Effectiveness of a system of automatic speed control on national roads in Poland

The article describes general determinants of automatic speed control system implementationon Polish roads. The first stage includes building a network of measurement stations for automatic speed control. Building a network of speed cameras has been accompanied withanalysing 'before and after' to assess the effectiveness of the applied methods of both: speedreduction and improving safety. The paper presents analyses of:o the characteristics of speed problems on Polish roads before speed cameras installation and suggested speed management measures,o a system for automatic speed control and rules for building a network of measurement stations,o the effect of speed cameras on speed, changes in accident number and structure as well aspublic acceptance.The results of the analyses proved that exceeding speed limits is a characteristic feature of drivers' behavior on national roads in Poland. The paper includes the data that illustrate allowable speed limit exceeding and it describes the principles concerning building a network of measurement stations for automatic speed control as well. The initial evaluation of results of the speed control implementation indicate the reduction of average speed in speed cameras zones by c 12-16 km/h and accident rate reduction by c 28%. The results of the analyses lead to the conclusion that speed cameras are measures accepted by the majority of Polish drivers and they seem to be an effective means in traffic safety improvement. Other factors, such as reconstruction of infrastructure, training, police monitoring etc. turn out to be of high importance as well.