Journal article
Speed limits and their effect on air pollution in Mexico City: A quasi-experimental study
The Science of the total environment, v 924, 171506
10 May 2024
PMID: 38453090
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Speed limits are an evidence-based intervention to prevent traffic collisions and deaths, yet their impact on air pollution in cities is understudied. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between lower speed limits and air pollution. We leverage the introduction of a new road safety policy in Mexico City in December 2015 which lowered speed limits, increased fines, and installed speed radars to enforce compliance. We tested whether the policy had an impact on particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at the city level, and whether air-quality monitoring stations' proximity to speed radars moderated this effect due to more acceleration and deceleration around radars. NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations from January 2014 to December 2018 were obtained from the National System of Air Quality Information. Air-quality monitoring stations were classified as in close-proximity or far-from-speed radars. Interrupted time series analyses were conducted for each outcome separately, using linear mixed models and adjusting for seasonality and time-varying confounders: registered vehicles, temperature, wind-speed and relative humidity. The results suggest improvement in both contaminants after the speed limits policy. For NO2, the pre-policy trend was flat, while the post-policy trend showed a decline in concentrations of 0.04 ppb/week. For PM2.5, concentrations were increasing pre-policy by 0.08 μg/m3 per week, then this trend flattened in the post-policy period to a weekly, non-significant, increase of 0.03 μg/m3 (p = 0.08). Air-quality monitors' proximity to speed radars did not moderate the effect of the policy on either of the pollutants. In conclusion, the speed limits policy implemented in Mexico City in 2015 was associated with improvements in air pollution.
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•Speed limits are recommended for road safety but may impact air pollution.•We evaluated a new speed limits policy implemented in Mexico City.•NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations improved after speed limits policy was implemented.•Air quality monitors' proximity to speed radars did not modify NO2 or PM2.5 readings.
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Details
- Title
- Speed limits and their effect on air pollution in Mexico City: A quasi-experimental study
- Creators
- Jose Luis Texcalac-Sangrador - Instituto Nacional de Salud PúblicaCarolina Pérez-Ferrer - Instituto Nacional de Salud PúblicaCarolina Quintero - Instituto Nacional de Salud PúblicaFrancisco-Javier Prado Galbarro - Hospital Infantil de México Federico GómezGoro Yamada - Drexel UniversityNelson Gouveia - Universidade de São PauloTonatiuh Barrientos-Gutierrez - Center for Research in Population Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
- Publication Details
- The Science of the total environment, v 924, 171506
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Number of pages
- 8
- Grant note
- Wellcome Trust: 205177/Z/16/Z
This study was part of the Salud Urbana en America Latina (SALURBAL)/Urban Health in Latin America project. SALURBAL is funded by the Wellcome Trust [205177/Z/16/Z].SALURBAL acknowledges the contributions of many different agencies in generating, processing, facilitating access to data or assisting with other aspects of the project. Please visit https://drexel.edu/lac/data-evidence for a complete list of data sources. The findings of this study and their interpretation are the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the views or interpretations of the institutions or groups that compiled, collected, or provided the data. The use of data from these institutions does not claim or imply that they have participated in, approved, endorsed, or otherwise supported the development of this publication. They are not liable for any errors, omissions or other defect or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001286151500001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85187787083
- Other Identifier
- 991021875473804721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Environmental Sciences