Are there any actual dwellings around the road? If so, those speed limits are quite reasonable or even on the high end. In Europe it is 50 km/h (30 mph) if there are houses around a road, and 30 km/h (18 mph) for actual town streets. The streets are also specifically designed to be narrower and there are a lot of traffic calming measures to make drivers naturally want to drive the speed limit. This way it is safe & pleasant for townsfolk to cross the street, the town doesn’t end up split in two by the highway, and if you’re a sane driver you won’t get fined even if you accidentally miss a speed limit sign.
Perhaps the best solution is to make the highways go around towns completely to avoid all of this. (and then we can also work towards banning cars in populated areas)
That gradual reduction in speed is typical for roads passing through rural towns in the US. There is often a 25mph for the town center too (or at least the most dense portion of the road as it passes through the town). These are typically rural roads, not the main highways/interstates that do this. They are usually low traffic roads where building a bypass would not be economical.
Motorists don’t like them because they have to slow down for a few minutes. Which is the greatest evil imaginable. The only reason for a lower speed limit is to scam the motorist. The ~8000 pedestrians and bicyclists that are killed each year on the roads is a small price to pay for being able to go fast through someone’s neighborhood.
God I started a new long distance deive for work recently and its half on a rural highway. Like 10 tiny towns over arpund 60 miles.
Every one…
Outside speed limit is 55 mph
Hit town, 45 mph
30 feet later, 35 mph
2 blocks in the middle, 30 mph
Back to 35 mph
35 mph feels like it lasts riiiiiight up to the edge of the town.
And half the time the first drop going in and the 55mph sign going out are obscured by overgrown trees.
Its just designed to catch people traveling the corridor.
Are there any actual dwellings around the road? If so, those speed limits are quite reasonable or even on the high end. In Europe it is 50 km/h (30 mph) if there are houses around a road, and 30 km/h (18 mph) for actual town streets. The streets are also specifically designed to be narrower and there are a lot of traffic calming measures to make drivers naturally want to drive the speed limit. This way it is safe & pleasant for townsfolk to cross the street, the town doesn’t end up split in two by the highway, and if you’re a sane driver you won’t get fined even if you accidentally miss a speed limit sign.
Perhaps the best solution is to make the highways go around towns completely to avoid all of this. (and then we can also work towards banning cars in populated areas)
That gradual reduction in speed is typical for roads passing through rural towns in the US. There is often a 25mph for the town center too (or at least the most dense portion of the road as it passes through the town). These are typically rural roads, not the main highways/interstates that do this. They are usually low traffic roads where building a bypass would not be economical.
Motorists don’t like them because they have to slow down for a few minutes. Which is the greatest evil imaginable. The only reason for a lower speed limit is to scam the motorist. The ~8000 pedestrians and bicyclists that are killed each year on the roads is a small price to pay for being able to go fast through someone’s neighborhood.