New York City Speed Limit Slows Down to 25 Mph

Starting Friday, the default city speed limit slows down to 25 mph.
New York City Speed Limit Slows Down to 25 Mph
Community members hold signs, reading "20 is Plenty," in support of New York state legislation to lower New York City speed limits to 20 mph, in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York, Feb. 2, 2014. (Catherine Yang/Epoch Times)
11/6/2014
Updated:
7/18/2015

NEW YORK—Starting Friday, the default city speed limit slows down to 25 mph.

Mayor Bill de Blasio reduced the limit from 30 mph as part of his “Vision Zero” plan to eliminate traffic deaths.

The survival rate of an accident at 25 mph is much higher than at 35 mph, according to the mayor.

The speed limit does not apply to certain roads and highways where a different speed limit is posted. Ninety percent of the city’s streets now have a speed limit of 25 mph or lower.

The plan will be phased in, said the mayor Thursday at an unrelated press conference about Sandy resiliency efforts. Public education and warnings will go out first, and then enforcement will happen over time.

“But I'll tell you, I think there’s a real consensus in this town that we need to have people drive more carefully, more safely, and slower,” said de Blasio.

He added, “I’ve been very, very pleased with the response to Vision Zero. It’s just gotten started, but already 24 fewer pedestrian fatalities than last year.”

 

Shannon Liao is a native New Yorker who attended Vassar College and the Bronx High School of Science. She writes business and tech news and is an aspiring novelist.
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