Built Environment Characteristics and Driving Speed in 30 Km/h Zones - A Dutch National Analysis

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

Road authorities are systematically expanding 30 km/h zones to enhance safety, yet evidence on how built environment characteristics relate to driving speeds on 30 km/h streets remains limited. Using a spatial error model, this study analyzes the association between built environment factors and 85th percentile speeds on 47,000 km of Dutch 30 km/h streets. Results connect higher speeds with traffic volume, street length, and specific roadway and cycle infrastructure, while curves, speed humps, raised intersections, and tighter road geometry relate to lower speeds, with context-dependent interaction effects guiding interventions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Speed management in the Safe System approach

Safety rationale for 30 km/h in residential areas

Evidence gaps and study purpose

Utrecht University Repository | Title | Built environment characteristics and driving speed in 30 km/h zones: A Dutch national analysis | | --- | --- | | Authors | Schepers , P; Van Loo , W; Mieras , W; Drolenga , H ; De Waard , D; Helbich , Marco | | Published in | Traffic Safety Research | | Publication Date | 2025 | | Link | [https://dspace.library. uu. nl/handle/1874/475686](https://dspace.library. uu. nl/handle/1874/475686) | | Citation | Schepers , P, Van Loo , W, Mieras , W, Drolenga , H , De Waard , D & Helbich , M 2025 , ' Built environment characteristics and driving speed in 30 km/h zones: A Dutch national analysis', Traffic Safety Research, vol. 9, e000091 . [https://](https://)[ ](https://)[doi.org/10.55329/dlam1892](doi.org/10.55329/dlam1892) | | Versions / License | Publisher version | | Rights | [https://www. uu. nl/en/university-library/license-and-reuse-conditions](https://www. uu. nl/en/university-library/license-and-reuse-conditions) | Research article Built Environment Characteristics and Driving Speed in 30 Km/h Zones: A Dutch National Analysis Paul Schepers1a, Werner van Loo2, Wouter Mieras3, Hans Drolenga3, Dick de Waard4, Marco Helbich5 1 Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Netherlands, 2 National Road Traffic Data Portal, the Netherlands, 3 Sweco, the Netherlands, 4 University of Groningen, the Netherlands, 5 Utrecht University, the Netherlands Keywords: 30 km/h zone, driving speed, road safety, Safety Performance Indicators, traffic calming [https://doi.org/10.55329/dlam1892](https://doi.org/10.55329/dlam1892) Road authorities are systematically expanding 30 km/h zones to enhance safety. This requires understanding how built environment characteristics are associated with driving speeds, but only a few studies, typically based on small samples, focus on 30 km/h streets. Using a spatial error model, this study examines the relationship between built environment factors and 85th percentile speeds on 47,000 km of Dutch 30 km/h streets (N=159.000). Driving speed and traffic volume data were estimated using floating car data, while built environment characteristics were collected from public sources. The results show that higher driving speeds are associated with greater traffic volumes, longer street lengths, closed pavement, separated bicycle tracks, visually marked bicycle lanes, and longer road sections. Features linked to lower driving speeds include curves, speed humps, raised intersections, exit constructions at zone entrances, narrower carriageways, roadside parking, nearby premises, and higher address densities. Furthermore, the identified interaction effects show that measures like speed humps and raised intersections have greater impacts in high-speed environments (i.e. long and busy streets with closed pavement) but limited effects in low-speed settings. These findings emphasize the need to consider combinations of road design elements and their context-dependent effects to understand driving speed on 30 km/h streets. Out study provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of speed-reduction measures, offering guidance for interventions targeting streets with excessive speeds. 1. Introduction Speed management plays a central role in the Safe System approach for road safety, as it directly impacts the likelihood and severity of crashes (Aarts & Van Schagen, 2006) . For residential areas where motorized traffic is typically mixed with vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists, a safe speed is no higher than 30 km/h (Tingvall & Haworth, 1999) or even lower according to Lubbe et al.(2022) if the goal is avoid most severe road injuries. Studies show that for pedestrians and cyclists, the risk of death atan impact speed of 50 km/h is about five times higher than at 30 km/h (Hussain et al., 2019; Nie et al., 2015) . According to meta-analyses and systematic reviews, area-wide urban traffic-calming schemes in residential areas reduce inju

FAQs

What is the main goal of this study on 30 km/h zones?

To examine how built environment characteristics are associated with driving speeds, specifically 85th percentile speeds on Dutch 30 km/h streets.

Which data sources and modeling approach are used?

Driving speed and traffic volume are estimated using floating car data, while built environment characteristics are collected from public sources. A spatial error model is applied.

What built environment features are associated with higher versus lower driving speeds?

Higher speeds are linked to greater traffic volumes, longer street lengths, closed pavement, separated bicycle tracks, visually marked bicycle lanes, and longer road sections. Lower speeds are linked to curves, speed humps, raised intersections, zone-entrance exit constructions, narrower carriageways, roadside parking, nearby premises, and higher address densities.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Angel