Eurocities survey: 75% of cities report fewer road deaths & injuries after reducing speeds

Lower urban speed limits are delivering safer city streets across Europe, cutting road deaths and injuries without increasing congestion or journey times, a new Eurocities survey reveals.

The survey, based on responses from 38 cities in 19 European countries, shows that many local governments have introduced 30 km/h limits in targeted areas, prioritising residential neighbourhoods and school zones.

75% of cities report clear positive results, with fewer road deaths and injuries, while 91% report at least one positive impact on urban life, such as a lower number of accidents and fatalities, a decrease in air and noise pollution, and an increase in active mobility modes.

Cities report reductions in accidents, fatalities and serious injuries for all road users, alongside lower vehicle speeds and reduced noise pollution. Crucially, these gains come without trade-offs: respondents report no overall negative effects on congestion, traffic volumes or journey times, and only limited, manageable impacts on public transport.

For some time now, Bologna has been committed to improving the safety and liveability of its streets,” says Michele Campaniello, Deputy Mayor of Bologna and Chair of the Eurocities Mobility Forum. “While there were initial challenges and scepticism, the results are clear: safer roads, calmer traffic and a better urban environment for everyone. These measures are making a tangible difference, and cities can learn from each other to accelerate progress towards Vision Zero.

While the results are clear, the path to implementation has not always been easy. During planning and rollout, 45% of cities reported political opposition, while 37% faced public resistance. Legal and regulatory barriers affected 40% of cities, and nearly a third cited limited administrative capacity.

Despite the shrinking democratic space, reduced subsidiarity, and increasing budget cuts and taxes imposed by the Orbán regime, Budapest remains committed to halving fatal traffic incidents by 2030 and achieving Vision Zero by 2050,

says Gergely Karácsony, Mayor of Budapest and Vice Chair of the Eurocities Mobility Forum.

However, these challenges drop sharply once measures are in place. Political opposition falls from 45% during implementation to just 18% afterwards, while public opposition declines from 37% to 21%. Legal barriers decrease from 40% to just 5%.

Once people experience the benefits of safer, calmer streets, support grows quickly and resistance fades,

The survey shows that cities’ implementation of speed reduction is typically gradual and targeted, rather than one-size-fits-all. Most cities have rolled out lower limits over time, often starting in residential neighbourhoods, school streets and historic centres, while maintaining higher limits on key corridors. Clear communication, stakeholder engagement and strong political leadership were identified as critical to success.

Most cities prioritised reduced speeds in specific zones, such as residential areas (53%), historic centres (45%), or school zones (42%), while 57% of cities report over half of their road network is now operating with speed limits below 50km/h.

We must redesign streets for safety, lower speed limits, promote cooperative driving and safer vehicles, and strengthen institutional and legislative protections for vulnerable road users,” Karácsony states. “Speed management is being applied as a strategic urban safety tool, as part of our goal to save 800 lives. In Budapest, new speed cameras have reduced speeding, and fatal crashes fell by 37% in just one year.

The findings come at a critical moment, as the European Commission prepares its mid-term review of the EU Road Safety Policy Framework and progress continues towards the Vision Zero goal of eliminating road deaths. The evidence from cities shows that lower speed limits are not only effective, but scalable and widely accepted once implemented. However, local action alone is not enough to deliver the systemic change needed across Europe.

Creating a more liveable environment cannot wait,” says Karácsony. “National governments and EU institutions can accelerate progress by giving municipalities clearer legal powers, stronger technical guidance, and better access to shared evidence and proven implementation models, and most importantly dedicated funding.

1. The data is drawn from a 2025 Eurocities Pulse survey on 30km/h speed limits in European cities, conducted among 38 cities across 19 European countries, assessing ways of implementation, impact, challenges and supportive frameworks of lowering speed limits in cities across Europe. Respondents to this survey are mobility professionals active in cities’ administrations and transport planning agencies.

2. An infographic presenting the key findings of the Eurocities Pulse survey is available here.

3. The Pulse survey also looked at: how speed reduction is governed (who holds the competence to act); what enforcement tools cities use (speed cameras, police, self-enforcing street design, lane narrowing, raised crossings, green-wave settings, displays); how communication shapes acceptance before and after rollout; how perceptions change after implementation across different user groups; what future cities need if they are not yet implementing 30 km/h. The authors of the report/research lead are available to share more data with journalists as needed.

4. Eurocities Pulse is a Eurocities brand: Eurocities Pulse surveys are organised by Eurocities on a regular basis, across different topics. This Eurocities Pulse on 30km/h speed limits was inspired by the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey and was designed to provide empirical evidence to complement the Mid-term review of the EU Road Safety Strategy.

5. A more detailed report, further analysing the results of the Eurocities Pulse survey on 30km/h speed limits, will be published by Eurocities and Cerema in June 2026.

6. Eurocities wants to make cities places where everyone can enjoy a good quality of life, is able to move around safely, access quality and inclusive public services and benefit from a healthy environment. We do this by networking more than 200 larger European cities, which together represent some 150 million people across 38 countries, and by gathering evidence of how policy making impacts on people to inspire other cities and EU decision makers. Connect with us at https://eurocities.eu or by following our BlueSky and Youtube accounts.

For media enquiries, please contact: Andrew Kennedy, Communications Advisor for Eurocities, andrew.kennedy@eurocities.eu// +32 (0)470 650 173.