I don't know about your "85th percentile rule" because every time I get in a car I see something like 95% of all drivers exceeding the speed limit while tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic, not signalling, but somehow finding the time to talk on their cell phones while texting.
+MrFishingGor Government is the organization via democratic representation of a nation. The people are the government, the government are the people. So, yes, we do decide the speed limits. If you really don't like it, vote for an idiot like Donald Trump or Rand Paul and see how horribly it all works out when they listen to your demands for higher speed limits. Oh, wait, that won't happen because there are enough sane people who wouldn't do that, so they won't be becoming president anytime soon. (Yes, I realize congress is actually a better barometer for such change because they are the one's that are actually more likely to make that change. In that case vote for whichever is the biggest idiot and petition him with your idiotic sentiments.)
Yes there is. The speed limit would be the fastest my car could hit. In my case, i got a underpowered brick with a v6. So the max im hitting is 112 mph
I'm about 90% sure that the speed limits (In the part of the country that I live in anyway) are chosen so that the police department can give people speeding tickets, especially visitors from out of town. For instance, the highway that runs through the city has a speed limit of 65mph then right before the city limit it changes to 45mph for no reason whatsoever; then goes all the way down to 35mph for the entire stretch of highway until you get to the other side of town, where it then changes to 45mph then 65mph again, all in a 3 mile stretch of highway. Every single time I drive into town, no matter the time of day or night someone is pulled over getting a ticket. It's NOT for safety, it's extortion to generate revenue.
+Loren Booker I agree completely, speed limits are bullshit. most of the time it's to make money. If it was for the peoples safety more cops would be driving around visible so people around them would follow the rules and PREVENT accidents without pulling anyone over and slamming a ticket. They wouldn't be driving around in unmarked cars, or hiding like pussies behind bushes with radar guns to catch people speeding and driving dangerously, that's not preventative waiting for them to do something stupid which would create a higher risk of crashing. and most of the time its not people who speed that cause accidents its the idiots who don't know how to signal, who are texting, driving too slow making other drivers frustrated, stopping on a merging lane when they have a whole lane to themselves to drive into and merge like wtf. I feel i'm more aware of my surroundings and more awake when i'm speeding or changing my speeds rather than just sitting at a constant slow ass 30MPH, :/ sorry for the rant. lol
+Loren Booker We have a stretch of road like that where I live. I got ticketed around 5am one morning for 70km/h in a 50km/h zone. There were no other cars or pedestrians in sight, so I asked the cop why he thought it was dangerous for me to drive at that speed. He pointed to a convenience store across the street and said crackheads run across to the store all the time. I guess there's no money to be made off of crackheads, so he just fucks with the guys heading to work.
Bruceman Batwayne same thing happened to me. Empty roads at 12 am and he followed me for a few KM because I didn't indicate my lane change and went over 3 lanes. Lol. Then he pulled me over when I indicated to go into my neighbourhood.
lastwolflord plugs are OK in my book. BUT when you don't make it clear that its a plug. and try to stick it in there to sound like just another fact. that is just deceiving and i dont trust Dnews at all now.
Yup. There's always someone doing 40 in a 55 causing people to either A: excessively tailgate the offending driver, causing a rear end collision or worse. B: Get impatient enough to try and pass. The problem is, everyone in the lane in during 40, and traffic in the other lanes is going 55+. Excessive slow drivers cause more crashes than a skilled driver on the highway in the boonies or someone doing safe, moderate speeding like 5 to 9 over.
I call bullshit on them going back and constantly re evaluating the speed limit. They set a 100km/h speed limit 50 years ago, and called it a day, then never changed it again.
+martinshoosterman although I can kind of see your point, as cars have gotten safer over the years, you must also keep in mind that there are many more people on the roads now, and roadways have not expanded at the same pace. Moreover, driver awareness has unfortunately decreased due to the use of cell phones while driving. Finally, even though cars get increasingly safer, faster, and more powerful, there is an unfortunate handicap that all humans have, which is reaction time. This time can only be shortened with advanced training or a lot of experience, which most drivers do not have. But even with training and experience, there is a certain limit we cannot surpass. However, although for some this limit may be 100km/h, the vast majority of people can safely surpass this speed if they are focused and well trained, so unless there is extremely high traffic volumes in that area, I agree with you that the limit should be raised.
tmanepic it's like when you chose your speed it's al your attention on the road and traffic not on your speed and or phone cuz you think other people ride the same speed
The system here is digital speed limit signs that change with the conditions. If conditions are good, speed limit is 110, if bad, the signs change to show 80, if really bad, they change to show 60. This is on the main freeway out of the city. It's a great system, n works well.
Top gear also mentions that the 60mph speed limit was made when cars needed a certain distance to stop to 0mph from 60mph, but now the distance is much shorter, but top gear tested the distance with performance cars, bmw m6, nissan gtr, and bentley continental gt
Hello. Traffic engineer here. Speed limits are defined by road quality, road and environment safety and everything else listed. If you stop momentarily with speeds 50 km/h +, your organs get ripped and you die. With ~70 km/h you can't survive that kind of crash. So, even if roads let you drive 120 km/h, you should be aware that if something happens - you are dead and nothing can help you (yep, belts and airbags are useless in high speed crashes).
+Нећу Давамкажем That's a very simplistic view. The number of accidents in which cars come to a sudden halt within a few meters is very small. On the German Autobahn people frequently survive crashes at 200km/h and above. Sure, the probability of death is a lot higher, but modern cars can safe you in lots of cases.
EACCyclonit Well, it's very broad to be talked about here. Point is that even if everything is perfect and you can drive 200 km/h, doesn't really mean you should, because sometimes surviving the crash is worse than dying in it. After all, more than 1.2 million people die in road crashes every year.
***** Most things in life are dangerous to some degree. As long as you don't cause any increased risk for others, you should be allowed to drive as fast as you deem safe. I prefer considering 4 factors: Road structure, surface condition, traffic and you're own skill. As long as all of those are fine, driving fast should not be illegal.
EACCyclonit Of course, but it's obvious that bunch of people cause risks which lead to crashes. Sometimes it's the car, sometimes roads, but mostly drivers. I'm sure 200 km/h would be everywhere, only if we could ensure perfect 0 risk conditions. :)
Car and Driver did a great article in 1978 that the new 78's did not in fact get the best mileage at 55 and found it to be closer to 65, or 100kph. "Flat-out in Ohio" was the name of the article.
Speed limits should be higher cause the faster you go, the more attentive you're in driving. I personally experienced almost all of my flawed drivings and near accidents while driving slow...
If you live in Australia, also subtract 10-20km/h off the speed limit so people are forced to break the limit, allowing the authorities to rake in as much revenue as possible using hidden speed cameras and randomly placed speed traps.
Trace. I was driving a back road while there was a "black ice" warning out (we take that seriously in the NE). I was going slowly (well below the speed limit) when I hit a patch of said "black ice", skidded of the road and hit a telephone pole. A police officer eventually came by and took my statement. He then wrote me a $100 ticket for "going too fast for conditions"! I got out of the ticket in court, arguing that ANY speed I may have been going was "too fast", since it was obvious I had an accident. The judge agreed that the infraction was not warranted since no one could tell me what that speed should have been. Add this to your speed factors.
the speed limits are always just below whats safe this is because people tend to know what is safe and will go over that set speed limit ending in a fine witch then puts money into the governments pockets oO its called the speed trap
If 1km would add 3% crashes, why is germany so high on the list of safest countries to drive ? Half their highways have no limit and 150 Mph is the standard speed for many drivers there. Imo, Germany is the living proof that speed on highways is of minor influence for safety. In cities of course its obviously a different thing.
I've had four collisions: three in parking lots, one on the highway in heavy traffic. All at less than 5mph. Yet I can go well in excess of the speed limit without even coming close to causing an accident.
i have cruised down the interstate late at night before doing 100mph and felt perfectly safe, but what scares me is theres to many dumb asses out there not paying attention to do those kind of speeds
"efficient and safer." That depends on how you mean efficient. If we're talking about FUEL efficiency, then it's heavily dependent on the car and driving conditions, with some cars having very different speed/efficiency curves from others. The Tesla Model S, for example, has a fuel-optimal highway speed of something like 35 mph, but that would almost certainly not be practical, and nobody wants to drive 35 mph on the highway, or be behind someone driving that speed. Then there's traffic efficiency. Below about 45 mph, the distance between cars grows slower than the speed of those cars, and thus, the number of cars per lane per second is higher. A highway going below 45 mph is a dynamically unstable system. Increasing the traffic decreases speed, which decreases throughput, which decreases speed, potentially all the way to ZERO.
