Why are residential neighborhoods 25mph?

To many, driving at 25mph it seems like you may as well get out and walk. But while speeds have been raised elsewhere (recently on our freeways), residential roads remain at 25mph. Why so slow? It turns out there are several very good reasons for the limit.

• In residential neighborhoods, it is much more likely people and pets will be walking, wandering, or playing in the streets. You need enough time to be able to come to a stop to avoid hitting them.

• If you DO hit a person going at 20mph, that person is likely to be ok. 25mph, they are likely to be injured. Up that speed, and obviously the likelihood of injury (and death) increases.
(There are various sources that talk about this, here’s a basic one http://humantransport.org/sidewalks/SpeedKills.htm and here’s a full study looking at speeds and age etc. of the person hit https://www.aaafoundation.org/sites/default/files/2011PedestrianRiskVsSpeed.pdf)

http://www.radarsign.com/traffic-calming-applications/neighborhood-speed-control/

(footnote is for this article http://casr.adelaide.edu.au/pedspeed/PEDSPEED.PDF)

• Lower speeds = lower emissions. Make a difference by driving cautiously through neighborhoods.

• Because it’s important to keep this speed limit, cops watch speeds in neighborhoods more strictly than elsewhere. Where on the freeway 70mph may mean 80mph for a lot of people, in neighborhoods 5mph over can easily get you a ticket, and 10mph over could be considered reckless driving.

(Read more about Reckless Driving http://www.schatzanderson.com/serious-driving-offenses/reckless-driving/)

Do you know the traffic laws in your state?
Read more about Ticket Fines and Penalties in Utah from the DMV http://www.dmv.org/ut-utah/traffic-ticket-fines-and-penalties.php

(— There may be some more on there you’ve forgotten—yes, tailgating and failing to signal are also on the list!)

• Finally, ask yourself, How fast IS 25mph? In a car it might seem slow, but consider for a moment cycling and pedestrian speeds. Hint: typically, people walk around 3mph. 

A car coming around a curvy road doesn’t have time to stop, and people walking, working, or playing in the street might not have time to get out of the way, even at 25 MPH, let alone faster speeds. 

So… take it slow.

(Also see How Not to Hurry http://zenhabits.net/no-hurry/)