A team of BGU researchers have just submitted their report recommending that speed camera deployment should continue over the entire non-urban road network in Israel. This recommendation is based upon the proven and substantial impact of speed cameras on actual driving speeds, and on the connection between speed and safety consequences that has been established in studies around the world, according to the report they submitted to the National Road Safety Authority (RSA).
Prof. Hillel Bar-Gera, Prof. Edna Schechtman, Dr. Amir Grinstein and Dr. Oren Musicant were commissioned by the RSA four years ago to evaluate the system after electronic enforcement systems began to be installed on non-urban roads. Digital enforcement cameras, for both speed and red light running, were introduced in Israel during the last four years. Up to December 2013, 21 cameras operated at road sections, and 55 at signalized intersections. Active operations started on February 4, 2012.
Using independent pneumatic speed measurements, conducted at various dates (between August 2010 and April 2014) at 14 camera installation sites, the team found that the average speed declined by 7.86 km/h (8.7%). Traffic volumes at these sites declined on average by 3.1%. Additional speed measurements were conducted on matching dates at four comparison sites, located at nearby road sections without camera installations, and an average speed increase of 0.7 km/h was found, while traffic volumes at these sites declined on average by 2.5%.
The researchers wrote, “We should take into consideration the possibility that following national installation of enforcement cameras the overall speed reduction will be somewhat more modest, for example 5% on average (this value should not be considered as a prediction)."
International research shows that a 1% reduction in average speed can be expected to reduce injury accidents by ~2%, and fatal accidents by 3-5%. Under this assumption, the safety implications are 10% reduction in all injury accidents and 15% reduction in fatal accidents, on both urban and non-urban roads.
In surveys conducted at gas stations during the four years of this research (2010-2013), the researchers asked drivers to estimate what the speed limit was (in their opinion) and what their actual speed was on the way to the gas station. Survey responses consistently showed that many drivers did not know what the speed limit was. For most drivers today (89% in 2013), their stated driving speed was not higher than their perceived speed limit. Therefore, it seems that most drivers are willing to adhere to the speed limit. The above two conclusions lead to an additional conclusion, that enhancing drivers’ awareness to the speed limit will reduce speed violations.
“The main conclusion from this research is that speed cameras have considerable influence on driver behavior. This conclusion relies on the actual change in average speed at camera sites and their vicinity, as well as on survey responses indicating that enforcement, rather than safety consideration, is the main reason to adhere to the speed limit. Therefore, extensive installations of speed cameras is expected to contribute to the safety of the road network,” Bar-Gera and his team concluded.
Bar-Gera is head of the Transportation Research Laboratory in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management.
