There were at least nine pedestrian fatalities in New Jersey Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon’s district between 2009-2011. And between 2001 and 2011, a quarter (578 of 2,334) of Monmouth County crashes in which bicyclists were injured took place in O’Scanlon’s district, with four of those crashes fatal. So what is O’Scanlon doing about it?

Well, nothing. But he does want to raise the speed limits on the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway.

According to O’Scanlon, raising the speed limit on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway would result in fewer accidents. He believes that only the drivers who go the speed limit would drive faster, and because there would be less of a speed difference among cars on the highways, there would be fewer lane changes. As O’Scanlon put it, “You only have crashes and accidents when you have people overtaking other people.”

That’s not true, of course. “Crashes and accidents” happen for a number of reasons — not only when drivers overtake each other. And the faster vehicles are moving when they do collide with each other or fixed objects, the more deadly those crashes become. Although the Federal Highway Administration says that the “effects of speed on safety are complex and only partially known,” speeding is a contributing factor in 30 percent of roadway fatalities, and “there is clear and convincing evidence that crash severity increases with individual vehicle speed.”

O’Scanlon’s argument, which seems to fall squarely in line with his friends at the National Motorists Association, is based on an optimistic assumption that “people naturally drive at reasonably safe and prudent speeds,” so “speed limits should be set solely on sound engineering criteria, not the hunches of lay persons.” The problem is that people don’t always abide by this assumption, which is why we have laws.

Adjusting laws to accommodate the whims of motorists isn’t anything new for O’Scanlon. A few months ago, he introduced legislation (A3285) to create a grace period before a red light camera is triggered, essentially allowing drivers to run red lights. Perhaps Assemblyman O’Scanlon could benefit from a refresher driver’s education course: Running a red light is illegal, and a yellow light does not mean “step on it.”

Fortunately, common sense has so far prevailed, and his bill was put on hold in February. And the fact remains that over time, intersections where red light cameras have installed have become safer.

O’Scanlon is professing to advance these misguided initiatives in the name of safety, but if that’s really his concern, his legislative efforts would be better spent slowing down cars and improving safety for cyclists and pedestrians.