Christina Chamberlain

Lower speed limits are proven to make safer environments for all involved - drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, with minimal impact on drive time. It’s also proven that a pedestrian/cyclist friendly environment is good for business, which brings more money into the municipality. There is no downside to reducing speed limits where merited. If you take care of children or seniors, you would easily understand the importance of this bill. See below for details: Per a NACTO document published in 2020, they state that "A growing body of research shows that speed limit changes alone can lead to measurable reductions in speed and crashes, even absent enforcement or traffic changes. NHTSA's web page states "convincing evidence exists that lowering speed limits can reduce average travel speed and crashes, even if no other changes are made to roadways" In our last newsletter we noted that reducing speed limits from 30 to 20 mph will only increase commute time by 6% - imagine how small the difference is from 25 to 20 mph? On roads with 30 mph versus 20 mph speed limits, the likelihood of a fatality occurring during a crash is 3 times higher!! This year, to date, the number of pedestrian deaths on New Hampshire roads is already up 300% while fatalities on the roads are up 25%