<story><title>Is Every Speed Limit Too Low?</title><url>https://priceonomics.com/is-every-speed-limit-too-low/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>civilian</author><text>I agree, let&amp;#x27;s fucking reduce pedestrian deaths! But you&amp;#x27;re ignoring the analysis given in the article-- drivers already don&amp;#x27;t acknowledge speed limits. From the article:&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;Luckily, there is some logic to the speed people choose other than the need for speed. The speed drivers choose is not based on laws or street signs, but the weather, number of intersections, presence of pedestrians and curves, and all the other information that factors into the principle, as Lt. Megge puts it, that “no one I know who gets into their car wants to crash.”&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rather than speed limits, we need to look at other avenues to reduce pedestrian traffic deaths. Just shooting from the hip, I think that we could do more to communicate to drivers the presence of pedestrians, and to make sure that rural highways and boulevards have shoulders or sidewalks for pedestrians.&lt;p&gt;A more complete analysis of pedestrian deaths: &lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.popcenter.org&amp;#x2F;problems&amp;#x2F;pedestrian_injuries&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.popcenter.org&amp;#x2F;problems&amp;#x2F;pedestrian_injuries&amp;#x2F;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are some useful factoids:&lt;p&gt;- &lt;i&gt;Finally, the more one drinks, the higher the risk of being involved in a pedestrian-vehicle crash resulting in a fatality. One study found that out of 176 pedestrian fatalities, 86 of those involved pedestrians who had been drinking, nearly all of whom had BACs of 0.10 percent or more.&lt;/i&gt;
- &lt;i&gt;In addition, the same study noted that 71 percent of all fatal pedestrian-vehicle crashes in the United States in 2000 occurred in urban areas.&lt;/i&gt;
- &lt;i&gt;Finally, the majority of pedestrian injuries and fatalities happen to males between the ages of 25 and 44.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;This gives us a pretty targeted demographic!  Start a &amp;quot;dangers of the road&amp;quot; campaign targeted at pedestrians who are men, aged 25-44, drink at night and who live in rural areas.</text></item><item><author>mcfunk</author><text>This is a fine analysis if you imagine that every road only ever has cars on it. But this is not the reality, and speed of cars has a huge impact on the fatality rates of vulnerable road users when they are hit.&lt;p&gt;Results show that the average risk of severe injury for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle reaches 10% at an impact speed of 16 mph, 25% at 23 mph, 50% at 31 mph, 75% at 39 mph, and 90% at 46 mph. The average risk of death for a pedestrian reaches 10% at an impact speed of 23 mph, 25% at 32 mph, 50% at 42 mph, 75% at 50 mph, and 90% at 58 mph. Risks vary significantly by age. For example, the average risk of severe injury or death for a 70‐year‐old pedestrian struck by a car travelling at 25 mph is similar to the risk for a 30‐year‐old pedestrian struck at 35 mph. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.aaafoundation.org&amp;#x2F;sites&amp;#x2F;default&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;2011PedestrianRiskVsSpeed.pdf&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.aaafoundation.org&amp;#x2F;sites&amp;#x2F;default&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;2011Pedest...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Please think of everyone on the roads, not just drivers, when making arguments like these.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>sushisource</author><text>Not only that, the article &lt;i&gt;specifically addresses&lt;/i&gt; parent comment&amp;#x27;s concerns:&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt;    “I don’t want to lie to people,” Lt. Megge tells us. It may make parents feel better if the speed limit on their street is 25 mph instead of 35 mph, but that sign won’t make people drive any slower. Megge prefers speed limits that both allow people to drive at a safe speed legally, and that realistically reflect traffic speeds. People shouldn’t have a false sense of safety around roads, he says.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt;    If people and politicians do want to reduce road speeds to improve safety, or make cities more pedestrian friendly, Megge says “there are a lot of other things you can do from an engineering standpoint.” Cities can reduce the number of lanes, change the parking situation, create wider bike paths, and so on. It’s more expensive, but unlike changing the number on a sign, it’s effective.&lt;p&gt;Read the article before commenting, people.</text></comment>
