes on by saying that 40 to 50 percent of individuals drive above the speed limit, with every 1 km/h increase in speed resulting in a four to five percent increase in fatal crashes. 

“We need a new vision for creating safe, healthy, green, and liveable cities. Low-speed streets are an important part of that vision. As we recover and rebuild from COVID-19, let’s make safer roads for a safer world,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

Aside from Paris, the 30 km/h speed limit is already being implemented in several cities worldwide including Brussels in Belgium as well as several cities across Spain. The said speed limit is also being put in place in Bogota in Colombia, Accra in Ghana, and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam.

On the other hand, the Philippines’ Department of Transportation (DOTr) expressed its support to the global campaign to limit speeds at 30 km/h in urban areas. 

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