Driving at the posted limit if everyone else is going 15-20 over can be incredibly dangerous. Which is why its legal to drive with the speed of traffic.
And it may be rare to see that situation in some places, but my local highway is often like that. I prefer to drive 5-10 over and no more, but if literally everyone else is driving 15-20 over then you really ought to not drive at the limit. If you do youll have people swerving around you at 20 over the limit.
I’m not going to say that sort of thing doesn’t happen, they undoubtedly do, but in places where the rules don’t permit speeding, just because everyone else is, the problem self corrects. If too many motorists exceed the limit, the police have a field day ticketing as many as they can, and the situation reverts to people driving at the limit.
That does take setting the limits appropriately, constant enforecement that can be scaled up, a certain margin of error being accepted so everyone doesn’t have their eyes glued to the speedo, and the understanding and acceptance from motorists that the rules are fair and there for a reason. Absent any one or more of those, and things will inevitably turn into a racetrack again. Fortunately, much of the management and enforcement is usually local, so political pressure applied locally can often help correct issues.
Permit speeding? US laws literally say the speed limit is the 85th percentile of the flow of traffic. The number on the sign is a suggestion, a safe one.
There’s nothing on that page that says the speed limit is the 85% percentile of the traffic flow. It states quite clearly that ‘Statutory speed limits are established by State legislatures for specific types of roads (e.g., Interstates, rural highways, urban streets) and can vary from State to State. They are enforceable by law and are applicable even if the speed limit sign is not posted’ and ‘Posted speed limits (sometimes called regulatory speed limits) are those that are sign-posted along the road and are enforceable by law.’
Those speed limits are initially set based on the design speed of the road, then later they can be assessed and possibly modified based on a number of factors including the 85% percentile you referenced, however’ ‘The 85th percentile speed is not the only factor practitioners evaluate when determining an appropriate speed limit; they complete engineering speed studies and often utilize supporting tools like USLIMITS2.’
Critically though, none of this means you can just drive at the prevailing speed of the traffic if it’s above the statutory or posted limit and not be considered to be speeding. The 85% percentile may be used to set the speed limit, but when it’s set, it’s the law.
That’s a slippery slope. The limits are there for a reason, and it’s considered unsafe to go faster. Everyone should be doing the speed limit, and if people consistently drive over the limit, they should absolutely have their licenses removed.
Driving at the posted limit if everyone else is going 15-20 over can be incredibly dangerous. Which is why its legal to drive with the speed of traffic.
And it may be rare to see that situation in some places, but my local highway is often like that. I prefer to drive 5-10 over and no more, but if literally everyone else is driving 15-20 over then you really ought to not drive at the limit. If you do youll have people swerving around you at 20 over the limit.
I’m not going to say that sort of thing doesn’t happen, they undoubtedly do, but in places where the rules don’t permit speeding, just because everyone else is, the problem self corrects. If too many motorists exceed the limit, the police have a field day ticketing as many as they can, and the situation reverts to people driving at the limit.
That does take setting the limits appropriately, constant enforecement that can be scaled up, a certain margin of error being accepted so everyone doesn’t have their eyes glued to the speedo, and the understanding and acceptance from motorists that the rules are fair and there for a reason. Absent any one or more of those, and things will inevitably turn into a racetrack again. Fortunately, much of the management and enforcement is usually local, so political pressure applied locally can often help correct issues.
Permit speeding? US laws literally say the speed limit is the 85th percentile of the flow of traffic. The number on the sign is a suggestion, a safe one.
https://highways.dot.gov/safety/speed-management/speed-limit-basics
There’s nothing on that page that says the speed limit is the 85% percentile of the traffic flow. It states quite clearly that ‘Statutory speed limits are established by State legislatures for specific types of roads (e.g., Interstates, rural highways, urban streets) and can vary from State to State. They are enforceable by law and are applicable even if the speed limit sign is not posted’ and ‘Posted speed limits (sometimes called regulatory speed limits) are those that are sign-posted along the road and are enforceable by law.’
Those speed limits are initially set based on the design speed of the road, then later they can be assessed and possibly modified based on a number of factors including the 85% percentile you referenced, however’ ‘The 85th percentile speed is not the only factor practitioners evaluate when determining an appropriate speed limit; they complete engineering speed studies and often utilize supporting tools like USLIMITS2.’
Critically though, none of this means you can just drive at the prevailing speed of the traffic if it’s above the statutory or posted limit and not be considered to be speeding. The 85% percentile may be used to set the speed limit, but when it’s set, it’s the law.
That’s a slippery slope. The limits are there for a reason, and it’s considered unsafe to go faster. Everyone should be doing the speed limit, and if people consistently drive over the limit, they should absolutely have their licenses removed.