More than half of drivers go more than 10km/h too fast in 30 km/h school zones

An investigation by the Belgian Road Safety Institute (BRSI) has found that 90% of drivers exceeded 30 km/h speed limits near schools with more than half travelling at 40km/h or more.

In areas away from schools, drivers appeared more likely to stick to the limit.

The BRSI says the zones need to be accompanied by infrastructure measures such as traffic humps. This is sometimes not the case for schools on main roads where, out of school hours, the limit can be up to 70 km/h.  In these cases, dynamic electronic speed signs could also help, according to the BRSI.

Results of a UK survey, carried out by the charity Brake and published in September, found that four in ten UK drivers admit to breaking the speed limit in 20 mph zones – with a fifth owning up to doing so on a weekly basis.

• An environmental group in Germany has requested that 20 main roads in Berlin should be covered by 30km/h speed limits because of poor air quality. BUND-Berlin, part of the Friends of the Earth network, found that air quality in the streets was poor enough in 2015 to justify the change on legal grounds.