The Seattle Bike Blog does a great job explaining the Neighborhood Safe Streets bill (House Bill 1045), which passed the House on a vote of 86-10.
Right now, cities and counties must pay for an engineering report to raise – or lower – speed limits. It makes sense for raising the limit, to ensure a road can handle higher speeds.
But it’s a waste of time and money for state law to require engineering reports to lower a speed limit. Any road or highway can always handle lower speeds.
This legislation cuts that red tape, which will save taxpayer dollars –and more importantly, save lives.
The Seattle Bike Blog explains:
“Speeds on such streets are most often 25 mph today. Studies show that a person struck by a car going 30 miles per hour has a 40 percent chance of dying. When the speed drops to 20 mph, the chance of dying drops to 5 percent. So while a few mph might seem like a small safety gain, it can actually be the difference between life and death.”
The reform is now in the Senate, and you can track it by clicking here.
What do you think about safety on your local roads and highways? Email Rep. Ryu at cindy.ryu@leg.wa.gov if you have comments about this issue or want to share your story.
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