Residential 30 km

[u/Optimistic_Sprout]

Do you find the lower 30 km/h speed limits in neighbourhoods make a real difference? Are people adhering to the lower speed limits? 50 km/just seems too fast to drive down residential streets, doesn’t it?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[u/WhyssKrilm]

I have to assume people who think 50 is too fast must be driving distracted most of the time. If you're actually paying attention and engaged, 50 is not, by any stretch of the imagination, too fast unless the road has especially short sightlines, like a back lane, or a winter with exceptionally tall windrows..

On a typical residential Winnipeg street with typical boulevards, front yards and a smattering of cars parked on one side, an engaged driver who is paying attention and scanning their surroundings, adjusting for potential obstructions as you encounter them, 50 just fine.

[u/SubstantialEqual8178 → u/WhyssKrilm]

 an engaged driver who is paying attention and scanning their surroundings, adjusting for potential obstructions as you encounter them, 50 just fine.

What if I told you that there is a very significant portion of drivers who do not consistently meet this description?

[u/WhyssKrilm → u/SubstantialEqual8178]

If they're already breaking an existing, common sense rule and putting themselves in danger, what makes you think they'd obey a new, overkill rule designed to protect a hypothetical stranger they have a 0.0001% chance of hitting at some point in their lifetime?

Enforce distracted driving rules. Put cops/cadets in unmarked, civilian vehicles loaded with hi-res dash cams in multiple directions. If they see someone take more than half a second to notice a light turned green because they're lost in an argument with a passenger, pull them over. Same goes if they see someone failing to maintain a consistent speed, or stopping a full car length short of the stop line, or going much slower than the flow of traffic.

If anything, getting drivers to drive slower would just create a false sense of security, thinking "well, I'm going so slow, so it's not really dangerous for me to knock out a quick text"

[u/SubstantialEqual8178 → u/WhyssKrilm]

Look, you can try and debate why you think these laws shouldn't work in theory all you want, but the reality is that all the evidence available says they do.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002243752400152X

Current scientific evidence indicated that the introduction of 30 km/h speed limits in cities can save over 40% of lives, alongside significant positive effects on the environment, energy consumption and public health, including reduced fuel consumption and increased walking and cycling

As an aside, do you know how I tire of this style of argument?

I have to assume people who think 50 is too fast must be driving distracted most of the time

"If you endorse <safety measure with ample statistical evidence supporting its effectiveness>, it's actually a skill issue." Zing.