When did they up the speed limit to 50 mph from 40 mph on the Lake South Parkway, turning it into more of a freeway?
All that does is induce even faster speeds: On the return leg of my trip today, traffic was flowing above 60 mph without a Sheriff's squad in sight.
Seems we love our speed here, but disregard some of the dangerous behaviors that go with it.
The physical design of the roadway has more to do with the average speed than the speed limits do, unless everyone who speeds gets fined for it, which is why speed limits should be set to the 85th percentile speed in most circumstances. Most people may feel safe driving on the Lake Parkway at 55-60 mph. All raising the limit on a road like that does is make those people who refuse to exceed the speed limit under any circumstances drive at the same speed everyone else is instead of creating an unsafe speed differential.
ReplyDeleteIf you've ever driven on the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois, you should know the speed limit on that road is a joke. If you really want people to be driving 40 mph on the Lake Parkway, you're going to have to change the road so the average driver feels unsafe while driving faster than that.