alt Hacker NewsDoesn't that just cause speeds to creep up as people think it's okay to go a little over the limit?
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Generally, there are 2 forces at play dictating how fast people will go on a given road. The probability of getting caught speeding is one, the other is the perceived safety of going fast. The issue most American roads have is that they are built extremely wide, with even more open space on either side of the road, so people are comfortable gunning it. Speed limits only matter insomuch as they adjust the perceived probability of being pulled over.
Our highways also train you that speed limit are complete bullshit. On an 8 lane, divided highway, with nothing but empty field or protective barriers on either side, 60 mph is comically low. That's how you end up with absurdities like it often being unavoidably illegal to drive on 680 in the Bay Area: either you're speeding, or you're obstructing traffic, both of which carry a fine.
IMO, the correct answer is to raise the speed limit of surface streets that already double as psuedo-highways (looking at you, San Jose), strictly enforce speed limits on surface streets, and then completely eliminate speed limits on the freeways.
The amount that people go over the speed limit varies depending on the road conditions, what they think is safe, and what the speed limit is.
So, if a road feels "safe" at 60mph to people, and you put the speed limit as 20 the average traffic might be 40mph. If you put the speed limit as 40mph, it might go up to 55mph. If you put the speed limit as 60mph, it might go up to 65 mph.
But that natural tapering is what lets you find a stable value for a specific percentile threshold.
We have the highest posted speed limit in the United States right now at 85mph for a 40-mile stretch in Austin - so you may be onto something.
At first, most do. After a while, it's only a few. The limits are only increased when most people are doing it. It pans out eventually.
that's already priced in
The older the get the more I appreciate speed limits as they are. Driving fast barely changes your arrival time on most trips and increases risk to you and others dramatically. I'm still guilty of speeding sometimes but on the whole I find driving the speed limits, or thereabouts, more relaxing and enjoyable (I do not hang out in the fast lane).