Without additional changes to roadway design, lower speed limits only slightly reduce driving speeds.
Lowering posted speed limits has only a small impact on how fast people drive, according to a study from the University of Minnesota,
As Tim Harlow reports in The Minnesota Star Tribune, a drop in speed limits on residential streets in St. Louis Park led to a 1- to 2-mile-per-hour speed reduction across the city.
Studies show there is little change in speed patterns after a lower speed limit is posted. Drivers are much more influenced by changes to the roadway, its environment and conditions, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said.
According to Gary Davis, a professor in the Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineering Department at the University of Minnesota, “many drivers have had the habit of going 30 mph on city streets for so long before the speed limit changed, and that it can take time and effort to change behavior.”
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