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Abstract

This paper presents a study evaluating the power model of the relationship between speed and road safety. The power model states that a given relative change in the mean speed of traffic is associated with a relative change in the number of accidents or accident victims by means of a power function. An extensive review of relevant literature has been made, and evidence from 98 studies containing 460 estimates of the relationship between changes in speed and changes in the number of accidents or accident victims has been synthesized by means of meta-analysis. The results are broadly supportive of the power model. It is concluded that speed has a major impact on the number of accidents and the severity of injuries and that the relationship between speed and road safety is causal, not just statistical.

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Speed and Road Safety

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