The traffic can be fierce on Route 3 between Route 128 in Burlington and the New Hampshire border, even on a good day. But as of Monday, MassDOT has advised drivers, the speed limit on the roadway has been increased from 55 to 65 mph.
“It’s a busy corridor. It’s pretty congested. I think during rush hour, many folks would probably be happy going 55 if they could,” Mark Schieldrop, senior spokesperson for AAA Northeast said.
And now they officially can.
“I can’t say that I was aware of this change,” said Wally Napier, local business center manager of the Evolution Office Park on Burlington Woods Drive, a co-working franchise space with 80 locations across the nation. “Any change in, in traffic or commuting, definitely makes an impact on a lot of people’s lives.”
The 10 mph increase in speed limit received an unenthusiastic response from some local drivers in the area. Some told GBH News they were unaware of the lower speed limit along the roadway or mentioned that the speed limit was widely ignored by most drivers.
Reactions in a Massachusetts Reddit thread about the speed limit increase, ranged from: “So I can now go 85 instead of 75?” to “About time! I never understood why the speed limit was so low in this section.”
Schieldrop said a proper speed limit should reflect the free-flowing traffic of a normal day, or the operating speed. Speed limits should roughly be in the 85th percentile limit, meaning the speed at which 85% of the drivers are traveling. The MassDOT website states, “MassDOT does not simply rely on the 85th percentile to determine a recommended speed limit. Many factors are considered in the final recommendation, including adjacent land use, expected road users, and safety history.”
Schieldrop said AAA did not engage or petition against the state raising the speed limit on the roadway, and that MassDOT has guidelines for all road projects.
With traffic changes, safety is always the primary concern for AAA Northeast, Schieldrop said. And that with speed limit increases, “We historically see an increase in crashes.”
A 2019 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study found increasing speed limits over the last 25 years has cost an estimated 37,000 lives, as well as an increase in overall insurance rates as a result.
Schieldrop said a look at state data since 2022 along Route 3 in Massachusetts, found there’s been about 2,000 crashes and seven fatalities, with many of the fatalities along the southern portion of Route 3.
In 2022, 12,151 people died in speed related crashes nationally. And there’s a real concern with younger drivers, particularly young men. Data shows that of the men between the age of 15 and 20 who died in crashes, 35% of them were speeding in those fatal crashes.
In addition, there is a dramatic increase in injuries and fatalities when speeds are increased from 40 to 50 mph, and then again from 50 to 56 mph.
Schieldrop said, “If more folks drove the speed limit, we would have a significant reduction in crashes, fatalities nationwide.”
