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Location: Scott County, Tennessee/by way of Detroit
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Had a real eye opener taking a trip to Alabama...going through Georgia, the sign on the freeway said minimum speed 40 MPH....40.....huh? This was a large 2 lane freeway...So we get to southern Alabama swamp lands in the dark on unfamiliar roads, get off the freeway and the speed limit is 65MPH..it was dark, foggy HORRIBLE conditions..my husband is an experienced driver... but there was NOW WAY you could go 65MPH in that fog but people were doing it.. plus...It was so bad we went over a long bridge.....and didn't know it WAS a bridge till the next day in the daylight..
I just don't know about that minimum 40mph...to me if everyone is going 75 and 80 85 even, they are going to be eating your dust at 40mph...craziness..
I think that here in Tennessee the smaller roads are so winding and curvy that going even a little over the speed limit is dangerous...how many people going faster hit trees..run off roads??..There aren't too many guard rails around here either...Coming from flat Michigan my husband has NOT really comprehended that he can't go as fast as he wants with these roads...
Had a real eye opener taking a trip to Alabama...going through Georgia, the sign on the freeway said minimum speed 40 MPH....40.....huh? This was a large 2 lane freeway...So we get to southern Alabama swamp lands in the dark on unfamiliar roads, get off the freeway and the speed limit is 65MPH..it was dark, foggy HORRIBLE conditions..my husband is an experienced driver... but there was NOW WAY you could go 65MPH in that fog but people were doing it.. plus...It was so bad we went over a long bridge.....and didn't know it WAS a bridge till the next day in the daylight..
I just don't know about that minimum 40mph...to me if everyone is going 75 and 80 85 even, they are going to be eating your dust at 40mph...craziness..
I think that here in Tennessee the smaller roads are so winding and curvy that going even a little over the speed limit is dangerous...how many people going faster hit trees..run off roads??..There aren't too many guard rails around here either...Coming from flat Michigan my husband has NOT really comprehended that he can't go as fast as he wants with these roads...
Limit = Fast as you are allowed to go, during best conditions
Minimum = Slowest you can go, during best conditions
Any speed in beween that is acceptable as long as you are in the proper lane. When its "bad" weather you are allowed to travel at what ever speed is safe. I was always under the impression that 40 was the minimum on ALL highways regardless of what state you live in.
Limit = Fast as you are allowed to go, during best conditions
Minimum = Slowest you can go, during best conditions
Any speed in beween that is acceptable as long as you are in the proper lane. When its "bad" weather you are allowed to travel at what ever speed is safe. I was always under the impression that 40 was the minimum on ALL highways regardless of what state you live in.
I think I saw a minimum of 50 in Florida in a 70 mph area. But the minimum speeds always assume safe conditions.
Limit = Fast as you are allowed to go, during best conditions
Minimum = Slowest you can go, during best conditions
Any speed in beween that is acceptable as long as you are in the proper lane. When its "bad" weather you are allowed to travel at what ever speed is safe. I was always under the impression that 40 was the minimum on ALL highways regardless of what state you live in.
The minimum is 55 in Michigan.
Though on some freeways through Detroit, the maximum is 55. Part of it is because those freeways, primarily I-94, were built in 1950 standards and has yet to be modernized. There's a couple of left-handed entrances and off-ramps which can throw people off and cause sudden lane changes.
Considering their condition, many roads need to have their speed limits lowered. The speed limits are usually based on the roads being in good to great condition.
And I'm not only talking about on the major highways. Where I live, the New York City area, major secondary roads have close to uniform limits of 30 mph. New York City now has a 25 mph limit.Low limits allow politicians to take credit for taking "action" on highway safety, yet are at best ineffective or at worst harmful. In Westchester, someone got killed doing 100 mph on King Street, a local road. The speed limit was reduced from 40 to 35, either shortly before or after that tragedy. Does someone taking a two-lane (one each way) road really take the speed limit into account. Same with DiBlasio's reduction of the NYC limit from 30 to 25, in response to high-speed accidents. Motivated by stupidity? Or his thinking voters are stupid? I'm not sure. Limits should be between 40 and 50 on secondary roads, and 25 or 30 on true neighborhood streets where tricycles mix with cars.