+Andrew B (IrishRebel92) that's not strictly speaking true. There are absolutely parts of the autobahn with speed limits -- and parts without. The recommended speed, even on parts without is 80mph (130km/h). And as far as safety goes, 67 percent of the deaths on the autobahn occur on the no-limit parts, and they are 8th in safety (as of 2006). The European Transportation Safety Council says they can do much better, perhaps by lowering speed limits.
There's places in Ireland where the speed limit seems more like a dare than anything else; tiny twisty roads with a cliff right at the shoulder an no space for oncoming traffic. If you set your cruise control to the speed limit, you'd most likely fall down the cliff. Then there's Germany where they like to give you a reason right under the speed limit sign. For instance "to keep the air clean" in some parts of town or "to keep noise down" on parts of highways with residential areas nearby (usually it says something like "between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m."). There's also ones on school routes that only apply on weekdays between certain hours. Everyone's favorite road sign is the white one on the autobahn saying that the speed limit is over. But however fast you're going, there's always cars going twice as fast passing you on the left. Speed limits in Europe are generally higher because the roads and cars have to be kept to a higher standards (better tires, brakes, more stiff suspension).
Speed limits are never reasonable unless you're in the city or a school zone. Other than that, let people drive however they want. Like seriously, why should I have to drive only 75 when the road condition is good, no traffic, and COMPLETELY STRAIGHT? As long as I am only risking my own life (which you do every time you're behind the wheel) I am totally fine with driving 120 MPH (around 200KM/h)
It makes sense that the higher the speed limit, the more distance there is between cars, less cars on the road at any given moment, so less chance of accidents. And NO to self-driving vehicles!!
Really insightful video! I always thought speed limits were somewhat arbitrary with only general guidelines shaping it. I never thought so many factors were taken into account.
I wonder if they take into consideration the modernization of cars. Newer cars drive a lot more comfortably at higher speeds than they used to. Sure old cars are still on the roads but even most of those can safely and feel safe making a gradual highway turn at at least 80-90 mph
What they are taking into account is the unchanging nature of the human body in the event of a collision. Most roads are shared spaces so that you need to take into account the presence of children, mildly incompetent adults, slow vehicles and bikes on the road. Also weather conditions and road surfaces etc. While there may be some scope for increased speed limits on motorways this would require more driver training, possibly a second teir advanced driving course and test, more rigid health testing and more rigourous vehicle inspections to weed out unsuitable drivers and cars for fast motorway driving. This is basically what happens in Germany. Car testing, driver testing and policing are much more exacting there than in other countries with lower speed limits. Try breaking the rules off motorways in Germany and you will soon discover how strict the policing can be.
Comment from Texas (With 85 MPH speed limits): On most roads with 85 MPH speed limits it is actually really difficult to continually go 85, since most cars/drivers do not go 85.
+TheHadesShade There are only a few stretches without limits left in germany, and speeders have proven time and time again, that they more often than not vastly overestimate both their skills and cars.
+zh11147 ok what are you trying to do? i saw u stick up for this plug in about 4 or 5 comments ( its bad because he did not say it was a plug) but in this comment you throw around alot of big words but that comment means nothing. you said nothing with all those words. also i would of been fine with there plug if he said "now a message from our sponsors" or something along those lines. i feel almost like you are an account for Dnews. like wtf?
***** i dont have problems with sponsorship, but in this case they slipped it in as it was a part of the content. I had to go back and listen again to work out what is going on. One should make a very clear distinction between subject matter content and sponsor material.
It'd be awesome if everyone would keep their goddamn mobile devices out of sight (unless using a navigation tool), actually pay attention and not be scared out of their wits. You know the people, scared to go faster than 40, turn the radio down (hearing does _not_ affect visibility), and roll the transparent window down to... see better. Raising limits should be more ongoing. No one's outside playing in the yard anymore so we don't have to worry about dumbass kids chasing their ball into the street. Quite often they're ridiculously low. Where I'm at the average is 35 _on 4 lane highways_!
+DareToBeDeviant turning down the volume does help you focus though. Notice how if your looking for a specific house number you will want to turn the music down to be able to pay attention to the house numbers and still drive etc.
Kyle Westerfield I can't say I have ever. My eyes are separate from my ears and other motor functions. If anything, I'd crank up the volume because my car's so loud.
Speed limits in NY state are not decided by science. It's 55mph everywhere, whether it's a four-lane highway or a country road. So BS on this video. Speed limits in most US states were set during the oil crisis in the 1970s, and haven't changed since.
since you mentioned australia, NT has an open limit on one stretch of road between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek because at 130Km/h they had too many fatigue related crashes
Doesn't the fact that Germany has no speed limits and no more traffic accidents than other counties kind of debunk the entire "science" behind speed limits?
Germany doesn't have speed limits. but you still think. you don't go 100 km p/h in a village. just don't. it's just a matter of proper human thinking, common sense.
+Dutchik Germany has speed limits. Only freeways, under certain conditions, won't have a speed limit. Thus, it's not only unproper but also illegal to go at 100km/h in a village.
It's terrible in Cincinnati. 71 and 75 are both obviously rated for 65-70 mph but the speed limit is 55, resulting in large disparities in speed between people obeying the speed limit and people driving safely. In the construction zone, it is 45, and trucks and cars will almost always go 60-65 in the slow lane. It drives me insane that dozens of people die each year needlessly because of these artificially dangerous circumstances.
Electric cars use more fossil fuels than a normal car does. It takes oil/coal to make the car, and oil/coal to create the power for it. Until wind/solar/natural gas take down oil/coal, such a solution is futile.
+Revenge of the Beefsteak Tomatoes it takes electric power to convert oil to other chemicals also it takes power to pump oil and oil has a massive impact on the environment even before you use it as a fuel, theres also sludge that gets dumped, when you think oil most people think of petrol but theres far more toxic waste from oil then any battery will ever make also batterys are something like 98% recyclable, when you use oil its only about 20% recyclable thats in the forum of plastics made from oil oO
Deon Hamilton Oil companies mix their waste into the asphalt. Storm water off roads should go into retention ponds, rather than dumped straight into a lake.
Seeing as how if i'm driving at the speed limit on most of the highways, everyone is passing me, i really doubt they are set at the speed that a majority of the people want to go. Sounds like they assumed that a majority want to go at 15% slower than the fastest (not racing) drivers. of course, that also allows for more opportunity for speeding tickets; pretty much free money for the government
+Zarli Win I couldn't agree with you more, especially on that first part. What I often see is that when they go up again on the interstates, many just choose to drive that much faster anyway. I'm thinking it would be better to just get rid of the speed limit on those routes.
This video did omit an important facet to speed limits: state laws regarding standard and maximum speeds. It's been 10 years since I got my license, but I still remember that in Florida the standard speed limit on a minor residential road is 30 mph because most don't have speed limit signs. The are also maximum speed limits specified by law, so even if the 85th percentile and maximum safe speed (nature & engineering factors) are higher, the state DoT can't post a higher speed limit. I remember this because politicians introduced a bill a couple years ago wanted to raise the maximum speed that could be posted for rural interstate highways from 70 to 75. That bill caused quite a bit of debate in the news.
+afh7689 I live in the state of Washington where the same thing is happening. There's a bill here to raise Washington's maximum allowable speed limit from 70 to 75 but still keep it 60 for big trucks. Our legislature passed that a year ago, to give Washington's DOT permission. Our governor vetoed parts of it. He's a safety guru. There' s just over 100 miles of I-90 in eastern Washington where they are actually going to do it. The city of Spokane is just 20 miles west of Idaho and a ways way from the rest of Washington. The stretch is from another 20 miles west of that to where rolling hills are approached. The Spokane drivers are pretty much all looking forward to that so they could figure on doing a good 85 and shave minutes off getting over to Western Washington. More cars will be doing 85+ on that stretch. I see that coming a mile away. And maybe a low percentage of the drivers will actually keep it at 75 (with that being what they did when it was 70) and like the new 75 mph limit.
