TY - GEN
T1 - Posted Road Speed Limits in Abu Dhabi
T2 - 18th International Road Federation World Meeting and Exhibition, 2021
AU - Albuquerque, Francisco Daniel B.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Road posted speed limits (PSL) in Abu Dhabi (AD) were raised in mid-2018. Before raising PSL by 20 kph, AD drivers were legally allowed to drive 20 kph above PSL. Thus, there was a speed buffer within which drivers would not be fined for speeding. While it has been stated (through public media) that the elimination of this speed buffer would increase safety, this paper challenges this view. This paper describes how the argument for increased safety through increased PSL quickly breaks down. The paper bases its arguments mainly on basic physics, as well as local research data and findings. More specifically, this paper not only shows how existing road design may not safely accommodate raised PSLs (or even previously lower PSLs), but also how fatal road injuries are more likely to occur on AD roads with higher design speeds. The paper also describes how increased PSL may increase the potential for liability and greenhouse gas emissions. This paper concludes that while speed buffers should have been removed, PSL should not have been increased since higher PSL may negatively affect road safety while decreasing travel times only marginally. That is, there is not much to gain from raising PSLs, but there is potentially a lot to lose. Thus, the author urges policy makers to make decisions based on science and solid evidence. This is relevant as decisions such as increasing PSL on public roads may have a significant negative impact on public health through increased injury/mortality rates and pollution levels.
AB - Road posted speed limits (PSL) in Abu Dhabi (AD) were raised in mid-2018. Before raising PSL by 20 kph, AD drivers were legally allowed to drive 20 kph above PSL. Thus, there was a speed buffer within which drivers would not be fined for speeding. While it has been stated (through public media) that the elimination of this speed buffer would increase safety, this paper challenges this view. This paper describes how the argument for increased safety through increased PSL quickly breaks down. The paper bases its arguments mainly on basic physics, as well as local research data and findings. More specifically, this paper not only shows how existing road design may not safely accommodate raised PSLs (or even previously lower PSLs), but also how fatal road injuries are more likely to occur on AD roads with higher design speeds. The paper also describes how increased PSL may increase the potential for liability and greenhouse gas emissions. This paper concludes that while speed buffers should have been removed, PSL should not have been increased since higher PSL may negatively affect road safety while decreasing travel times only marginally. That is, there is not much to gain from raising PSLs, but there is potentially a lot to lose. Thus, the author urges policy makers to make decisions based on science and solid evidence. This is relevant as decisions such as increasing PSL on public roads may have a significant negative impact on public health through increased injury/mortality rates and pollution levels.
KW - Crashes
KW - Injuries
KW - Road Safety/Design
KW - Speed management
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128886297&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85128886297&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-030-79801-7_64
DO - 10.1007/978-3-030-79801-7_64
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85128886297
SN - 9783030798000
T3 - Sustainable Civil Infrastructures
SP - 915
EP - 930
BT - Advances in Road Infrastructure and Mobility - Proceedings of the 18th International Road Federation World Meeting and Exhibition, 2021
A2 - Akhnoukh, Amin
A2 - Kaloush, Kamil
A2 - Elabyad, Magid
A2 - Halleman, Brendan
A2 - Erian, Nihal
A2 - Enmon II, Samuel
A2 - Henry, Cherylyn
PB - Springer Science and Business Media B.V.
Y2 - 7 November 2021 through 10 November 2021
ER -
