cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/38852281
Figures published by the Welsh Government show casualty reductions as follows for the period January to March 2024, in comparison with January to March 2023:
All severities at all speeds: 811 (2024); 4348 (2023);
20mph. All severities: 300 (2024); 662 (2023)
Killed or seriously injured: 63 (2024); 144 (2023)
Slightly injured: 237 (2024); 518 (2023)
30mph. All severities: 77 (2024); 1522 (2023)
Killed or seriously injured: 15 (2024); 343 (2023)
Slightly injured: 62 (2024); 1179 (2023)
40mph. All severities: 74 (2024); 397 (2023)
Killed or seriously injured: 20 (2024); 98 (2023)
Slightly injured: 54 (2024); 299 (2023)
50mph. All severities: 94 (2024); 273 (2023)
Killed or seriously injured: 23 (2024); 67 (2023)
Slightly injured: 71(2024); 206 (2023)
60mph. All severities: 214 (2024); 1235 (2023)
Killed or seriously injured: 71 (2024); 401 (2023)
Slightly injured: 143 (2024); 834 (2023)
70mph. All severities: 52 (2024); 259 (2023)
Killed or seriously injured: 12 (2024); 73 (2023)
Slightly injured: 40 (2024); 186 (2023)
Even though you are being downvoted, I will come and agree with you here. A lot of the time the lower max speed is a lazy way to try to reduce accidents and mostly harms drivers that were already following the law. Proper enforcement of laws and better roads are the correct way to address these issues.
Btw, I dont even own a car and I always take the subway whenever I can.
There’s no harm involved in going 10mph slower. It adds seconds or a couple of minutes at most to most people’s journey times. You say “lazy” as if an easy way to reduce accidents is a bad thing.
There is. I live in a city with 20million people, everyday a good share of them waste hours stuck in traffic, making it slower only worsened the situation.
Do you not think the problem is the hours wasted stuck in traffic than a slight reduction in the speed when you aren’t? I mean when you are in traffic your speed is 0 and the speed limit could be 1,000 MPH for all the difference it makes.
A faster speed limit means cars before the traffic jam start will spend less time on the roads, the less time cars spend out the longer it takes for a jam to start and the shorter it will be.
Or, to put it another way, a faster speed limit means drivers get to the next traffic jam faster, making it larger more quickly.
Traffic is a flow problem, what you are saying makes no sense. I dont think I will change your mind so we should end this discussion here.
Traffic flows best at 20mph. Here’s a scientific study that proves it (pdf warning)
Somehow, I don’t think you will change his mind, ironically enough.
They are not commuting through 20mph zones. That’s pants-on-head.
Lower speeds have a huge impact on the pedestrian you hit. There’s a big difference between the fatality rates at 30mph Vs 20mph
Enforcement is not a solution. We know that enforcement only works while the intervention is actively being performed. That means that police have to become part of our infrastructure. We cannot afford that, and it is not in our interests, when there are better methods available of modifying driver behaviour.