Well, I drove that stretch of I-90 in Eastern Washington over a year after my last comment. Turns out that it didn't go up from 70 in that 100+ mile stretch as the DOT wanted it to.
Curiously, the speed limit on Main street here is 40 mph except for just a few blocks thru the very middle of town. And yet, the most I ever usually see traffic flowing is about 35 tops. Usually it goes about 30 mph.
speed limits have no consideration for modern vehicles having more efficient engines and more gears to allow higher speeds at lower rpms. better safety systems, and better tires.
+RiceReaper All the safety systems in the world won't save you in a severe car crash. 90% of car crashes happen because of speeding. Speed limits are needed and they are lower than they should be because people still will speed. There is a saying in my coutry: he who goes slow goes far all in one peece, he who goes fast goes towards death.
+RiceReaper No matter how safe the vehicle may be humans inevitably make mistakes. That's why self driving cars will eventually completely replace manual driving.
Some highways and motorways also have minimum speed limits below which it is illegal to go. In Ireland vehicles not capable of 50kph are not allowed on the motorways. You must also maintain at least 50kph on the motorway and stopping is not allowed although it happens in heavy traffic, usually in the fast lane.
Ive always wondered about the yellow signs on turns that are posted lower than the speed limit, are those suggestions or actual speed limit for he turn? the biggest thing that also plays a factor is the kind of car that is being driven. There are turns I like to take in my mustang at high speeds that I would never attempt at the same speed in my pickup. at the same time there are places where I drive faster in the pickup than the mustang, like country roads for example. I can take the truck at pretty high speeds and have no problem on an old dirt or gravel road, but if I try the same in the mustang id bottom out and destroy a lot of stuff.
+oolong2 Does it ever! I used to have a 66 Caprice with a top end about 160. At 70, it seemed like it was almost crawling. And another, a Chevette, which at 55 seemed like it was flying. Vehicle makes a big difference, because of variables in power, tracking stability, and aerodynamics.
In Canada I've never driven on a highway that has a speed limit higher than 110 km/h, usually it's 100 km/h but the TransCanada has 110 km/h now, 140 km/h as a speed limit sounds insane to me, even though that is usually what I drive anyways.
We have 140 km/h limit on highways in Poland, and for me a limit like 100 km/h sounds crazy ;) Anyway, many people here drive below limit (like 120 km/h) to save fuel.
Here in Italy the limit should be 130, but most people drive at 150-170 and don't get fines. Strangely, there is a highway that has a lot of bends but no speed limit, and relatively little crashes occur.
I live in Philadelphia and I've never seen anyone go under the speed limit when traffic is clear. There are roads with 65 mph limits here where people go 85. I go 90 sometimes and I can't keep up with people in the left lane.
Doctor Professor I need a self driving car. You can reduce car accidents to near zero by eliminating the driver. A car should be a way to get from point a to point b no and extension of your manhood. Going faster means you reach point b quicker. The only legitimate reason to drive faster is to reach your destination.quicker.
Mulholland Hwy, specially the stretch called "The Snake" the police allow you to speed if you are on a motorcycle. They just go after lane crossers, and wheelie clowns. They say that because of how technical the road is, it is impossible to go extremely fast.
It's funny we have car commercials that are like "this car can go up to 200 miles per hour" because of the fact that we have speed limits. It doesn't matter how fast your car can go.
I don't have a problem with Speed Limits. I have a problem with people that drive 10 miles under the speed limit while occupying the passing lane. Too often they are on their devise instead of paying attention to the road.
Yeah. I don't have an issue with a mile or two under either usually. However if you are doing more than 5 under, get out of my way. I honk at people who sit at green lights if they are texting.
They made a great point in Top Gear, if you have a good car with good breaks you should be aloud drive it faster. Its more dangerous to drive an old car with bad breaks at the speed limit then it is to drive a newer car with better breaks over the speed limit
+John O'Brien Actually speed limit should be dynamic and broadcasted to your car. Car model and conditions (by yearly tech cert.), driver stats (age, crash records), weather, car population density, curves ahead, etc. All that thrown into a computer model to allow you a higher top speed under the right conditions.
I heard something on the radio a few years back that Michigan was going to lift the speed limit on some roads and whatever people went would be averaged and then they would use that. Not sure what ever happened to that. At least in my area, it is not uncommon for people to drive probably like 50 miles to town or work. Most the highways are speedlimit at 55, but some will do like 65 or so. A lot of them do like 60. Even the police, etc they see you doing like 60 probably even like 65 there like whatever. I knew someone with some police friends and he was talking about something they had discussed. They were like there is so much distance between anything around here and the speed limits are kind of dumb so none really enforces unless you're like 10+ mph over.
"To suffer the penalty of too much haste, which is too little speed." - Plato. (ie. lower speed limits mean more lives saved (arguably) and not that much time lost!)
Good to know there is some kind of algorithm. In my country they just look to road or street and arbitrarily they decide something in multiples of 20. "This road will have an 80 km/h speed limit! but wait, there is a sharp turn! let us reduce to 60 km/h. If it is very, very sharp reduce to 40 km/h. And put some speed bump."
The problem is, some drivers and cars are much better at handling higher speeds. I own a Camaro, and that car feels stable and safe at speeds in excess of 100mph. I can control it too, so I also feel comfortable with it. It would be best if for some big, long highways the left lane could be left restricted to a "within reason" speed or have a minimum speed instead of keeping speed with the rest of the roadway. People in the left lane want to go fast and chances are they're okay with going fast. Differences in speed, not speed itself, is the most dangerous thing. So if everyone is going fast it's okay. But if some turd decides to hog the left lane going the "speed limit" he poses a big threat to everyone. They do this on the German Autobahn and it's one of the safest roadways in the world.
+Unbearable Pain debateable. There are a few parts of german autobahn left, which are unrestricted, and they are not magically more safe. Also, by definition, about half of car drivers are below average in skill, and half above average. If you poll drivers, the vast majority claim to be not only above average but actually very good, with still a significant amount claiming to be top tier drivers. Whats more, break it down by age etc., and the young, inexperienced and arguably mentally and character wise not yet fully mature folks think of themselves as god's gift to motorised transportation. Humans have a nasty tendency to overestimate their own skills. And those who should be the last ones to do so, generally boast the most. Also, the vehicles and their state of repair are often overestimated by the owners. There are neverending exemples of cars and or repirs, deemed totally safe by the driver, yet insane at best in reality. One reason german autobahns are relatively safe, is that all vehicles have to have mandatory check ups every two years.
one of the most important parts about setting speed limits is to try and limit "speed spread" - it's a lot harder to deal with widely varying traffic speeds than homogenous ones - and homogenous speeds mean that you don't get excessive (dangerous) passing maneouvres because everyone's going more or less the same speed and so, don't feel "held up" Urban speed limits are generally "too high" - simply on pedestrian survivability issues - and lack of protection of non-motor vehicle users is coming to the fore even in the USA - a recent NY State court ruling resulted in a $20 million payout for a local authority ruled to have ignored repeated warnings about the safety of a suburban road, resulting in the death of a 12 year old cyclist
The other problem with speeds causing accidents is when the speed limit is enforced severely. This has been shown to lead to habits like speedo gazing (staring at your speedometer) and that takes the driver's attention away from the road which can cause accidents with as much, or even more, frequency as speeding actually does.
around towns where people do allot of walking. Speed should not go faster than about 45KPH. This is on a fairly strait road with crosswalks and commercial areas. it's also assuming people won't speed.
I wonder if that's what those sensor packs with *2* rubber hoses you see occasionally stretching across the road are for. The single hose units I know are used for measuring traffic *volume*, but rhe dual hose rigs could be used to measure average speed based upon an average vehicle wheelbase and the time delay between impacts.
No it couldn't. They don't know what type of car is driving over it. In order to measure speed using time, you need to know the distance between the front and rear axles. Was that the two rear axles of a semi rolling over the tubes or a car doing 80? See what I mean?