<story><title>Is Every Speed Limit Too Low?</title><url>https://priceonomics.com/is-every-speed-limit-too-low/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>civilian</author><text>I agree, let&amp;#x27;s fucking reduce pedestrian deaths! But you&amp;#x27;re ignoring the analysis given in the article-- drivers already don&amp;#x27;t acknowledge speed limits. From the article:&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;Luckily, there is some logic to the speed people choose other than the need for speed. The speed drivers choose is not based on laws or street signs, but the weather, number of intersections, presence of pedestrians and curves, and all the other information that factors into the principle, as Lt. Megge puts it, that “no one I know who gets into their car wants to crash.”&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rather than speed limits, we need to look at other avenues to reduce pedestrian traffic deaths. Just shooting from the hip, I think that we could do more to communicate to drivers the presence of pedestrians, and to make sure that rural highways and boulevards have shoulders or sidewalks for pedestrians.&lt;p&gt;A more complete analysis of pedestrian deaths: &lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.popcenter.org&amp;#x2F;problems&amp;#x2F;pedestrian_injuries&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.popcenter.org&amp;#x2F;problems&amp;#x2F;pedestrian_injuries&amp;#x2F;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are some useful factoids:&lt;p&gt;- &lt;i&gt;Finally, the more one drinks, the higher the risk of being involved in a pedestrian-vehicle crash resulting in a fatality. One study found that out of 176 pedestrian fatalities, 86 of those involved pedestrians who had been drinking, nearly all of whom had BACs of 0.10 percent or more.&lt;/i&gt;
- &lt;i&gt;In addition, the same study noted that 71 percent of all fatal pedestrian-vehicle crashes in the United States in 2000 occurred in urban areas.&lt;/i&gt;
- &lt;i&gt;Finally, the majority of pedestrian injuries and fatalities happen to males between the ages of 25 and 44.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;This gives us a pretty targeted demographic!  Start a &amp;quot;dangers of the road&amp;quot; campaign targeted at pedestrians who are men, aged 25-44, drink at night and who live in rural areas.</text></item><item><author>mcfunk</author><text>This is a fine analysis if you imagine that every road only ever has cars on it. But this is not the reality, and speed of cars has a huge impact on the fatality rates of vulnerable road users when they are hit.&lt;p&gt;Results show that the average risk of severe injury for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle reaches 10% at an impact speed of 16 mph, 25% at 23 mph, 50% at 31 mph, 75% at 39 mph, and 90% at 46 mph. The average risk of death for a pedestrian reaches 10% at an impact speed of 23 mph, 25% at 32 mph, 50% at 42 mph, 75% at 50 mph, and 90% at 58 mph. Risks vary significantly by age. For example, the average risk of severe injury or death for a 70‐year‐old pedestrian struck by a car travelling at 25 mph is similar to the risk for a 30‐year‐old pedestrian struck at 35 mph. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.aaafoundation.org&amp;#x2F;sites&amp;#x2F;default&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;2011PedestrianRiskVsSpeed.pdf&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.aaafoundation.org&amp;#x2F;sites&amp;#x2F;default&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;2011Pedest...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Please think of everyone on the roads, not just drivers, when making arguments like these.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>lmm</author><text>&amp;gt; Rather than speed limits, we need to look at other avenues to reduce pedestrian traffic deaths. Just shooting from the hip, I think that we could do more to communicate to drivers the presence of pedestrians, and to make sure that rural highways and boulevards have shoulders or sidewalks for pedestrians.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve seen it argued that shoulders&amp;#x2F;sidewalks actually make roads more dangerous, because drivers drive faster when they&amp;#x27;re present.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; This gives us a pretty targeted demographic! Start a &amp;quot;dangers of the road&amp;quot; campaign targeted at pedestrians who are men, aged 25-44, drink at night and who live in rural areas.&lt;p&gt;Isn&amp;#x27;t that classic victim-blaming? Getting pedestrians off the road would reduce pedestrian deaths, but it&amp;#x27;s the wrong way to solve it as a matter of principle.</text></comment>