European CommissionFeb 20

A single road death is one too many.

In 2024, 19,940 people lost their lives in road crashes in the EU, a 12% drop compared to 2019.

Progress is real but not enough.

To meet our goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 and Vision Zero by 2050, we must accelerate our efforts.

We will focus on safer infrastructure, stronger enforcement, vehicle technologies, new mobility, and road safety research.

Safer roads are not optional. They are essential.

More: https://link.europa.eu/NBYq9h

Show threadDer DingsFeb 20
@EUCommission Well, you wouldn‘t need additional research if you’d finally enforce a speed limit in whole Europe including Germany.
Show threadTuukka RFeb 20

@aus_der_UBahn @EUCommission

I have heard there are occasionally traffic deaths outside Germany as well. Are you sure speed limits in Germany would decrease their number? Why?

Show threadDer DingsFeb 20
@Tuuktuuk @EUCommission You know what I mean, sorry for the wrong expression. But: I‘m shure there are loads of studies and research in all of the EU countries, and it‘s not a question of knowledge to reduce traffic deaths, but of political will. We have several studies here that found out that it‘s important to lower speed from 50 to 30 in cities, that should be valid everywhere.
Show threadWsmyr
@aus_der_UBahn @Tuuktuuk @EUCommission I believe lowering speed limits has - beyond lowering road deaths - other consequences. Time spent on roads is an economic factor. That’s why it is indeed a political issue, not a knowledge issue.
Feb 20 at 2:29pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadTuukka RFeb 20

@wsmyr @aus_der_UBahn @EUCommission

That time difference is negligible. You spend so much time in traffic lights and such, that the average door-to-door speed remains almost unchanged even if you change the urban speed limit from 50 km/h to 30 km/h.

Show threadTuukka RFeb 20

@wsmyr @aus_der_UBahn @EUCommission

Also, where there are no traffic lights a road has highest throughput at a speed of 50 km/h. Higher than that, and the distance between two cars grows so large that you lose more throughput capacity to that than you win with a higher speed.

On a road prone to jams, 50 km/h can flow just fine while 80 km/h triggers a traffic jam, slowing everything to 30 km/h!

Show threadWsmyrFeb 20
@Tuuktuuk @aus_der_UBahn @EUCommission on an individual level, yes - scaled up to millions of people, I don’t think it is negligible.
Show threadTuukka RFeb 20

@wsmyr @aus_der_UBahn @EUCommission

When you scale it up to millions of people, then the effects of microparticles and noise start having a notable economic effect. At a speed of 50 km/h the formation of microparticles, mostly from friction between tyres and asphalt, is higher than at 30 km/h, and they also spread further. They increase the number of lung illnesses, which causes higher costs than the cost of lost 1 min per driver.

Show threadTuukka RFeb 20

@wsmyr @aus_der_UBahn @EUCommission

Then, the cities also become more comfortable to walk, which increases the profit of various cafes and shops along the streets, bringing further economic benefits.

Show threadTuukka RFeb 20

@wsmyr @aus_der_UBahn @EUCommission

Driving 50 km/h in a city is considered a *lot* more relaxing than driving just 30 km/h. 30 km/h feels sluggish, 50 km/h does not.
There is no noteworthy objective difference in average speeds, but there is a comfort difference! The comfort of life of people driving cars is of course an issue that is good to take into account. The 50 vs 30 km/h is purely a comfort issue, but comfort DOES matter!

Show threadDer DingsFeb 20
@Tuuktuuk @wsmyr @EUCommission The comfort of car drivers? Man, do you live on another planet? Come to Hamburg and have a look at all the memorials along the streets where bikers and pedestrians habe been killed by car drivers! The only way to make cars safe is to ban them.
Show threadTuukka RFeb 20

@aus_der_UBahn @wsmyr @EUCommission

Well, the comfort of car drivers does matter, but to be honest, only rather very little.

It matters, but the comfort of the majority of people living in the city is more important than the comfort of the about 20% to 30% of people who use cars. Big comfort difference for 70 % is more important than a small comfort difference for 30 %.

But yeah: the added comfort for the 30 % does matter. A bit.

Show threadWsmyrFeb 20
@aus_der_UBahn @Tuuktuuk @EUCommission “The only way to make cars safe is to ban them.” Here we go again with the pub talk… what else do you want to ban to keep people safe? Public transport may work for Hamburg and many other metropolitan areas. But Europe doesn’t only consist of those. For rural areas, it is often inefficient and impractical, that is beyond questionable arguments like “comfort”.