The second pillar was accident statistics themselves. A comprehensive review of accident studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed exactly the opposite. Fast drivers had fewer accidents than slower drivers. On a freeway, the safest speed found was 10 mph over the average traffic speed. That's over the speed of the traffic, not over the speed limit.
Traffic speed is already aver the limit, and maximum safety occurs faster than that.
Accidents happen to people who drive their cars into something. Those people who are good at driving, drive fast. Those who are poor drivers, drunk, drugged, inexperienced, drowsy, slow-witted, nervous, scared, or otherwise impaired, drive slower. Their slowness does not save them. The slow drivers have about 10 times the accident rate of the fast ones.