New research indicates increasing highway speed limits can mean a jump in accidents on nearby roads.

AAA examined crash statistics on roads within a one-mile radius before and after speed-limit increases on interstate highways in Georgia, Michigan and Oregon. It found that speed-related crashes increased on many of the roads in close proximity to those interstates and theorized that drivers exiting the highways continued traveling fast on the surface streets.

“Increasing posted speed limits on freeways may improve traffic flow but could also lead to safety concerns in adjacent communities once speeding drivers proceed to neighboring roadways,” said Dr. David Yang, president and executive director of the AAA Foundation. “Local streets around our homes are designed for slower speeds and diverse road users such as pedestrians and cyclists—not for speeding drivers.”

AAA urged communities to follow its guidance on using engineering and “behavioral countermeasures” to help prevent accidents on local streets when freeway speed limits increase.

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