Chicago should lower its default speed limit from 30 mph to save lives

We all share a fundamental right to safe streets and the ability to move freely and confidently through our neighborhoods. Tragically, this basic expectation has become increasingly threatened as streets in our cities and towns have become places where speed and efficiency for drivers has taken precedence over the sanctity of human life. More than 1,200 lives were lost in fatal crashes last year alone in Illinois.

Crashes involving speed accounted for 44% of fatal car crashes in 2021, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. Between 2012 and 2021, Illinois saw a 40% increase of people dying in traffic crashes, our research shows. People outside of vehicles — people walking and biking — represent a growing number of those fatalities.

But even cars and trucks traveling at the default urban area speed limit of 30 mph represent a grave risk for people outside of vehicles. We have allowed dangerous speeds to become the norm in our communities. The time has come for deliberate and focused action to slow down cars and trucks.

In coming weeks, the Chicago City Council and the Illinois Legislature will hold hearings on a critical proposal to reduce the urban area default speed limit. This seemingly small change could have an outsized impact on the safety and well-being of everyone who gets around on foot, on a bike, with an assistive device or in a vehicle.

The physics are clear: The faster a driver travels, the slower their reaction time and the greater the impact upon collision. In collisions at 32 miles per hour, about 25% of pedestrians will not survive, according to ProPublica research. For older pedestrians and people with disabilities, the odds are significantly worse. When someone is struck by a car moving 23 mph, the person has a 90% chance of surviving.

Every year in Illinois, thousands of people are seriously injured or killed on or along our roadways. These tragedies are experienced disproportionately by our most vulnerable and historically marginalized communities, including children, older adults, people living with disabilities and people of color.

Black Chicagoans are more than twice as likely to be killed in a traffic crash than white Chicagoans, and nearly two-thirds of all fatal crash victims are Black. This disparity reflects the structural inequities in majority Black and Brown neighborhoods, such as the prevalence of supersized streets and high-speed traffic. This is a glaring injustice that cannot be ignored.

Fortunately, we have a proven solution at our fingertips. Many other places — such as Boston, Seattle, Portland and New York City — have reduced urban-area speed limits, and the results have been tangible and life-saving, demonstrating that lowering speed limits is an effective, low-cost step that can be implemented swiftly to make our streets safer.

Lowering the speed limit is particularly effective at addressing the most reckless high-end speeding. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that when Boston lowered the citywide speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph, deadly speeding over 35 mph was reduced by almost 30%.

By setting a new expectation that drivers operate their vehicles at safe speeds, we also unlock other powerful tools in our traffic safety toolbox. Measures like speed humps, curb extensions and protected bike lanes can work in tandem with lower speed limits to create a holistic approach to traffic safety. We must invest in these critical infrastructure improvements so drivers intuitively travel at safe speeds.

Slowing down cars by lowering the speed limit should not be seen as an impediment to progress on reforming inequitable traffic enforcement practices, fines and fees. In fact, it creates a great opportunity to dig into what an equitable approach to community accountability for traffic safety can look like.

Some of this is already taking place. We can replicate and build upon Chicago’s Clear Path pilot program that has worked to address unfair fines and fees. Chicago and other municipalities should transparently implement recommended improvements to their speed camera programs and reinvest ticket revenue into street improvements. Leaders must tap into and expand sources of funding for street improvements like the Chicago’s Works program and the state of Illinois’ capital plan. Investment in safe streets will encourage safe speeds and can make cameras obsolete.

Unsafe speed on our roadways is not inevitable. No traffic-related death is acceptable when the tools exist to prevent the conditions and behaviors that lead to these tragedies. The time for action is now.

Amy Rynell is executive director of the Active Transportation Alliance. 

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