ROAD accidents involving pedestrians dropped by more than 50 per cent in the New England region after permanent 40km/h zones were introduced.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That’s according to information from the NSW Centre for Road Safety, which shows the statistics from 2003 before the zones were implemented, and from 2015 with the zones in place.
In the 12 local government areas in the northern region, there were 27 accidents in 2003 and 12 in 2015.
There were no fatal crashes involving pedestrians in permanent 40km/h zones in any of the LGAs between these years.
Although the statistics for the individual years between 2004 and 2014 were not available, a spokesman said “the comparison between 2003 and 2015 is the most meaningful comparison, as High Pedestrian Activity Areas were established gradually from 2003 onwards.”
Centre for Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon said it was now “looking to expand the rollout of 40km/h speed zones around the state”.
“We already know that if a vehicle hits a pedestrian at 50km/h, it is twice as likely to kill them than the same vehicle travelling at 40km/h – which is why speed limits are so important,” he said.