+Ryan Payne It occurs to me I'm overthinking this. For speed measurements wheelbase and number of axles is irrelevant. You only want to know how fast a vehicle's tire is moving (As the body isn't going to be moving at a different speed than its tires) Tire contact patch size doesn't change *that* substantially, even with large vehicles. Thus any average is probably unnecessary, and the device is probably strictly measuring time between impacts. If you want to also measure traffic *volume*, then some algorithm to measure average wheelbase (Such as omitting impacts times too close together), or rough vehicle size (Such as measuring impact *pressure* on the hoses, which would be greater with more massive vehicles, when referenced against time delay) would have to be devised. *That* would be much more complex, but outliers from whatever graph this gets plotted on could be ignored, a clever engineer could still get a good idea of traffic speed and volume. (With an acceptable margin of error).
+FreddyGaming Very few people actually drive the speed limit. Most police officers won't pull you over if you're only going a bit over it either, at least on the highways and the interstate. They're stricter about speeding in residential areas and especially school zones.
More on your point, here in Ontario the average speed limit is 100kmh (i guess like 60mph?) but everyone drives at least 115-120. The very slowest are going 100.
DJSbros Yeah, 62mph is the almost the same as 100 kmh. The speed limit in my state is 70 mph (about 112 kmh). But it's pretty normal to see people drive up to 80mph (about 129 kmh) or even a little higher.
Tractor trailer driver/s companies should be given some kind of incentive to drive from 8 pm to 4 am. Would this cut down on traffic accidents or would there be more accidents?
No need to get personal... I am aware that your nation primarily uses some obscure stonehenge units. However the video had "KPH" multiple times, 0:19 for an example.
the freeway near me has a speed limit of 65 and people are commonly going 80. one of the main roads I go on has a speed limit of 40 and people frequently go 55 including police. I can't even count how many times I've been going 20-25 faster than the limit and have had police pass me
I would recommend 65 minimum 85 maximum limit on the highway For non-freeway street it would be 45 minimum 65 maximum. Resident areas would be 20 minimum 35 maximum.
I swear some smaller town make the speed limits ridiculously slow to entice you to speed so you can get pulled over by a nearby cop and the city makes $300.
You know, i live in florida, and idk about other places, but here there is generally an unspoken 7-15 mph soft speed limit. Once i even calculated how much faster i was willing to go on roads than the listed speed limit, and that number came up to about 12-20%. I didn't know there was an actual phenomenon for this reason xD Got to love mental math while driving.
One size fits all speed limits are DRACONIAN! Improve vehicle and road safety but most importantly driver competency. With autonomous cars on the horizon perhaps we'll finally get around to telling all those millions of 'traffic accidents waiting to happen' that they should have never been given a license in the first place. Driving should be a privilege not a right. Eventually everyone that wants to drive will compete for licenses and mod their cars for safety as much as for speed.
+MachoMan 1492 The A5 stretch near Frankfurt International would like to disagree with you! Unrestricted 3 lane Autobahn right at one of the busiest airports in Europe...I was surprised by this as an American living here..You go through a tunnell that is 60mph, then less than a a feww hundreds meters later, BOOM, speeeeeeeddd!! However, when traffic is really bad, or realllly bad weather, it'll drop back down to 81mph/130kph. (Though 99% of Germans ignore that unless they know there's a speed camera)
Agreed. I've seen limits of 25mph around turns that you can safely take at 60mph+ in a top heavy SUV with a busted sway bar. Probably 90% of speed limits could safely be doubled...including those 70mph interstate limits. The only valid argument for speed limits under 100mph on straight interstate roads is efficiency, and even then it depends on the car. I have an old Altima that runs most efficient at around 112mph.
sounded like a chevron commercial at the end but I still subscribed. Mythbuster showed that in the US the gasoline that is" higher grade" does nothing better than any other gasoline for the types of cars and driving conditions typically faced. In the tests for tv the more expensive high grade gas with high tech engineering (1 being techtron) polluted more and did nothing more to extend engine life than regular gas. this is one area where government over oversight seems to work. it's a waist of money and the guy doing the interview got 2 out of 3 of the spokespersons to admit it.
Great explanation! Is the "human factor" the reason why in the USA there are no long stretches of highway where, like in German autobahns, there are no speed limits?
+Jorge Serra Yes, driver education is especially bad in the US. In germany its much harder to get a license, and there are really strict rules on how to maintain your car. So all cars in germany have to be in perfect condition or you cant drive it.
The 85th percentile rule is the worst way to set speed limits because most roads are over engineered to provide a "safety buffer" for people who do speed. This ultimately hurts people walking or biking and create a dangerous road right thru a suburban neighborhood.
I don't know about your "85th percentile rule" because every time I get in a car I see something like 95% of all drivers exceeding the speed limit while tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic, not signalling, but somehow finding the time to talk on their cell phones while texting.
We don't decide speed limits, government did, if it is up to us, there's no speed limit.
+MrFishingGor vrm vrrrm beep beep
+MrFishingGor government still uses science to make sure the majority is better off.
+MrFishingGor Government is the organization via democratic representation of a nation. The people are the government, the government are the people. So, yes, we do decide the speed limits. If you really don't like it, vote for an idiot like Donald Trump or Rand Paul and see how horribly it all works out when they listen to your demands for higher speed limits. Oh, wait, that won't happen because there are enough sane people who wouldn't do that, so they won't be becoming president anytime soon. (Yes, I realize congress is actually a better barometer for such change because they are the one's that are actually more likely to make that change. In that case vote for whichever is the biggest idiot and petition him with your idiotic sentiments.)
oh dear.... Americans .... They think there's democracy on the entire planet
Yes there is. The speed limit would be the fastest my car could hit. In my case, i got a underpowered brick with a v6. So the max im hitting is 112 mph
dont forget the speed traps. nice long straighs with speed limits sat at 75mph then dip to 55 back to 75, no houses or cross streets.
No no, there's definitely a shit ton of human effort and scientific study put into those areas.....
Definitely.
Government decides speed limits to earn more money through fines.
Lol how naive
How do the authorities determine speed limits? They set it to gain the maximum ticket revenue, of course! Everyone knows this!
Jurors should be involved in these civil cases.
The 85th percentile rule means we should all drive 15% faster.
+Michael Winter People in Alaska usually drive 75 in a 65 when in the left (of two) lanes. That's about a 15% increase.
γRB Doppler texans drive 80-85 in those areas
Let us also not forget another factor in setting speed limits. That is revenue.
+kd1s Search "speed kills your pocketbook"
Oh yeah - I knew that.
The speed limit is always too low, except for the unrestricted parts of the Autobahn.
Wish I could go on it instead of being restricted to 120kmph
Higher.. like Germany
You could see him die a little inside when he started talking about Techron.
+Visda58 he really tried to pass that paid for plug as one of the facts he talks about. very sneaky
I'm about 90% sure that the speed limits (In the part of the country that I live in anyway) are chosen so that the police department can give people speeding tickets, especially visitors from out of town. For instance, the highway that runs through the city has a speed limit of 65mph then right before the city limit it changes to 45mph for no reason whatsoever; then goes all the way down to 35mph for the entire stretch of highway until you get to the other side of town, where it then changes to 45mph then 65mph again, all in a 3 mile stretch of highway. Every single time I drive into town, no matter the time of day or night someone is pulled over getting a ticket. It's NOT for safety, it's extortion to generate revenue.
That is a whole different video called police and government corruption
+Loren Booker I agree completely, speed limits are bullshit. most of the time it's to make money. If it was for the peoples safety more cops would be driving around visible so people around them would follow the rules and PREVENT accidents without pulling anyone over and slamming a ticket. They wouldn't be driving around in unmarked cars, or hiding like pussies behind bushes with radar guns to catch people speeding and driving dangerously, that's not preventative waiting for them to do something stupid which would create a higher risk of crashing.
and most of the time its not people who speed that cause accidents its the idiots who don't know how to signal, who are texting, driving too slow making other drivers frustrated, stopping on a merging lane when they have a whole lane to themselves to drive into and merge like wtf.
I feel i'm more aware of my surroundings and more awake when i'm speeding or changing my speeds rather than just sitting at a constant slow ass 30MPH, :/
sorry for the rant. lol
+Loren Booker We have a stretch of road like that where I live. I got ticketed around 5am one morning for 70km/h in a 50km/h zone. There were no other cars or pedestrians in sight, so I asked the cop why he thought it was dangerous for me to drive at that speed. He pointed to a convenience store across the street and said crackheads run across to the store all the time. I guess there's no money to be made off of crackheads, so he just fucks with the guys heading to work.
