How a Legislative Policy in Spain Has Reduced Traffic Deaths and Increased Citizen Happiness

This work evaluates the impact of the legislative policy of Royal Decree 970/2020, published on November 11, 2020, in the Official State Gazette (BOE). This reform aims to create a road safety model for reducing accidents in urban areas in Spain, aligned with European Union policy and World Health Organization recommendations, with the goal of reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries in traffic accidents. The speed limit measures of 20 km/h, 30 km/h, and 50 km/h have been implemented in 60% of urban roads in total. To carry out the evaluation, a cost-benefit analysis is applied to quantify the results obtained from the impact of the implemented policy. The established speed limit measures have increased road safety and reduced accidents in urban areas in Spain in 2022.