Speed limit 30 throughout Germany?!
The Berlin Senate has now evaluated a model test in which five busy main roads in Berlin were designated as 30 km/h zones. The results of the test are now available: Speed limit 30 reduces pollutant emissions. The Belgian capital Brussels is also highly satisfied after one year of 30 km/h speed limits.
The majority of Berlin's roads are already subject to the 30 km/h speed limit, with the exception of main roads. But in a model project, the aim was to find out how many advantages a speed limit on these roads actually offers. The result: in addition to noise reduction and more safety in front of schools and kindergartens, the level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is also reduced.
Measurements were taken on sections of Leipziger Strasse, Kantstrasse, Hauptstrasse, Potsdamer Strasse and Tempelhofer Damm. Before the introduction of the speed limit, the level of nitrogen dioxide was between 41 and 51 micrograms per cubic metre. The evaluation of the model test showed a reduction of the pollutant by an average of 3.8 micrograms per cubic metre of air. Only on Potsdamer Strasse could no reduction be detected at all. This could be due to the fact that, because of the high volume of traffic on this road, people were already hardly driving faster than at 30 km/h. In order to be sure that the decrease in pollutants was not due to an overall cleaner car fleet, the pollutant emissions were also measured on stretches of road where the speed limit is 50 km/h. The test routes, by the way, all remain clean.
Incidentally, the tested routes all remain speed 30 zones. In addition, further main road sections will be added. It remains to be seen whether the measures will be sufficient to avoid driving bans altogether in the future.
In Brussels, a city-wide 30 km/h speed limit has been in effect for a year now, and the results are convincing: 50 per cent fewer traffic fatalities, 20 per cent fewer serious injuries and a halving of noise levels. For this reason alone, 30 km/h zones are an advantage for all road users.
Due to the positive results from the two cities, DUH demands the extension of the speed limit to all German cities.