States rethink a long-held practice of setting speed limits based on how fast drivers travel

States rethink long-held practice of setting speed limits based on how fast drivers travel

Studies on rural roads from the 1930s and 1940s play an outsized role in the way speed limits are set across the U.S. — even in urban areas.

Era of drivers dictating speed limits may end

Rose Hammond pushed authorities for years to lower the 55 mph speed limit on a two-lane road that passes her assisted living community, a church, two schools and a busy park that hosts numerous youth sports leagues.

States rethink setting speed limits based on how fast people drive

Road safety activists and some states are pushing to depart from a norm that bases speed limits largely on how fast drivers actually travel.

US States Rethink Practice Of Setting Speed Limits Based On How Fast Drivers Travel

Rose Hammond pushed authorities for years to lower the 55 mph speed limit on a two-lane road that passes her assisted living community, a church, two schools and a busy park that hosts numerous youth sports leagues.

States rethink a long-held practice of setting speed limits based on how fast drivers travel

Road safety activists and some states are pushing to depart from a longstanding rule that sets speed limits in the United States based largely on how fast drivers actually travel. This is due to the 85% rule, which ties speed…

States rethink setting speed limits based on how fast drivers travel

But supporters of the rule say it provides the safer approach by limiting the speed discrepancy between drivers who abide by the posted sign and those who ignore it because the road design allows them to do so.