Bruceman Batwayne same thing happened to me. Empty roads at 12 am and he followed me for a few KM because I didn't indicate my lane change and went over 3 lanes. Lol. Then he pulled me over when I indicated to go into my neighbourhood.
+Loren Booker The speed limit is lower because you are going through a town. How is that not obvious?
You left out the desired budget for the county based on tickets. That's the biggest consideration.
1:44 THAT RED FD RX-7 DOE!
2:55 AND THAT WHITE S13
+TheVenomousViper MMMmmm, rotary engine.
+Sincostan The revs, man...
OMG HOWD I MISS MY LITTLE FD???
Spocked Up Productions I think that RX7's name is Waldo
exactly what i said
That was the most shame full plug ever
agreed
+Toner Sponsors tend to pay the bills. Not ad revenue from youtube. That goes to the people who own Dnews along with many other channels.
lastwolflord plugs are OK in my book. BUT when you don't make it clear that its a plug. and try to stick it in there to sound like just another fact. that is just deceiving and i dont trust Dnews at all now.
+zh11147 no cuz he did not even mention it was a plug.
***** true that is how i knew it was a plug. but why did he not say its a message from our sponsor?
driving slowly on a normal pace road also can cause accidents.
Ya, he should've said that because that's counter intuitive.
I agree slower driving is more dangerous.
Yup. There's always someone doing 40 in a 55 causing people to either A: excessively tailgate the offending driver, causing a rear end collision or worse. B: Get impatient enough to try and pass. The problem is, everyone in the lane in during 40, and traffic in the other lanes is going 55+.
Excessive slow drivers cause more crashes than a skilled driver on the highway in the boonies or someone doing safe, moderate speeding like 5 to 9 over.
I call bullshit on them going back and constantly re evaluating the speed limit. They set a 100km/h speed limit 50 years ago, and called it a day, then never changed it again.
+martinshoosterman in belgium it's max 120
and min 90 km/h when there is no rain and stuff
never changed as wel
+martinshoosterman although I can kind of see your point, as cars have gotten safer over the years, you must also keep in mind that there are many more people on the roads now, and roadways have not expanded at the same pace. Moreover, driver awareness has unfortunately decreased due to the use of cell phones while driving. Finally, even though cars get increasingly safer, faster, and more powerful, there is an unfortunate handicap that all humans have, which is reaction time. This time can only be shortened with advanced training or a lot of experience, which most drivers do not have. But even with training and experience, there is a certain limit we cannot surpass. However, although for some this limit may be 100km/h, the vast majority of people can safely surpass this speed if they are focused and well trained, so unless there is extremely high traffic volumes in that area, I agree with you that the limit should be raised.
tmanepic that's why a lot of people i know and me feel confortable at 220-260 km/h one some german highway's
Yeah, I agree. if it was 100 I might fall asleep while driving that slow on the highway haha
tmanepic it's like when you chose your speed it's al your attention on the road and traffic not on your speed and or phone cuz you think other people ride the same speed
The system here is digital speed limit signs that change with the conditions. If conditions are good, speed limit is 110, if bad, the signs change to show 80, if really bad, they change to show 60. This is on the main freeway out of the city. It's a great system, n works well.
Top gear also mentions that the 60mph speed limit was made when cars needed a certain distance to stop to 0mph from 60mph, but now the distance is much shorter, but top gear tested the distance with performance cars, bmw m6, nissan gtr, and bentley continental gt
i think they determined the limit to be 110 mph or so XD
hey trace,
if i do the kessel run in 1.25 parsecs will i be breaking any laws?
and if so what's the fine going to be?
+arie brons over 9,000
Ha good luck for them catching you
+arie brons A parsec is a distance.....
annd you're the smartest person alive
am I the only one that doesn't understand what he's saying?
Hey Trace, big fan here from Mexico. I stopped watching D news for a while (few months). And you look fit now. That's great. Inspires followers.
Hello. Traffic engineer here. Speed limits are defined by road quality, road and environment safety and everything else listed. If you stop momentarily with speeds 50 km/h +, your organs get ripped and you die. With ~70 km/h you can't survive that kind of crash. So, even if roads let you drive 120 km/h, you should be aware that if something happens - you are dead and nothing can help you (yep, belts and airbags are useless in high speed crashes).
+Нећу Давамкажем That's a very simplistic view. The number of accidents in which cars come to a sudden halt within a few meters is very small. On the German Autobahn people frequently survive crashes at 200km/h and above. Sure, the probability of death is a lot higher, but modern cars can safe you in lots of cases.
EACCyclonit Well, it's very broad to be talked about here. Point is that even if everything is perfect and you can drive 200 km/h, doesn't really mean you should, because sometimes surviving the crash is worse than dying in it. After all, more than 1.2 million people die in road crashes every year.
***** Most things in life are dangerous to some degree. As long as you don't cause any increased risk for others, you should be allowed to drive as fast as you deem safe. I prefer considering 4 factors: Road structure, surface condition, traffic and you're own skill. As long as all of those are fine, driving fast should not be illegal.
EACCyclonit Of course, but it's obvious that bunch of people cause risks which lead to crashes. Sometimes it's the car, sometimes roads, but mostly drivers. I'm sure 200 km/h would be everywhere, only if we could ensure perfect 0 risk conditions. :)
Car and Driver did a great article in 1978 that the new 78's did not in fact get the best mileage at 55 and found it to be closer to 65, or 100kph. "Flat-out in Ohio" was the name of the article.
Speed limits should be higher cause the faster you go, the more attentive you're in driving. I personally experienced almost all of my flawed drivings and near accidents while driving slow...
If you live in Australia, also subtract 10-20km/h off the speed limit so people are forced to break the limit, allowing the authorities to rake in as much revenue as possible using hidden speed cameras and randomly placed speed traps.
Trace. I was driving a back road while there was a "black ice" warning out (we take that seriously in the NE). I was going slowly (well below the speed limit) when I hit a patch of said "black ice", skidded of the road and hit a telephone pole. A police officer eventually came by and took my statement. He then wrote me a $100 ticket for "going too fast for conditions"! I got out of the ticket in court, arguing that ANY speed I may have been going was "too fast", since it was obvious I had an accident. The judge agreed that the infraction was not warranted since no one could tell me what that speed should have been. Add this to your speed factors.
the speed limits are always just below whats safe this is because people tend to know what is safe and will go over that set speed limit ending in a fine witch then puts money into the governments pockets oO its called the speed trap
If 1km would add 3% crashes, why is germany so high on the list of safest countries to drive ?
Half their highways have no limit and 150 Mph is the standard speed for many drivers there.
Imo, Germany is the living proof that speed on highways is of minor influence for safety.
In cities of course its obviously a different thing.
I've had four collisions: three in parking lots, one on the highway in heavy traffic. All at less than 5mph. Yet I can go well in excess of the speed limit without even coming close to causing an accident.
That heimer's quote on his shirt. :D
I have a feeling if interstate limits were 100, people would just go five over anyway.
15
+Wardell Brown You know, you're right.
i have cruised down the interstate late at night before doing 100mph and felt perfectly safe, but what scares me is theres to many dumb asses out there not paying attention to do those kind of speeds
I still dont understand why we dont have highways like the unrestricted autobahns in germany :(
+codemanz191 Exactly. I trust myself and how I drive, but there's so many other people not on the same level, haha
"efficient and safer."
That depends on how you mean efficient. If we're talking about FUEL efficiency, then it's heavily dependent on the car and driving conditions, with some cars having very different speed/efficiency curves from others. The Tesla Model S, for example, has a fuel-optimal highway speed of something like 35 mph, but that would almost certainly not be practical, and nobody wants to drive 35 mph on the highway, or be behind someone driving that speed.
Then there's traffic efficiency. Below about 45 mph, the distance between cars grows slower than the speed of those cars, and thus, the number of cars per lane per second is higher. A highway going below 45 mph is a dynamically unstable system. Increasing the traffic decreases speed, which decreases throughput, which decreases speed, potentially all the way to ZERO.
