Do Speed Limits Work?
Posted by revaric@reddit | driving | View on Reddit | 41 comments
Definitely see this topic a lot on this sub, this video explains why it’s such a contentious topic.
https://youtu.be/_flFDBPZNWo?si=tVq253s2oWzRkF0e
I’ve long been in the “variability is worse” camp. This has me doubling down, what do you think?
harley97797997@reddit
When people don't follow rules, they don't work. When people do follow them, they do work. It's not rocket surgery.
Charadisa@reddit
Rocket surgery😂😂😂
Charadisa@reddit
Rocket surgery😂😂😂
Francesca_N_Furter@reddit
They might in my area if they were enforced. They worked when I first started driving---I never saw anything dangerous like tailgating or crazy speeding like I do now.
And for everyone who thinks they can handle speeding---you can't. And get your tires and brakes checked. I keep seeing people when I am having my car serviced getting lectured on their shitty tires. ---does that maybe clue you in on why I avoid driving near other cars? LOL
revaric@reddit (OP)
The point you slip in about avoiding other cars, I use speed to achieve that result. I’d rather be in front of someone I think will cause an accident than behind them in the event they do just that.
Francesca_N_Furter@reddit
Hilarious. Why do people act like speeding ahead will put you on an empty road?....There are always cars up ahead.
LOL, it sounds like you are a drug addict.
Sexy-Flexi@reddit
The combination of cars designed to go from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds and criminally tinted windows on front side windows and windshields are equally problematic.
revaric@reddit (OP)
I don’t think calling fast cars a problem is fair. Having acceleration gives a driver access to potential exits in an emergency that aren’t available to slower cars. There definitely are folks using acceleration/power irresponsibly but that’s no reason to disapprove of faster cars outright. One day in the not too distant future everyone will have (electric) cars that accelerate well and it will resolve a large number of traffic issues in turn. That said, there’s no replacement for responsible driving.
Sexy-Flexi@reddit
Oh I am with you 100%, I have great acceleration on my vehicle and drive it responsibly. I reserve my power flip for when need be so I think we're on the same page my friend
revaric@reddit (OP)
Definitely with you on too dark tint, and folks that tint windshields… 😱
Randomized9442@reddit
Partially. Not all of us are petty assholes, and most of us can do algebra.
revaric@reddit (OP)
Happy cake day
funkcatbrown@reddit
Suggestions. They’re good suggestions. I usually roll a bit faster but not crazy.
knockatize@reddit
They work when traffic lights are in sync with speed limits.
revaric@reddit (OP)
Excellent point, when you know there’s a light that’s timed, you won’t bother rushing.
reddit-frog-1@reddit
Having seen the effect of speed camera introduction on traffic speeds in Europe, these are the only things that really work.
Z_Clipped@reddit
Traffic calming infrastructure works, and it works better than any type of arbitrary limit enforcement. The problem is, it improves life for communities without making any money for municipalities in the process.
Helpjuice@reddit
Which is fine, counties should not be making their money from people breaking the law, but actively doing things to make breaking the law harder while making the community safer.
reddit-frog-1@reddit
Totally agree. It's amazing what a difference is made when 2 cars travelling in opposite directions cannot easily pass each other. People drive so much better.
tonydaracer@reddit
LOL fuck no.
In my area, you either have the folks who are too scared to drive the limit and habitually drive 10 under everywhere, or you have the folks who are too reckless and drive 10+ over. There is no in-between. And this happens in clear day with perfect conditions, don't get me started about what happens when it rains / snows. It makes my blood boil.
Sufficient_Prompt888@reddit
Excuse me while I drive half the speed of everyone around me with my hazards on, for safety.
Sufficient_Prompt888@reddit
Excuse me while I drive half the speed of everyone around me with my hazards on, for safety.
revaric@reddit (OP)
The differential is the killer!
cr250250r@reddit
As a guy who lives in a state with a restriction on trailer speed…..I agree. I get sometimes I need to go slower but of weight. But I feel fairly safe doing 65-70 with my 1000 lb empty trailer with speed rated tires behind my F350 on a flat stretch of interstate with only a few cars around. Haha.
ShawtySayWhaaat@reddit
No because speed limits are often set too low for actual travel so police can write more tickets. It's why going 10 over is normal.
Look at places like Germany. They are much more strict and for good reason, they allot a reasonable speed limit for travel because it's the actual limit of what engineers think is reasonable for traffic.
Policing for profit is a detriment on our system.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
On most roads if you drive appropriately for the conditions, you'll end up driving right around the speed limit anyway. The speed limit isn't some random number they pull out of a hat, urban planners have a deep think about what the speed limit should be.
