A brand new research reveals that reducing velocity limits in busy city areas can scale back crashes and maintain People out of the hospital.
Nationwide, most velocity limits in residential areas fall between 25 and 35 mph. In 2020, the town of Seattle, Washington, dropped most of its velocity limits by 5 mph. Arterial roads in Seattle now have posted velocity limits of 25 mph; 20 mph in residential areas.
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“In downtown Seattle, reducing default velocity limits lowered the probability {that a} crash would contain an damage by a fifth on arterial roads,” says the Insurance coverage Institute for Freeway Security. “Outdoors of the town heart, the place the brand new limits have been much less persistently applied and publicized, there have been smaller damage reductions,” which weren’t statistically important.
Automobile accidents price People $340 billion annually, in accordance with federal security officers. Driving has been rising extra harmful nationwide lately. Federal security officers say site visitors deaths hit a 2-decade excessive in 2022.
Researchers “appeared on the proportion of crashes involving deadly, severe, or evident accidents, evaluating the before-and-after damage charges with three management cities in Washington” that didn’t change their velocity limits.
They discovered that, since 2020, the proportion of crashes that led to accidents dropped in Seattle and elevated in every single place else.
“Everyone thinks of highways once we speak about velocity limits, however lowering speeds on metropolis thoroughfares and residential streets is simply as necessary,” stated IIHS President David Harkey. “Nationwide, almost a 3rd of crash deaths occurred on city arterials in 2020.”