How much was your soul worth when you sold it to Chevron?
+Sean Durham It's Discovery, they're souls have been sold to Chevron long ago.
There are engineers who decide the speed limit watching this video and laughing, thinking about all these things they should be considering.
no speed limit on the the autobahn, yet it's one of the safest roads in the world.
+Andrew B (IrishRebel92) that's not strictly speaking true. There are absolutely parts of the autobahn with speed limits -- and parts without. The recommended speed, even on parts without is 80mph (130km/h). And as far as safety goes, 67 percent of the deaths on the autobahn occur on the no-limit parts, and they are 8th in safety (as of 2006). The European Transportation Safety Council says they can do much better, perhaps by lowering speed limits.
Most speed limits are too low.
Hey just a quick note, the primary cause of auto crashes globally are distracted drivers, speeding comes second.
Speeds are determined by how much a municipality needs to raise in ticket revenue. ;-)
***** exactly
There's places in Ireland where the speed limit seems more like a dare than anything else; tiny twisty roads with a cliff right at the shoulder an no space for oncoming traffic. If you set your cruise control to the speed limit, you'd most likely fall down the cliff.
Then there's Germany where they like to give you a reason right under the speed limit sign. For instance "to keep the air clean" in some parts of town or "to keep noise down" on parts of highways with residential areas nearby (usually it says something like "between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m."). There's also ones on school routes that only apply on weekdays between certain hours. Everyone's favorite road sign is the white one on the autobahn saying that the speed limit is over. But however fast you're going, there's always cars going twice as fast passing you on the left.
Speed limits in Europe are generally higher because the roads and cars have to be kept to a higher standards (better tires, brakes, more stiff suspension).
Speed limits are never reasonable unless you're in the city or a school zone. Other than that, let people drive however they want.
Like seriously, why should I have to drive only 75 when the road condition is good, no traffic, and COMPLETELY STRAIGHT?
As long as I am only risking my own life (which you do every time you're behind the wheel) I am totally fine with driving 120 MPH (around 200KM/h)
It makes sense that the higher the speed limit, the more distance there is between cars, less cars on the road at any given moment, so less chance of accidents. And NO to self-driving vehicles!!
Really insightful video! I always thought speed limits were somewhat arbitrary with only general guidelines shaping it. I never thought so many factors were taken into account.
18 wheelers fuel economy is based on 55 mpg as well. This is very informative bro.
I wonder if they take into consideration the modernization of cars. Newer cars drive a lot more comfortably at higher speeds than they used to. Sure old cars are still on the roads but even most of those can safely and feel safe making a gradual highway turn at at least 80-90 mph
What they are taking into account is the unchanging nature of the human body in the event of a collision. Most roads are shared spaces so that you need to take into account the presence of children, mildly incompetent adults, slow vehicles and bikes on the road. Also weather conditions and road surfaces etc.
While there may be some scope for increased speed limits on motorways this would require more driver training, possibly a second teir advanced driving course and test, more rigid health testing and more rigourous vehicle inspections to weed out unsuitable drivers and cars for fast motorway driving.
This is basically what happens in Germany. Car testing, driver testing and policing are much more exacting there than in other countries with lower speed limits.
Try breaking the rules off motorways in Germany and you will soon discover how strict the policing can be.
Comment from Texas (With 85 MPH speed limits): On most roads with 85 MPH speed limits it is actually really difficult to continually go 85, since most cars/drivers do not go 85.
I never drive that fast here in Texas it's scary tho
Every state in the USA needs an open road without a speed limit.
Europe has one. Dammit.
*Only Germany
Mariux - Really? Thanks I didn't know that.
+Insufferable Realist Jackanapes And there are some self righteous bastards that are trying to remove that.
+TheHadesShade There are only a few stretches without limits left in germany, and speeders have proven time and time again, that they more often than not vastly overestimate both their skills and cars.
in australia the speed limit on the highway is 110kmh - in some places that are strait there is no limit - 300kmh if you want
Sounds wicked. The highest i'v seen here in Canada is 150kmh
Slipping a techron ad in the middle of content like that is ugly
+zh11147 ok what are you trying to do? i saw u stick up for this plug in about 4 or 5 comments ( its bad because he did not say it was a plug) but in this comment you throw around alot of big words but that comment means nothing. you said nothing with all those words. also i would of been fine with there plug if he said "now a message from our sponsors" or something along those lines. i feel almost like you are an account for Dnews. like wtf?
***** i dont have problems with sponsorship, but in this case they slipped it in as it was a part of the content. I had to go back and listen again to work out what is going on. One should make a very clear distinction between subject matter content and sponsor material.
Jacek Radajewski i agree 100% i unsubscribed because i don't trust the content no more
***** good point! then why am i watching D news. that is why i unsubscribed
It'd be awesome if everyone would keep their goddamn mobile devices out of sight (unless using a navigation tool), actually pay attention and not be scared out of their wits. You know the people, scared to go faster than 40, turn the radio down (hearing does _not_ affect visibility), and roll the transparent window down to... see better.
Raising limits should be more ongoing. No one's outside playing in the yard anymore so we don't have to worry about dumbass kids chasing their ball into the street. Quite often they're ridiculously low. Where I'm at the average is 35 _on 4 lane highways_!
+DareToBeDeviant turning down the volume does help you focus though. Notice how if your looking for a specific house number you will want to turn the music down to be able to pay attention to the house numbers and still drive etc.
Kyle Westerfield I can't say I have ever. My eyes are separate from my ears and other motor functions. If anything, I'd crank up the volume because my car's so loud.
Speed limits in NY state are not decided by science. It's 55mph everywhere, whether it's a four-lane highway or a country road. So BS on this video. Speed limits in most US states were set during the oil crisis in the 1970s, and haven't changed since.
+Sky Ninja Speaks until it's too late
Good video until u started advertising for Cheveron
For once in my life I'm glad I saw an add on a TH-cam video
Every time you double your speed, it takes 4 times more energy.... #Physics
K=1/2mv^2 right?
safety is overrated
since you mentioned australia, NT has an open limit on one stretch of road between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek because at 130Km/h they had too many fatigue related crashes
Yes, and the number of crashes have reduced since removing the speed limit!
Doesn't the fact that Germany has no speed limits and no more traffic accidents than other counties kind of debunk the entire "science" behind speed limits?
Germany doesn't have speed limits. but you still think. you don't go 100 km p/h in a village. just don't. it's just a matter of proper human thinking, common sense.
+LitlPrince2 Just look up the list. The US, with all their speed limits, for example has over twice as many deaths per 100.000 vehicles than Germany.
+Dutchik Germany has speed limits. Only freeways, under certain conditions, won't have a speed limit. Thus, it's not only unproper but also illegal to go at 100km/h in a village.
+Peter Zwart Germany does have speed limits. Like Mr. Lopes said, its only certain stretches that are not limited.
It's terrible in Cincinnati. 71 and 75 are both obviously rated for 65-70 mph but the speed limit is 55, resulting in large disparities in speed between people obeying the speed limit and people driving safely. In the construction zone, it is 45, and trucks and cars will almost always go 60-65 in the slow lane. It drives me insane that dozens of people die each year needlessly because of these artificially dangerous circumstances.
The Oil Embargo was the time we should have said fuck it and gone with electric cars, C.N.G. cars, and L.P.G. cars.
+Jemalacane0 The technology just wasn't there at the time. Its still not there now, at least not 100%.
+John Jacob Yeah, you get to drive 100 miles - - then walk !
Electric cars use more fossil fuels than a normal car does. It takes oil/coal to make the car, and oil/coal to create the power for it. Until wind/solar/natural gas take down oil/coal, such a solution is futile.
+Revenge of the Beefsteak Tomatoes it takes electric power to convert oil to other chemicals also it takes power to pump oil and oil has a massive impact on the environment even before you use it as a fuel, theres also sludge that gets dumped, when you think oil most people think of petrol but theres far more toxic waste from oil then any battery will ever make also batterys are something like 98% recyclable, when you use oil its only about 20% recyclable thats in the forum of plastics made from oil oO
Deon Hamilton
Oil companies mix their waste into the asphalt.
Storm water off roads should go into retention ponds, rather than dumped straight into a lake.
