Traffic Calming as a Comprehensive Solution Improving Traffic Road Safety

Abstract

The purpose of the article is presentation of various aspects of improvement of traffic calming solutions on traffic safety and the results of implementations of these solutions. The paper is a review of methods and measures on improving traffic safety. The main implementation criterion of traffic calming solutions to improve the state is often urban traffic safety. Traffic calming solutions significantly reduce the number of accident victims (ie. fatalities and serious injuries). The key to achieving these effects is reducing speed, adjusting speed to street character and function, and transforming road and street infrastructure, which forces to drive slower and improves the quality of the urban environment. The implementation of the area conception of traffic calming is often linked to the process of urban transformation and revitalization of the area. Solutions of traffic calming in Poland in all forms including: zones 50, zones 30-40, inhabitant zones (20 km/h) as well as shared spaces improve the traffic safety, reduce the accident risk and simultaneously improve the environmental conditions of residential areas, promote the increasing of cycling, public transport and pedestrian traffic as well the aesthetics of the urban landscape. The best results bring solutions of traffic calming on the implementation on the transit roads passing through the small cities and in urban centres. The effectiveness of solutions of traffic calming in the aspect of safety must be systematically evaluated, due to their relaxation, because drivers get used to it and increase the speed of travel.