Improving highway safety through speed management

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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), worldwide traffic collisions cause the death of 1.2 million people every year. By 2020, road traffic injuries are predicted to become the third largest contributor to the global burden of disease. In addition to the social pain and suffering they produce, traffic collisions cause significant economic costs. Social costs resulting from traffic collisions in Canada in 2004 were estimated at $62.7 billion. While continuous improvements in traffic safety have been recorded in the developed countries since 1970's, data show that the numbers of fatalities have relatively flattened over the past decade. Canada is no exception, where the number of fatalities had steadily decreased over time until the year 2000. On the other hand, the number of traffic related fatalities since 2000 has been fluctuating between a minimum of 2,430 in 2004 and a maximum of 2,610 in 2006.