Seeing as how if i'm driving at the speed limit on most of the highways, everyone is passing me, i really doubt they are set at the speed that a majority of the people want to go. Sounds like they assumed that a majority want to go at 15% slower than the fastest (not racing) drivers. of course, that also allows for more opportunity for speeding tickets; pretty much free money for the government
+Zarli Win I couldn't agree with you more, especially on that first part. What I often see is that when they go up again on the interstates, many just choose to drive that much faster anyway. I'm thinking it would be better to just get rid of the speed limit on those routes.
This video did omit an important facet to speed limits: state laws regarding standard and maximum speeds. It's been 10 years since I got my license, but I still remember that in Florida the standard speed limit on a minor residential road is 30 mph because most don't have speed limit signs. The are also maximum speed limits specified by law, so even if the 85th percentile and maximum safe speed (nature & engineering factors) are higher, the state DoT can't post a higher speed limit. I remember this because politicians introduced a bill a couple years ago wanted to raise the maximum speed that could be posted for rural interstate highways from 70 to 75. That bill caused quite a bit of debate in the news.
+afh7689 I live in the state of Washington where the same thing is happening. There's a bill here to raise Washington's maximum allowable speed limit from 70 to 75 but still keep it 60 for big trucks. Our legislature passed that a year ago, to give Washington's DOT permission. Our governor vetoed parts of it. He's a safety guru. There' s just over 100 miles of I-90 in eastern Washington where they are actually going to do it. The city of Spokane is just 20 miles west of Idaho and a ways way from the rest of Washington. The stretch is from another 20 miles west of that to where rolling hills are approached. The Spokane drivers are pretty much all looking forward to that so they could figure on doing a good 85 and shave minutes off getting over to Western Washington. More cars will be doing 85+ on that stretch. I see that coming a mile away. And maybe a low percentage of the drivers will actually keep it at 75 (with that being what they did when it was 70) and like the new 75 mph limit.
Well, I drove that stretch of I-90 in Eastern Washington over a year after my last comment. Turns out that it didn't go up from 70 in that 100+ mile stretch as the DOT wanted it to.
Curiously, the speed limit on Main street here is 40 mph except for just a few blocks thru the very middle of town. And yet, the most I ever usually see traffic flowing is about 35 tops. Usually it goes about 30 mph.
speed limits have no consideration for modern vehicles having more efficient engines and more gears to allow higher speeds at lower rpms. better safety systems, and better tires.
+RiceReaper ESPECIALLY new safety systems! The amount of control computers and sensors have inside our modern vehicles is fascinating!
+RiceReaper All the safety systems in the world won't save you in a severe car crash. 90% of car crashes happen because of speeding. Speed limits are needed and they are lower than they should be because people still will speed. There is a saying in my coutry: he who goes slow goes far all in one peece, he who goes fast goes towards death.
+RiceReaper No matter how safe the vehicle may be humans inevitably make mistakes. That's why self driving cars will eventually completely replace manual driving.
There should be a speed range not a speed limit
Some highways and motorways also have minimum speed limits below which it is illegal to go. In Ireland vehicles not capable of 50kph are not allowed on the motorways. You must also maintain at least 50kph on the motorway and stopping is not allowed although it happens in heavy traffic, usually in the fast lane.
Ive always wondered about the yellow signs on turns that are posted lower than the speed limit, are those suggestions or actual speed limit for he turn? the biggest thing that also plays a factor is the kind of car that is being driven. There are turns I like to take in my mustang at high speeds that I would never attempt at the same speed in my pickup. at the same time there are places where I drive faster in the pickup than the mustang, like country roads for example. I can take the truck at pretty high speeds and have no problem on an old dirt or gravel road, but if I try the same in the mustang id bottom out and destroy a lot of stuff.
I notice that you didn't talk about the type of vehicle.... I would imaging that would effect things almost as much as road conditions.
+oolong2
Does it ever! I used to have a 66 Caprice with a top end about 160. At 70, it seemed like it was almost crawling. And another, a Chevette, which at 55 seemed like it was flying. Vehicle makes a big difference, because of variables in power, tracking stability, and aerodynamics.
Here in CT people routinely travel 20-25 over the limit. Hell, on some bits of highway 40-50 over isn't uncommon.
In Canada I've never driven on a highway that has a speed limit higher than 110 km/h, usually it's 100 km/h but the TransCanada has 110 km/h now, 140 km/h as a speed limit sounds insane to me, even though that is usually what I drive anyways.
We have 140 km/h limit on highways in Poland, and for me a limit like 100 km/h sounds crazy ;) Anyway, many people here drive below limit (like 120 km/h) to save fuel.
Here in Italy the limit should be 130, but most people drive at 150-170 and don't get fines. Strangely, there is a highway that has a lot of bends but no speed limit, and relatively little crashes occur.
in utah, new electronic speed limits exist in certain roads. when it snows, speed is 45, else it is 65 ( in curvy mountains )
I live in Philadelphia and I've never seen anyone go under the speed limit when traffic is clear. There are roads with 65 mph limits here where people go 85. I go 90 sometimes and I can't keep up with people in the left lane.
Let's just all admit that speed limits could be a lot higher if it weren't terrible drivers..
+Doctor Professor once cars drive themselves exclusively highway speeds will increase.
0011peace But i don't want autonomous cars :/ I'm not interested in going fast if the car is doing the driving. I like driving.
Doctor Professor
I need a self driving car. You can reduce car accidents to near zero by eliminating the driver. A car should be a way to get from point a to point b no and extension of your manhood. Going faster means you reach point b quicker. The only legitimate reason to drive faster is to reach your destination.quicker.
Mulholland Hwy, specially the stretch called "The Snake" the police allow you to speed if you are on a motorcycle.
They just go after lane crossers, and wheelie clowns.
They say that because of how technical the road is, it is impossible to go extremely fast.
I'm a speed demon... I don't follow the speed limit.
Touché
It's funny we have car commercials that are like "this car can go up to 200 miles per hour" because of the fact that we have speed limits. It doesn't matter how fast your car can go.
I don't have a problem with Speed Limits. I have a problem with people that drive 10 miles under the speed limit while occupying the passing lane. Too often they are on their devise instead of paying attention to the road.
Yeah. I don't have an issue with a mile or two under either usually. However if you are doing more than 5 under, get out of my way. I honk at people who sit at green lights if they are texting.
They made a great point in Top Gear, if you have a good car with good breaks you should be aloud drive it faster. Its more dangerous to drive an old car with bad breaks at the speed limit then it is to drive a newer car with better breaks over the speed limit
+John O'Brien allowed...not aloud, although top gear is good at aloud
+John O'Brien Actually speed limit should be dynamic and broadcasted to your car. Car model and conditions (by yearly tech cert.), driver stats (age, crash records), weather, car population density, curves ahead, etc. All that thrown into a computer model to allow you a higher top speed under the right conditions.
I heard something on the radio a few years back that Michigan was going to lift the speed limit on some roads and whatever people went would be averaged and then they would use that. Not sure what ever happened to that.
At least in my area, it is not uncommon for people to drive probably like 50 miles to town or work. Most the highways are speedlimit at 55, but some will do like 65 or so. A lot of them do like 60. Even the police, etc they see you doing like 60 probably even like 65 there like whatever. I knew someone with some police friends and he was talking about something they had discussed. They were like there is so much distance between anything around here and the speed limits are kind of dumb so none really enforces unless you're like 10+ mph over.
why when a child see one of their parents cry, the child cries aswell?
Because if your parents are crying it means things are really really bad or scary which scares you and makes you cry.
"To suffer the penalty of too much haste, which is too little speed." - Plato. (ie. lower speed limits mean more lives saved (arguably) and not that much time lost!)
Good to know there is some kind of algorithm. In my country they just look to road or street and arbitrarily they decide something in multiples of 20.
"This road will have an 80 km/h speed limit! but wait, there is a sharp turn! let us reduce to 60 km/h. If it is very, very sharp reduce to 40 km/h. And put some speed bump."
I usually just explain to the Officer that I thought the numbers on speed limit signs were in meters per second.
The problem is, some drivers and cars are much better at handling higher speeds. I own a Camaro, and that car feels stable and safe at speeds in excess of 100mph. I can control it too, so I also feel comfortable with it.
