The first Azerbaijani 20 km/h speed limit has been introduced around a school in the city of Sumgayit, following advocacy by the National Automobile Club of Azerbaijan (AMAK), supported by EASST, FIA Foundation, and FIA Road Safety Grants. 

AMAK worked with city stakeholders, including local traffic police, students, parents and school staff, to identify School No. 4 as a potential low-speed school zone pilot. A series of evaluations were undertaken, including a Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) assessment, a Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety Mobility Snapshot, and a week-long Traffic Conflict Analysis, which recorded over 1,200 conflicts. The assessments revealed that there was no designated speed limit and no infrastructure to support pedestrian safety or manage traffic, placing the 2,200 students attending School No. 4, along with those from two nearby schools, at serious risk.

AMAK developed recommendations based on international best practice approaches to address the main infrastructural issues and lower speeds. These included new 30km/h speed limits, accessible sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, speed bumps, bollards, and clear signage. AMAK has been working, with EASST support, for several years to promote the importance of 30km/h speed limits around school zones. It built the case for reduced speeds and improved infrastructure at School No. 4 by pointing to the high levels of risk assessed at the school and previous speed reductions around the city’s schools, which have resulted in reduced crash numbers.

In collaboration with the Traffic Police and Sumgayit City Authorities, speeds along the entire road have been reduced to an unprecedented 20 km/h, and all recommended road infrastructure changes have been implemented. Following the upgrades, the road outside the school received a 4.6 SR4S safety rating from its original 2.7. 

Emily Carr, Deputy Director at the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport, said: “We are very pleased to see the introduction of the first 20km/h school zone in Sumgayit, and we congratulate the AMAK team, the road police, and the local authority for their dedicated work in making this possible. Lower speeds are a powerful demonstration of how local action can create safer journeys to school and help save children’s lives. We very much look forward to continuing our work together to improve road safety for more children in Azerbaijan.”

Moving forward, AMAK aims to establish similar low-speed road safety interventions as a national standard, ensuring that every child can travel to and from school safely.

(Photo credit: EASST)