More motorcyclists and motorists have been killed on New York City roadways this year than in all of 2019. A major contributing factor in these deaths has been speeding. Drivers have been treating mostly empty roadways as speedways, and the results have been deadly. Now the city is taking action by lowering the speed limit on nine major roadways by five miles per hour in hopes of reducing the problem.
New Speed Limit
In September, officials announced that the speed limit on eight of these roadways would be dropped from 30 mph to 25 mph, which is the standard speed limit for most city streets. These streets include parts of Riverside Drive in Manhattan, Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, Northern Boulevard in Queens, and Bruckner Boulevard in the Bronx. The speed limit will also drop on Shore Parkway Service Road and Dahlgren Place in Brooklyn, Webster Avenue in the Bronx, and Targee Street in Staten Island. The speed limit will drop from 40 mph to 35 mph on Rockaway Boulevard in Queens.
Can Lowering Speed Limits Save Lives?
Speed limits are often based on 85% of free-flow speeds. Adjusting them once they have been in place can be difficult based on how a road is engineered to handle the traffic. However, research shows that dropping speed limits just five mph below the recommended speed can save lives. Using regression analysis and considering road characteristics, researchers have found that just dropping the speed limit by five mph under the recommended speed reduced car crashes by 50%.
There are a number of possible reasons for the decrease in crashes. When a speed limit is lower, it appears that more drivers comply with the limit. Lowering speed limits can also reduce operating speeds, meaning that if someone is prone to speeding, with a lower speed limit, they are more likely to drive at a speed lower than they normally would have. Lowered speed limits paired with heavy enforcement can save lives.
Contact an Experienced Accident Attorney
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you need an experienced accident attorney on your side. At Bonina & Bonina, P.C., we have been helping injured New Yorkers for over 50 years. Contact us online or call us at 1-888-MEDLAW1 to schedule your free consultation. Home and hospital visits are available. Se habla español.