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Feeling less safe is only weakly correlated with being less safe. We're not very good judges of risk. Urban "traffic calming" design attempts to exploit this by

Feeling less safe is only weakly correlated with being less safe. We're not very good judges of risk. Urban "traffic calming" design attempts to exploit this by trying to engineer roads that feel claustrophobic, causing drivers to slow down. Since kinetic energy is a square of velocity, slowing cars down - even a little - both significantly increases the chance of surviving a crash and also makes it more likely you'll stop in time to avoid the crash in the first place. Also interestingly, lower limits often reduce congestion and increase total road capacity. I'm not sure how safety at the race track works out, but skilled, predictable drivers in well maintained vehicles with race marshalls and huge run off areas probably makes any comparison awkward.

rad_gruchalski 4y ago
> Also interestingly, lower limits often reduce congestion and increase total road capacity. Exactly. People driving closer and paying even less attention because “driving slower”. Lack of attention and driving skill is what leads to accidents, not speed. I do need to say, though, the speed limit in the city, between pedestrians, I personally treat as saint. But outside of the city, especially when there’s almost nobody around, well, that depends but never reckless. > I'm not sure how safety at the race track works out, but skilled, predictable drivers in well maintained vehicles with race marshalls and huge run off areas probably makes any comparison awkward. The only race track I’m familiar with, is the Nordschleife. Not much run offs there.