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

Abstract

In Bogota, the speed limit in five corridors with the highest concentration of traffic crashes victims in the city was reduced from 60 to 50 km/h since November 2018. The average speed reduction in the corridors with speed management was 1.48 km/h during daytime and 3.04 km/h during nighttime. In arterial corridors without speed management, the average speed reduction was 0.7 km/h during daytime and 2.2 km/h during nighttime. The speed management measure influenced a reduction of 16.6% in the number of fatalities and an 10.5% increase of crashes with injuries. The severity of the crashes decreased. The average count of run over crashes was also reduced by 10%. Changes in the geographical distribution of crashes with injuries and fatalities along the corridors with speed management indicate the necessity to implement stricter enforcement measures to increase the effectiveness of speed management operations during nighttime.