EDITORIAL: Dalton Gardens right to lower speed limit

Slow down 

That was the message from the Dalton Gardens City Council when it passed an ordinance on Wednesday reducing the city’s statutory speed limit from 35 to 25 mph. 

We applaud them. It’s the right call. 

Sounds simple enough, right? Slow down for a short stretch. Then go on your merry way. 

Wrong. 

Habits are hard to break. And easing off the gas pedal is even harder to do today in a world of drivers in a hurry. 

For years, drivers have zipped through Dalton Gardens faster than the posted speed limits, using Fourth and 15th streets to avoid the north-south traffic congestion on U.S. 95 and Government Way. Few, it seems, feel a speed limit applies to them. 

Some drivers are in a frenzy to get where they’re going, even when they really have no reason to be in a hurry. That’s why they get impatient behind drivers who are adhering to the speed limit, or why they become agitated when they must stop at a red light. And then another. And another. It’s why, even for a block or two, they gun it through neighborhoods, as if saving a few seconds at 45 mph rather than 35 will somehow make their day better. 

Dalton Gardens for years has kicked around lowering the speed limit, but declined to do so, likely because it was aware it would be difficult to enforce and it knows that many drivers would likely ignore it, anyway. 

Of course, the most effective way to get drivers to slow down in Dalton Gardens would be for Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office deputies to patrol the area more often and sit with a radar gun and hand out tickets to speeders. They could probably generate a pretty steady stream of revenue. 

However, while that would be effective, it would not be a good use of a deputy’s time or our tax dollars. They shouldn’t have to babysit drivers, which is what they would be doing if they must sit on the roadside to get folks to cool it. 

So here’s what we suggest and it’s stating the obvious: Drivers, when you’re in Dalton Gardens or really anywhere, fight the need for speed. Relax. We know going 25 mph is going to take discipline and self-control, we know others will tailgate you for it, but it could save lives. Statistics bear this out. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration speeding has been involved in about one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities in the past two decades. In 2022, speeding was a contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities; 12,151 people died, and an estimated 300,595 were injured in speeding-related crashes. Eighty-seven percent of all speeding-related traffic fatalities occurred on non-interstate roads. 

So, drivers, respect the decision of the Dalton Gardens City Council and slow down. It's that easy.