The latest motorcycle accident on a county road in Ohio has led to renewed calls to lower the speed limit on a section of road that residents consider especially dangerous. News outlets reported that a motorcycle rider died Oct. 6 after colliding with a car at the intersection of Wright and School House roads in Ohio's Fairfield County.

According to the story, this is far from the only accident on this road. Columbus Local News reported that this stretch of road, which has a speed limit of 50 mph, has now seen at least seven accidents since 2006. Another of these accidents, in 2007, resulted in a fatality, the website reported.

Residents living along Wright Road successfully petitioned the Fairfield Board of County Commissioners in 2001 to lower the road's speed limit to its current 50 mph. Residents now, though, want the speed limit to fall again.

One resident is quoted in the story as saying that her family members often have to drive past their own driveways because motorists behind them are driving too fast. Other residents say that getting out of their driveways and onto Wright Road is a struggle because the rest of the traffic on the road is moving so quickly.

Such complaints are not unusual. Homeowners across the country often worry about the speed limits on the roads outside their residences. Understandably, any time a serious accident takes place on residents' streets, people become nervous.

The lesson, though, is a simple one: Just because a road has a posted speed limit of 50 mph doesn't mean that it's actually safe to go that fast. Drivers need to consider all of the conditions around them when choosing how fast to drive.

Source: Columbus Local News, "Fatality renews residents' push for lower speed limit," Janet Thiede, Oct. 12, 2011