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IIHS Finds That Lowering Speed Limits Actually Does Make Roads Safer

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Seattle

Photo: John Moore / Staff (Getty Images)

It’s a well-established fact that the U.S. has a problem with road deaths. Traffic fatalities hit a 16-year high in 2021, and things didn’t get much better in 2022. It’s basically just a U.S. problem, too. While our roads get more dangerous, other developed countries are getting safer. But while some changes will take years to implement, one thing that we can do relatively quickly is lower speed limits to make our roads safer.

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Autoweek reports that back in 2016, Seattle, Washington lowered speed limits from 25 mph to 20 mph in residential areas and from 30 mph to 25 mph on arterial roads. It may not have been a popular change with people who just want to go fast, but it did actually make the streets safer. A recent report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that lower speed limits in Seattle led to a significant reduction in injury rates, including a full 20 percent on arterial roads in the downtown area.

“When we talk about the Safe System approach, we always stress that nobody should have to die because of a mistake,” said IIHS President David Harkey in a statement. “These results illustrate the value of rethinking speed limits. Crashes still happened after Seattle’s changes, but they weren’t as dangerous.” Harkey later added, “Everybody thinks of highways when we talk about speed limits, but reducing speeds on city thoroughfares and residential streets is just as important. Nationwide, nearly a third of crash deaths occurred on urban arterials in 2020.”

The study also compared injury rates in Seattle with three other cities in Washington that didn’t lower their speed limits. Most wrecks occurred on arterial roads, and while injuries dropped in Seattle, they actually increased in the other cities. So while the seven-percent decrease in injuries outside of the city center may not have been statistically significant, at least it didn’t get worse like in other cities that didn’t lower their speed limits.

It may be inconvenient to be forced to slow down or risk getting a ticket, but it’s even more inconvenient to end up in the hospital after a crash. And it’s not like it’s the end of the world to have to leave a few minutes earlier to go somewhere. Especially if it means you’re more likely to get there safely.

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