At the same time, if the speed limit were 100km/h in an urban zone, the death rate would skyrocket. Ultimately I think it’s reasonable to say it’s about finding the best compromise between speed and safety, and in an urban environment, it’s actually less of a compromise than you might think.
In areas with traffic, the determining factor for how fast a driver gets to their destination is not speed, but throughput: how many cars go past a certain point (eg. a traffic light) in a certain time interval. However, as speeds go up, so do safe breaking distances at a rate proportional to the speed. So you don’t actually get where you want to go significantly faster by increasing speeds, because the rate at which cars pass remains practically constant.
If the speed limit was 0km/h, no lives would be lost.
You dumb fucking muppet.
At the same time, if the speed limit were 100km/h in an urban zone, the death rate would skyrocket. Ultimately I think it’s reasonable to say it’s about finding the best compromise between speed and safety, and in an urban environment, it’s actually less of a compromise than you might think.
In areas with traffic, the determining factor for how fast a driver gets to their destination is not speed, but throughput: how many cars go past a certain point (eg. a traffic light) in a certain time interval. However, as speeds go up, so do safe breaking distances at a rate proportional to the speed. So you don’t actually get where you want to go significantly faster by increasing speeds, because the rate at which cars pass remains practically constant.