Traffic safety study says raising speed limits causes crashes

ATLANTA — Research by AAA on how changing speed limits can impact road safety examined how lowering and raising speed limits can impact safety.

In a study produced by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a review of 12 major roadways across the U.S. showed increasing speeds has little effect on saving time or increasing traffic flow.

Instead, AAA said raising speed limits could lead to more crashes, injuries, and deaths, even across different types of roadways.

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To produce their study, the AAA Foundation looked at six roadways with recently raised speed limits, and six others with lowered speed limits.

The key findings of the study, according to AAA, was that the posted speed limits being raised led to increased crash frequency for two of the three interstate highways examined.

The exact opposite was also true, according to the AAA analysis.

“Lowering posted speed limits was associated with decreased crash frequencies and rates for one of the two principal arterials examined,” AAA said.

For both increased and decreased speeds in the six routes observed, changes in travel times were small.

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According to AAA, the speed factor in vehicle crashes across the U.S. is critical.

“Our study analyzed before-and-after data on a dozen roadways that raised or lowered posted speed limits and found no one-size-fits-all answer regarding the impact of these changes,” Dr. David Yang, president and executive director of the AAA Foundation, said. “However, it is critical to consider the safety implications when local transportation authorities contemplate making changes with posted speed limits.”

Citing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, AAA said there were 42,000 traffic deaths in 2021 and again in 2022. NHTSA said speeding was a factor in almost 30% of the fatal crashes in both 2021 and 2022.

“The movement in statehouses to raise speed limits is happening across the country in at least eight states this year,” Jennifer Ryan, director of state relations for AAA, said. “But the benefits are overrated, and the risks are understated. Increasing speed limits does not always yield the positive results envisioned by traffic planners.”

In Georgia, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety reported there were 1,797 traffic fatalities in 2021, the most recent year with data available.

With the exception of 2018 and 2019, state data reported traffic fatalities had increased every year since 2012, jumping from 1,492 to 1,658 from 2019 to 2020, and nearing 1,800 the year after.

Of those fatalities, 369 were speeding-related, according to GOHS.

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