HarryTheOwlcat@reddit
One of the main criticism of car infrastructure in the US is that the speed limit is often much lower than the "design speed". Wide roads with many lanes encourage speeding.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Wide roads aren't meant to encourage speeding, they are meant for larger vehicles to have an easier time.
If you have difficulty going the speed limit without speeding, find socially acceptable ways to speed (like racing) so that you can get it out of your system. Don't blame the road for poor impulse control.
HarryTheOwlcat@reddit
What an unnecessarily hostile response. The design of roads is paramount to driver behavior. This has been studied and verified repeatedly. Many European countries are well ahead of the US when it comes to getting drivers to go a certain speed through road design.
https://highways.dot.gov/safety/speed-management/lower-citywide-speed-limits-and-design-changes
"However, simply lowering the citywide speed limit isn't always enough to slow drivers—a wide travel lane design and unobstructed views on many city arterials encourage speeding by making drivers feel that it is safe to speed."
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Unless you plan on creating a separate road system for trucks, your point is kinda moot. Wide roads aren't designed just for small cars and the world does not revolve around tiny cars with speed control issues. There is nothing forcing you to speed, in fact most of the time if you are going 15+ over, you are probably driving unsafe for conditions anyway. Roads that are wide and flat have speed limits of up to 90 mph. How much faster do you need to go? If the speed limit is lower than that then that's probably because of curves, mountains, wildlife, intersections, houses or other valid reasons.
jmarkmark@reddit
They do if they're enforced.
My home town had a freeway mostly designed for 100km/h but a few sections they couldn't get up to those standards so the whole thing is set to 80.
Needless to say, people love to speed on it.
Then they brought in photo radar. Now no one speeds.
CafeTeo@reddit
I guess any rule is irrelevant if not enforced. So I do not think anywhere in the US has any data that can possibly prove or disprove if speed limits matter. They will have data on accidents as various speeds. But unless EVERYONE was doing 50-55 in a 55. Then that data is useless for speed limit info. And it would be correlating other causes of accidents.
So it is less that speed limits work and more that most drivers do not follow them.
Of course driving slower is safer. How does the data go? For every 5 miles over the speed limit you increase your risk of death if you are in an accident by 10%? And this is exponential? so like near 100% chance of death at 90+mph or something. I do not recall how it actually works.
But changing lanes is even more dangerous or something. So going 80 and going around slow drivers = the most dangerous person on the road.
Firm-Life8749@reddit
People should just drive at the speed limit instead of 5-10 mph under.
CafeTeo@reddit
I think under is ok. That's what the right lane is for.
If everyone did 55 in the left lane and everyone especially in the right lane kept a 3 second distance. Accidents and traffic would never exist.
I think we need at least 3 lanes to allow for faster speeds. This way we can use the right lane to merge and go slow. Middle lane to go 65 and left lane to allow for 75. Not passing.
If everyone goes the exact speed limit, then passing no longer exists and now we have an additional lane of travel.
But as well. that is just 1 solution.
Since police won't enforce and drivers are dip shits. We have to find solutions for dip shits. And how to keep those dip shits from hurting too many people. Sad, but the reality of our world.
jumper34017@reddit
The problem is that the Dunning-Kruger effect is so prevalent among drivers that a large percentage of them overestimate what’s safe given their abilities. This is why you see so many people ignoring speed limits altogether while saying “bUt i’M a gOoD dRiVeR”.
No. You aren’t as good a driver as you think you are.
Is speed enforcement abused in some places for revenue generation? Sure. There are places that will ticket for 1 mph over, which is well within the margin of error that should be expected given the accuracy of speedometers and radar guns. Does this mean that all speed limits are used this way? No.
I’ve seen roads with speed limits set nonsensically low. I’ve also seen roads where people do whatever the hell they want. This is what causes differentials. If you are flying through traffic, you are the problem.
loctang@reddit
Yes, I follow them and it has always allowed me to react accordingly to incoming threats. Last week, I was going 55 in a 50 and was able to dodge a homing missile
tony22233@reddit
Wait, what?
Z_Clipped@reddit
They "work" for revenue generation.
gluten_heimer@reddit
This study shows a statistically significant impact on the 85th percentile traffic flow speed when a limit was increased from 70 to 75.
This one found that increasing the speed limit on a freeway from 60 to 65 mph increased 15th, 50th, and 85th percentile speeds, but all of them by less than the speed limit increase.
Plenty more studies and info can be found by putting site:scholar.google.com at the end of your Google search query.
Dis_engaged23@reddit
You mean speed suggestions?
golfguy1985@reddit
They don’t really work as most people don’t follow them