George Υannis – 30 Marathons in 30 Months to Actively Promote the Adoption of 30 km/h Speed Limit in Cities

December 5, 2024

|In IRF Members' News, Policy & Advocacy

George Yannis, Professor and Director of the Department of Transportation Planning Engineering of the School of Civil Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), has successfully completed on Sunday 10 November 2024 in Athens his campaign to run 30 Marathons in 30 months in order to promote the 30km/h speed limit in cities worldwide. He has finished all Marathons in under 4 hours.

City-wide 30 km/h speed limits is the since-long waited single road safety measure with such a significant driving culture change at such a low cost. Evaluation results (Implementation results and Simulation studies) from 40 different cities across Europe (including Paris, London, Brussels, and Helsinki) demonstrated that 30 km/h speed limits have led to significant reductions: 37% of road crash fatalities, 18% in emissions, 2.5dB in noise pollution and 7% in fuel consumption (on average). Such a high societal impact for such a small change in our habits.

This unique challenge of 30 Marathons, has raised mass awareness at both society and Authorities for a better quality of life in cities with calm driving for safer, healthy and green travelling for all. The global impact of this campaign is impressive with over 400,000 views and 100,000 visitors per year to the campaign’s websites and social media. In addition, George Yannis has contributed with dozens of interviews on TV, radio and online media and dozens of articles in newspapers and publications in scientific journals and conferences, supported by all major International Road Safety and mobility Organizations.

George Yannis insists on a steady pace both when running Marathons and when advocating for safe traffic in cities with a 30 km/h speed limit. He will continue to actively support life-saving options that enhance sustainable urban development and safe travelling everywhere and for all.