The technology exists to reduce driving speeds to improve safety. Should we use it?
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.
