Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32036789›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2020

Effect of reducing the posted speed limit to 30 km per hour on pedestrian motor vehicle collisions in Toronto, Canada - a quasi experimental, pre-post study.

Liraz Fridman, Rebecca Ling, Linda Rothman, Marie Soleil Cloutier, Colin Macarthur, Brent Hagel, Andrew Howard

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
5.3field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 61 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Impact of Streetlight Placement on Trends and Disparities in Pedestrian-Motor Vehicle Crashes.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Prevention of "bygone futures" due to road traffic injuries in children.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2024
    Review
  4. Pilot study to evaluate school safety zone built environment interventions.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2022
    Article
  5. Article
  6. State-of-the-art review: preventing child and youth pedestrian motor vehicle collisions: critical issues and future directions.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2021
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Liraz FridmanDepartments of Paediatrics and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. liraz.fridman@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4018-791X
Rebecca LingHospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Linda RothmanSchool of Occupational and Public Health, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Marie Soleil CloutierInstitut national de la recherche scientifique, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Colin MacarthurHospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Brent HagelDepartments of Paediatrics and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Andrew HowardHospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Hospital for Sick Children · CAUniversity of Calgary · CAInstitut National de la Recherche Scientifique · CAToronto Metropolitan University · CA

Funding

CIHR 415778
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPedestrian related deaths have recently been on the rise in Canada. The effect of changing posted speeds on the frequency and severity of pedestrian motor vehicle collisions (PMVC) is not well studied using controlled quasi-experimental designs. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of lowering speed limits from 40 km/h to 30 km/h on PMVC on local roads in Toronto, Canada.

methodsA 30 km/h speed limit on local roads in Toronto was implemented between January 2015 and December 2016. Streets that remained at a 40 km/h speed limit throughout the study period were selected as comparators. A quasi-experimental, pre-post study with a comparator group was used to evaluate the effect of the intervention on PMVC rates before and after the speed limit change using repeated measures Poisson regression. PMVC data were obtained from police reports for a minimum of two years pre- and post-intervention (2013 to 2018).

resultsSpeed limit reductions from 40 km/h to 30 km/h were associated with a 28% decrease in the PMVC incidence rate in the City of Toronto (IRR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.58-0.89). A non-significant 7% decrease in PMVC incidence rates were observed on comparator streets that remained at 40 km/h speed limits (IRR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.70-1.25). Speed limit reduction also influenced injury severity, with a significant 67% decrease in major and fatal injuries in the post intervention period on streets with speed limit reductions (IRR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.13-0.85) compared with a 31% not statistically significant decrease in major and fatal injuries on comparator streets (IRR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.37-1.31). The interaction term for group and pre-post comparisons was not statistically significant (p = 0.14) indicating that there was no evidence to suggest a pre-post difference in IRRs between the intervention and comparator streets.

conclusionsDeclines in the rate of PMVC were observed on roads with posted speed limit reductions from 40 km/h to 30 km/h, although this effect was not statistically greater than reductions on comparator streets.

Indexed as

PedestriansAccidents, TrafficAdolescentAdultAutomobile DrivingCanadaChildChild, PreschoolHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMiddle AgedPoliceResearch DesignWounds and InjuriesYoung AdultPedestrian motor vehicle collision (PMVC)Speed limit

Identifiers

PMID32036789
PMCPMC7008529
OpenAlexW3006376178

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.