In 1992, a team of researchers were curious as to how the raising and lowering of speed limits would affect driver behavior. The result? The average change in driving speed was less than 1.5 mph, meaning it essentially had no effect on how fast people drove. Speed limits were changed at 100 sites in 22 states, with changes ranging from 5 to 20 mph.
What was interesting was the number of accidents that occurred after the change in speed limits. The number of accidents in places where the speed limit was raised actually decreased by 6.7 percent, while accidents where speed limits were reduced went up by 5.4 percent.
This may seem strange, but a number of researchers have noted that the potential for being involved in an accident is highest when traveling at a speed much lower or much higher than the majority of motorists. The severity of an accident may increase with the speed of the vehicles, but the number of accidents that result does not.
A possible explanation for this could be the mindset of drivers in certain speed limits. If a driver sees a higher speed limit, they may pay more attention because they think there is higher risk of accident. At low speeds, people become more relaxed when driving, which could lead to a lack of concentration.
