Q12 - After the rush-hour

by **ManhattanPrepLSAT1** Fri Dec 31, 1999 8:00 pm

Question Type
Explain a Result

Stimulus
Something strange is presented in the stimulus that needs an explanation. Why is it that when the British government lowered the rush-hour speed limit on the M25 motorway from 70 mph to 50 mph there was a decrease in the rush-hour travel times? One would expect that lowering the speed limit would increase travel times, right?

Anticipate
One thing that could explain the decrease in travel times would be fewer traffic accidents that created extra congestion on the motorway.

Correct Answer
(C) points correctly at the very issue we anticipated—fewer traffic accidents.

Incorrect Answers
(A) fails to explain how the lower average speed led to a decrease in travel times.

(B) is out of scope.

(D) fails to explain how the lower average speed led to a decrease in travel times.

(E) might help explain why travel times did not increase dramatically, but does not explain why travel times were reduced.

#officialexplanation