Do wider roads lead to faster drivers?

ATLANTA - A super speeder is a driver who goes well above the posted speed limit.

A member of the Atlanta City Council, Dustin Hillis, believes the size of the road influences that behavior.

Hillis says in his northwest district there are streets that are 13 to 15 feet wide.

"It seems the more room a driver has to operate," said Hillis, "the faster they tend to go."

He cited in an interview with FOX 5 the Bolton Road corridor. Each lane is at least 13 feet.

"It is a 35 mph route, but they go way faster than that," the councilman explained.

Hillis pushed through legislation to begin making changes to restripe streets to ten feet per lane.

In August, when Bolton Road is resurfaced, the lanes will be narrowed.

Is the councilman correct?

An engineer and former transportation chief at city hall, Josh Rowan, says Hillis knows what he is talking about.

"What happens for many drivers is they see all the space available and decide they can take the risk to speed up," Rowan said.

"I applaud the councilman for bringing attention to this matter."