Nah, not that confusing. Roads mostly have speed limits posted on the roads themselves - I mean, there are signs along the road saying 35mph or 55mph or whatever - and after you've driven in the US long enough mostly the limits are easy enough to guess based on conditions; I can usually tell whether I should be driving at 25, 35, 45 or whatever just by looking. In addition, each state has a "statutory" limit; if a road doesn't have a speed limit posted (which in my experience is rare), then the state's statutory limit applies. The statutory limit can vary from state to state at least partly because the geography varies; in New England it's hilly with winding roads, and it makes sense to have a lower overall speed limit than in a plains state where the roads are wide, straight and on flat ground for hundreds of miles at a time.
As you enter a town you'll often see a sign saying that within the city limits the statutory speed limit is 35; again, any place a sign doesn't say otherwise the speed limit is therefore 35. Occasionally you hear stories about a particular small town having unusually low speed limits, not marking them properly and then issuing tickets to motorists passing through from out of town, as a way of making money. Sometimes those stories are just spiteful complaints by motorists who prefer to go as fast as they like, but of course, people being what they are, sometimes the stories are true. But I expect that sort of thing is the same all over. --- Bob Bridges, [email protected], cell 336 382-7313 /* When weeding, the best way to make sure you're removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it's a valuable plant. */ -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of R.S. Sent: Wednesday, August 5, 2020 08:16 Federal limits, state limits... This is something I don't understand. Standarization is good thing and common rules are easier to follow. I just checked - 85mph in Texas, even for trucks. And 55mph in District of Columbia (not to mention Guam). From the other hand Residential Areas limits vary from 15 to 55mph. Howeve it is matter of simple table with different values for each row (state), because the columns (rules) vary also. That lead to confusion. It's even more complex than baseball and non-SI measures! ;-) --- W dniu 05.08.2020 o 08:34, Bob Bridges pisze: > Technically the 55mph limit wasn't a federal law; Rex is right that speed > limits are set and enforced by each state. But in the '70s Congress (the > Federal Congress) passed a law that Federal highway money would not be > forthcoming to states that allowed their speed limits to exceed 55mph. Most > states went along. The 55mph speed limit is long gone now; interstates I > drive on east of the Mississippi river are mostly 65 and 70, except through > dicey parts of cities where it can go as low as 55 or even 45. I saw a piece > of I-10 in AZ that was 75, or maybe 80, but that's all I've seen myself. > > I remember my driver's-ed teacher in high school telling us that in some > western states the statutory speed limit used to be 120, and even that was > enforced spottily. > > Before the 55 limit, in 1972 and at the mature age of 17, I hitchhiked across > the country. (NC to CA; for Europeans, it's about 4100 km.) A guy who > picked me up in Texas had just had a new engine put into his car, and he > didn't want to go too fast until he'd broken in the engine a bit. But the > roads in Texas are straight and flat; he kept creeping up over 100mph without > realizing it. Then we'd hit a very slight curve, the car would make a slight > noise as it pulled against friction toward the outside of the road, he'd > glance down at the speedometer and slow down again. All very interesting to > a boy who'd never gone that fast before. But of course in such flat land it > didn't really seem that fast. > > -----Original Message----- > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Tony Thigpen > Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2020 09:09 > > The 55 MPH limit was a federal law designed to force people to save fuel > by driving slower during the 70's when the fuel crisis hit the US. And, > we were stuck with for a long time even after the fuel crisis was over. > Some studies showed that while it saved fuel for autos, it cost fuel for > long-haul trucking. > > Just like the 18% interest rates of the 70's, we hope to never see a > national 55MPH speed limit again. > > --- Pommier, Rex wrote on 8/4/20 9:01 AM: >> Speed limits are different in the States based on which state you're in. >> Each state can set its own speed limit. I am in South Dakota, and most >> smaller 2 lane roads are 55 MPH. Many of the state 2 lane roads are 65, and >> the interstates have an 80 MPH speed limit, the equivalent of about 130 KPH. >> So the divided highways - at least in South Dakota - are reasonable. >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> On Behalf Of >> R.S. >> Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2020 7:23 AM >> >> My opinion: I like american cars and roads. >> However I don't understand common speed limit 55 mph which is in my opinion >> too low for the road on desert. >> >> BTW: >> Here in Poland default limit on highway is 140 km/h. >> However in Germany default is ...your sanity. No speed limit. Most cars have >> factory limit at 250 km/h, but not luxury ones. And yes, it is legal to >> drive 300 km/h Of course this is for highways only. 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