Driving too fast is deadly. Should drivers be forced to slow down?

It’s been almost 400 years since the leaders of New Amsterdam (now New York City) confronted a growing threat on their streets: people moving too fast. In 1652, the colonial council passed what may be North America’s first speed limit: “No wagons, carts or sleighs shall be run, rode or driven at a gallop within this city of New Amsterdam,” with Broadway (then a commercial corridor) as the lone exception. 

Violators were fined the equivalent of $150 to $200 in today’s dollars, and repeat offenders could face corporal punishment. European settlers understood that speed in a dense environment is a recipe for disaster.

In the 1780s, engineer James Watt used spinning flyweights to automatically regulate his steam engines to keep them from running too fast. This low-tech speed limiter became the blueprint for other automotive safety mechanisms.

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In 1901, the British Wilson-Pilcher car came equipped with a mechanical governor, limiting how fast the engine could rev. It was one of the first consumer automobiles to feature speed-limiting technology, and almost a century before modern cruise control. 

In 1923, Cincinnati nearly became the first U.S. city to require speed governors on all vehicles, but the proposal to cap speeds at 25 MPH failed. Auto industry lobbyists warned that mechanical limiters would reduce car sales and infringe on driver freedom. So-called Motordom still holds to that defensive position, but they’ve expanded their propaganda to dismiss speed as a problem, or as you see in many car commercials, embrace speed as something their product delivers.

When modern Americans are faced with a conversation about taking a foot off the gas, they tend to react by pressing their hands against their ears and giving a “la-la-la-la-la, I cannot hear you, speeding is fine.” The problem is, most people don’t understand the dangers of driving fast in populated areas like cities and suburbs. Because they don’t understand the connection between speed and safety, it’s only natural that they’ll claim speed limiting devices are just another case of an authoritative government, elitist central planning, nanny state overreach, etc.

The comments below followed a March 27, 2025 Washington Post article, and they’re hardly outliers on this topic:

• “Another step to enslavement.”
• “The nanny state rides yet again.”
• “Big brotherism at its worst.”
• “So anyone late to an appointment has no way to get the car moving a little faster. That sounds like a grim future, particularly since so many speed limits are set pathetically low!”

Technology that’s used to change driver behavior comes down to this fundamental issue: licensed drivers routinely choose not to govern themselves, demonstrating a need to be governed by an outside force.

I don’t like that we find ourselves in a situation where doors are opened for government authorities to force companies how to make a product. But we don’t have to invite or even demand action by state and federal agencies if we (anyone who ever drives a motor vehicle) would simply behave better behind the wheel. 

Speed ruins far more lives than we’ll ever know 

It’s widely known among transportation professionals that police reports focus on issues other than speed even when speed causes a calamity. For example, if someone is driving 40 MPH on a city street, and a driver who was texting says the pedestrian “came out of nowhere,” this is not classified by police as speed being a factor. But speed was a fundamental factor if the driver didn’t see or react in time to stop for the pedestrian. 

In the US, about 16 million people smashed their cars into each other last year, sending roughly 40,000 people to the morgue and another 2.5 million to emergency rooms. Speed is a fundamental factor in severe traffic crashes, regardless of what the police report says.

Speed matters because it amplifies mistakes

People will always make mistakes, but the most consequential driving errors are amplified with increased speed. Mistakes like being distracted by a child in the backseat and drifting into another lane quickly elevate the risk to the driver, passengers, and anyone else nearby when going fast. Three important things are much safer on city streets at 25 MPH than 40 MPH:

1. What you see. Your field of view (what engineers call the cone of vision) shrinks as you accelerate, meaning you no longer clearly see the sidewalks, pedestrians, dogs, drivers about to leave a parked car, someone about to run a red light on a cross-street, etc.
2. When you react. You don’t have as much time to react to any of the events listed above. In one second, you travel about 2 car lengths at 25 MPH, but 4 car lengths at 40 MPH. That’s just one second. Think about how often drivers fiddle with their phone for one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi.
3. Where you stop. Even under ideal weather and pavement conditions, the moment you spot a potential danger and hit the brakes, it takes a lot more distance to stop from 40 MPH than 25 MPH. The difference between 165 feet and 85 feet can be the difference between a dead pedestrian and a close call.

Speed matters because it makes crashes more severe

In addition to making crashes more likely to occur, high-speed driving also increases the amount of carnage in crashes. Physics explains: [crash energy = (½) × (mass) × (speed²)].

That squared value is everything. When you double your driving speed, the crash energy quadruples. Even a small speed increase like 5 or 10 MPH greatly magnifies the force of impact. Despite decades of signage and PSAs, people keep driving too fast in the exact places where caution matters most: neighborhoods, school zones, commercial districts, and crosswalks. 

Technology exists to govern people who refuse to govern themselves. But I’m hoping you don’t force the hands of lawmakers. Instead, I hope you (and everyone else operating a motor vehicle) will slow down in populated areas.

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Subscribe to Urbanism Speakeasy. Join Andy Boenau as he explores ideas that the infrastructure status quo would rather keep quiet. To learn more, visit urbanismspeakeasy.com.