Boston’s default speed limit will drop from 30 miles per hour to 25 on Jan. 9, thanks to measures taken in late November by Mayor Marty Walsh and the City Council.

The reduction is part of an effort to curb, if not eliminate, vehicle-related deaths in the city, which is notorious for its awful traffic and equally awful drivers (present company excluded, of course).

At least 17 people have died this year on Boston’s roads, 12 of them pedestrians.

Boston’s move follows that of Somerville, which early last month lowered its own default speed limit to 25, unless otherwise posted.