Does reducing a speed limit by just 10km/h really make a difference?

When WA reduced local street speed limits from 60km/h to 50km/h in 2001, pedestrian crashes in Perth fell dramatically. Now, as more councils consider 40km/h limits on local roads, the debate around safer speeds is back in focus.

In this episode, David Elston (RAC Manager Road Safety Policy) and Tim Judd (PJA Road Safety Engineer & Strategic Transport Planner) discuss the science of speed, crash survivability, common myths about lower speed limits, Perth’s Inner City Safer Speed Zone Project, and the broader benefits slower speeds can bring to neighbourhoods and activity centres.

Chapters:(00:00) Introduction, WA’s road safety problem and fatality statistics

(01:16) Guest introductions, Tim Judd  and David Elston 

(02:00) City of Vincent as the first inner-city council to trial 40km/h

(02:40) COVID’s unexpected role in extending the North Perth speed trial

(04:15) How speed reduction improves road safety

(06:00) Stopping distances compared, 50km/h vs 40km/h

(07:00) Kinetic energy explained, why speed has an outsized impact on survival

(07:40) Pedestrian survival rates at 50km/h vs 40km/h vs 30km/h

(09:10) Research into survivability across different crash types

(11:15) 10km/h speed reduction linked to 30% fewer deaths and serious injuries

(12:25) Benefits beyond safety, noise, amenity, and community liveability

(14:45) The piecemeal problem, why network-wide limits are more effective

(25:40) The Margaret River Safer Speeds trial explained

(29:05) Perth inner-city councils expected to adopt 40km/h permanently

(33:20) What success looks like, kids walking to school, al fresco dining, liveable streets

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