Bengaluru Receives Global Recognition by Bloomberg Philanthropies for Life-Saving Efforts to Reduce Speeding

The World Bank estimates that speeding claims the lives of 600,000 people each year – half of the world’s 1.19 million traffic-related deaths. Higher speeds increase the probability of serious injury and death during a crash, according to the World Health Organization.

“Speeding kills 1,600 people every day. In fact, it’s a leading cause of preventable injuries and deaths worldwide,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, and the 108th mayor of New York City. “For nearly two decades, the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety has worked with our partners to save lives in countries around the world. Now, through the Speed Challenge, we’re shining a spotlight on the most effective actions of winning cities – and the urgent need for more to follow their lead.”

In addition to adopting WHO-recommended speed limits, the winning cities successfully implemented strategies to reduce speeding, including redesigning city streets to reduce speeds (with elements like speed humps and raised pedestrian crossings), enhancing enforcement, and airing media campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding and build public support for reducing speed-related crashes.

To sustain momentum around their road safety efforts, gold winners will receive $100,000, silver winners will receive $75,000, and bronze winners will receive $50,000. The winners are:

Gold

• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for adopting best practices for urban speed limits, sustaining speed enforcement operations, and installing more than 640 concrete and 1,500 rubber speed humps citywide, including in school zones. Crash data from specific locations shows that 37 lives were saved because of the interventions.
• Bogotá, Colombia, for adopting best practices for urban speed limits, installing parabolic speed humps, which were previously not authorized in 50 km/h corridors, as well as sustaining police speed enforcement. These efforts resulted in zero fatalities in the first six months of implementation, an 82% decrease in injuries to vulnerable road users, and led to 60% fewer vehicles exceeding speed limits in school zones.

Silver

• Bengaluru, India, for efforts to reduce speed limits around schools to 20-30 km/h, make intersections throughout the city slower and safer by committing 100 Crore Indian Rupees ($11.6 million USD) to redesign 75 intersections, and enforce speeding by using a toll booth autopay system to recover fines.
• Buenos Aires, Argentina, for introducing a speed limit reduction to 50 km/h on select high-risk roads and upgrading enforcement technology, including fixed speed cameras and mobile speed measuring devices like hand-held radar guns.
• Guadalajara, Mexico, for adopting a policy to allow the city’s mobility department to enforce speed limits, updating regulations to include defined speed limits near schools, and broader safety measures, such as standardized traffic signs.

Bronze

• Kampala, Uganda, for contributions to national road safety regulations, including implementing a 30 km/h limit for both school zones and urban roads in the city, and installing raised pedestrian crossings near 20 schools.
• Mombasa, Kenya, for implementing a national speed limit of 50 km/h on urban roads, constructing speed humps and raised pedestrian crossings near five schools, and airing a media campaign, “Slow Down, Speeding Ruins Lives.”
• Quito, Ecuador, for the development of the city’s first Road Safety Ordinance, which focuses on data-driven enforcement, a citywide safety plan, and a specialized road safety unit, as well as enhanced speed enforcement through portable cameras, leading to a 32% reduction in traffic fatalities during the enforcement campaign.

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety partners with local and international organizations and governments to improve road safety and protect lives through five key areas: strengthening national legislation; enhancing data collection and surveillance; changing road user behavior; improving road infrastructure; and upgrading vehicle safety. Since 2007, the Initiative has supported the implementation of evidence-based road safety interventions in more than 50 cities and provinces, advocating for stronger national road safety policies in 21 countries, and improving vehicle safety standards in four regional markets. In total, this work has saved an estimated 900,000 lives since 2007.