It would be best if for some big, long highways the left lane could be left restricted to a "within reason" speed or have a minimum speed instead of keeping speed with the rest of the roadway. People in the left lane want to go fast and chances are they're okay with going fast. Differences in speed, not speed itself, is the most dangerous thing. So if everyone is going fast it's okay. But if some turd decides to hog the left lane going the "speed limit" he poses a big threat to everyone.
They do this on the German Autobahn and it's one of the safest roadways in the world.
The HOV Lane in Texas.
+Unbearable Pain debateable. There are a few parts of german autobahn left, which are unrestricted, and they are not magically more safe.
Also, by definition, about half of car drivers are below average in skill, and half above average. If you poll drivers, the vast majority claim to be not only above average but actually very good, with still a significant amount claiming to be top tier drivers.
Whats more, break it down by age etc., and the young, inexperienced and arguably mentally and character wise not yet fully mature folks think of themselves as god's gift to motorised transportation.
Humans have a nasty tendency to overestimate their own skills. And those who should be the last ones to do so, generally boast the most.
Also, the vehicles and their state of repair are often overestimated by the owners. There are neverending exemples of cars and or repirs, deemed totally safe by the driver, yet insane at best in reality.
One reason german autobahns are relatively safe, is that all vehicles have to have mandatory check ups every two years.
one of the most important parts about setting speed limits is to try and limit "speed spread" - it's a lot harder to deal with widely varying traffic speeds than homogenous ones - and homogenous speeds mean that you don't get excessive (dangerous) passing maneouvres because everyone's going more or less the same speed and so, don't feel "held up"
Urban speed limits are generally "too high" - simply on pedestrian survivability issues - and lack of protection of non-motor vehicle users is coming to the fore even in the USA - a recent NY State court ruling resulted in a $20 million payout for a local authority ruled to have ignored repeated warnings about the safety of a suburban road, resulting in the death of a 12 year old cyclist
The other problem with speeds causing accidents is when the speed limit is enforced severely. This has been shown to lead to habits like speedo gazing (staring at your speedometer) and that takes the driver's attention away from the road which can cause accidents with as much, or even more, frequency as speeding actually does.
I ride a motorbike. They, for the most part, do not have cruise control.
That ad at the end was cringy af
+zh11147 because it was sneaky af.
around towns where people do allot of walking. Speed should not go faster than about 45KPH. This is on a fairly strait road with crosswalks and commercial areas. it's also assuming people won't speed.
I wonder if that's what those sensor packs with *2* rubber hoses you see occasionally stretching across the road are for. The single hose units I know are used for measuring traffic *volume*, but rhe dual hose rigs could be used to measure average speed based upon an average vehicle wheelbase and the time delay between impacts.
No it couldn't. They don't know what type of car is driving over it. In order to measure speed using time, you need to know the distance between the front and rear axles. Was that the two rear axles of a semi rolling over the tubes or a car doing 80? See what I mean?
+Ryan Payne It occurs to me I'm overthinking this. For speed measurements wheelbase and number of axles is irrelevant. You only want to know how fast a vehicle's tire is moving (As the body isn't going to be moving at a different speed than its tires) Tire contact patch size doesn't change *that* substantially, even with large vehicles. Thus any average is probably unnecessary, and the device is probably strictly measuring time between impacts.
If you want to also measure traffic *volume*, then some algorithm to measure average wheelbase (Such as omitting impacts times too close together), or rough vehicle size (Such as measuring impact *pressure* on the hoses, which would be greater with more massive vehicles, when referenced against time delay) would have to be devised. *That* would be much more complex, but outliers from whatever graph this gets plotted on could be ignored, a clever engineer could still get a good idea of traffic speed and volume. (With an acceptable margin of error).
wow 100kmh is really slow considering the distances at the US!
+FreddyGaming Very few people actually drive the speed limit. Most police officers won't pull you over if you're only going a bit over it either, at least on the highways and the interstate. They're stricter about speeding in residential areas and especially school zones.
More on your point, here in Ontario the average speed limit is 100kmh (i guess like 60mph?) but everyone drives at least 115-120. The very slowest are going 100.
DJSbros Yeah, 62mph is the almost the same as 100 kmh. The speed limit in my state is 70 mph (about 112 kmh). But it's pretty normal to see people drive up to 80mph (about 129 kmh) or even a little higher.
so is there enough data to determine what is the most efficient highway speed without getting too deep into variables?
Tractor trailer driver/s companies should be given some kind of incentive to drive from 8 pm to 4 am. Would this cut down on traffic accidents or would there be more accidents?
Some parts in Australia, there the speed limit is unlimited, but that is in WA and NT.
Dear America,
Stop using "KPH" as an acronym for kilometers per hour. The correct notation is "km/h".
Dear dumbass we don't use kilometers.
No need to get personal...
I am aware that your nation primarily uses some obscure stonehenge units. However the video had "KPH" multiple times, 0:19 for an example.
the freeway near me has a speed limit of 65 and people are commonly going 80. one of the main roads I go on has a speed limit of 40 and people frequently go 55 including police. I can't even count how many times I've been going 20-25 faster than the limit and have had police pass me
I would recommend 65 minimum 85 maximum limit on the highway For non-freeway street it would be 45 minimum 65 maximum. Resident areas would be 20 minimum 35 maximum.
I swear some smaller town make the speed limits ridiculously slow to entice you to speed so you can get pulled over by a nearby cop and the city makes $300.
You know, i live in florida, and idk about other places, but here there is generally an unspoken 7-15 mph soft speed limit.
Once i even calculated how much faster i was willing to go on roads than the listed speed limit, and that number came up to about 12-20%. I didn't know there was an actual phenomenon for this reason xD Got to love mental math while driving.
Where did you get the Atom top from?
One size fits all speed limits are DRACONIAN! Improve vehicle and road safety but most importantly driver competency. With autonomous cars on the horizon perhaps we'll finally get around to telling all those millions of 'traffic accidents waiting to happen' that they should have never been given a license in the first place. Driving should be a privilege not a right. Eventually everyone that wants to drive will compete for licenses and mod their cars for safety as much as for speed.
+flyingfshsndwch What the fuck are you on about?
Modding cars for safety? Nope, unless it's a roll cage on a race car.
Speed limits are only about money grabs. There are roads without speed limits with much less problems.
i doubt non speed limit roads have the amount of traffic by say an airport
+MachoMan 1492 The A5 stretch near Frankfurt International would like to disagree with you! Unrestricted 3 lane Autobahn right at one of the busiest airports in Europe...I was surprised by this as an American living here..You go through a tunnell that is 60mph, then less than a a feww hundreds meters later, BOOM, speeeeeeeddd!!
However, when traffic is really bad, or realllly bad weather, it'll drop back down to 81mph/130kph. (Though 99% of Germans ignore that unless they know there's a speed camera)
Agreed. I've seen limits of 25mph around turns that you can safely take at 60mph+ in a top heavy SUV with a busted sway bar. Probably 90% of speed limits could safely be doubled...including those 70mph interstate limits. The only valid argument for speed limits under 100mph on straight interstate roads is efficiency, and even then it depends on the car. I have an old Altima that runs most efficient at around 112mph.
MachoMan 1492 The Autobahn, case closed.
sounded like a chevron commercial at the end but I still subscribed. Mythbuster showed that in the US the gasoline that is" higher grade" does nothing better than any other gasoline for the types of cars and driving conditions typically faced. In the tests for tv the more expensive high grade gas with high tech engineering (1 being techtron) polluted more and did nothing more to extend engine life than regular gas. this is one area where government over oversight seems to work. it's a waist of money and the guy doing the interview got 2 out of 3 of the spokespersons to admit it.
Great explanation! Is the "human factor" the reason why in the USA there are no long stretches of highway where, like in German autobahns, there are no speed limits?
+Jorge Serra Yes, driver education is especially bad in the US. In germany its much harder to get a license, and there are really strict rules on how to maintain your car. So all cars in germany have to be in perfect condition or you cant drive it.
The 85th percentile rule is the worst way to set speed limits because most roads are over engineered to provide a "safety buffer" for people who do speed. This ultimately hurts people walking or biking and create a dangerous road right thru a suburban neighborhood.