GRSP/MOT speed management pilot project in China

Speeding and inappropriate speed are recognized as major contributory factors in both the number and severity of traffic crashes in most of the countries in the world including China. Working together with the Research Institute of Highway (RIOH) of the Ministry of Transport (MOT), Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) carried out a 4- year speed management project in China during 2008-2011. The project was divided into 2 phases: phase I – speed management situational survey at 6 different road segments in Beijing and Guangxi Province; phase II – implementation and evaluation of speed management Intervention countermeasures at G103 highway in Beijing. The objectives of the project are: a) to better understand the speed related problems on the selected road sections; b) to implement the international good practice on speed management based on the local needs; c) to use low engineering cost countermeasure to reduce speeding rate and improve the safety on the selected road section. The before-after comparison shows that low cost engineering countermeasures make spot speed reduce by 5 km/h for mean speed and 7km/h for V85 (85 percentile speed) approximately on general road section; for pedestrian crossings, the corresponding figure is about 7 km/h and 12km/h.