Researchers from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) are proposing nation-wide 40km/h speed limits for local streets, down from the current 50km/h.

Mariana Alexander and Dr Mark King from QUT’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety (CARRS-Q), believe the speed reductions for local streets will save lives and create more liveable communities.

Alexander said: “We say 50km/h is too high for local streets, which is why we are seeing 40km/h speed zones around schools and shopping areas introduced all over the country as local governments respond to public demand for lower speeds”.

“The latest Queensland road crash statistics show a disturbing trend of increased fatalities and serious injuries for pedestrians and cyclists.”

Alexander added that local streets are typically categorised by their mix of traffic, which includes vulnerable or unprotected road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and people on motorised mobility scooters.

“If an unprotected person, such as a cyclist or pedestrian is involved (in a crash at 50km/h), their chances of being killed rise to between 50 and 80 per cent. Those odds are very bad,” she said.