The situation is equally absurd on highways. Back in the day, the LIE had a 60 mph limit in Nassau and 65 in Suffolk. The limits were never raised to prior limits after the "energy crisis" despite safer cars and better tires. Many roads had 60 mph limits, such as I-287 in Westchester, the Connecticut Turnpike, and similar semi-urban freeways, such as the parts of the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway not at 65. Those are still stuck at 55. Back in 1995 New York, lagging almost all other states, returned to a 65 mph limit. The new limit was applied only to a few roads. After 684 went back to 65 in 2004 the progress stopped.
Limits should be increased because we've invested huge amounts in safer (and more expensive) cars, and better highways. The low limits are a waste.
I know exactly the roads you're talking about.
I think a 25 mph speed limit is too low. Nobody is going to follow it, and you're not any safer at 25 mph than you are at 30 mph. If accidents happen because people exceed a 30 mph speed limit, then lowering it to 25 mph does not solve the problem. We have an across the board tendency in this society to not enforce reasonable laws that we have, and then think the way to solve the problem is to pass stricter laws, that we also will not enforce, or will enforce randomly and selectively in a potentially unfair manner. Your King Street example demonstrates this perfectly.
I think that many highway speed limits are too low. There is a mentality of using motorists to collect revenue and I think that breeds disrespect for the law. It's hard in fairness to set a speed limit on some of the roads you described, because traffic conditions vary so widely on them. There are times when it would be perfectly safe to go 70 mph or 75 mph on a road like the LIE, and other times when it would be very dangerous. Type of vehicle and driver competence are also factors that vary widely and impact on safe speeds.
Generally, I just go the speed I feel like going, whatever the speed limit is. Sometimes, that's a good amount above the speed limit, and sometimes it is near the speed limit. In poor conditions, it can be below the speed limit. I get a speeding ticket every now and then, but it doesn't really bother me. I think that if you never get a ticket, you're not trying hard enough. You just can't get them too often.
And I'm not only talking about on the major highways. Where I live, the New York City area, major secondary roads have close to uniform limits of 30 mph. New York City now has a 25 mph limit.Low limits allow politicians to take credit for taking "action" on highway safety, yet are at best ineffective or at worst harmful. In Westchester, someone got killed doing 100 mph on King Street, a local road. The speed limit was reduced from 40 to 35, either shortly before or after that tragedy. Does someone taking a two-lane (one each way) road really take the speed limit into account. Same with DiBlasio's reduction of the NYC limit from 30 to 25, in response to high-speed accidents. Motivated by stupidity? Or his thinking voters are stupid? I'm not sure. Limits should be between 40 and 50 on secondary roads, and 25 or 30 on true neighborhood streets where tricycles mix with cars.
The situation is equally absurd on highways. Back in the day, the LIE had a 60 mph limit in Nassau and 65 in Suffolk. The limits were never raised to prior limits after the "energy crisis" despite safer cars and better tires. Many roads had 60 mph limits, such as I-287 in Westchester, the Connecticut Turnpike, and similar semi-urban freeways, such as the parts of the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway not at 65. Those are still stuck at 55. Back in 1995 New York, lagging almost all other states, returned to a 65 mph limit. The new limit was applied only to a few roads. After 684 went back to 65 in 2004 the progress stopped.
Limits should be increased because we've invested huge amounts in safer (and more expensive) cars, and better highways. The low limits are a waste.
I am just across the river in NJ, we have 60-55 mile pier hour on highways, and 25-35 on roads. I don't remember the last time I was able to drive 60 m/h in my area. Even 25 in the city is allot higher then some other countries would allow.
Location: Scott County, Tennessee/by way of Detroit
3,352 posts, read 2,823,762 times
Reputation: 10348
Quote:
Originally Posted by animatedmartian
The minimum is 55 in Michigan.
Though on some freeways through Detroit, the maximum is 55. Part of it is because those freeways, primarily I-94, were built in 1950 standards and has yet to be modernized. There's a couple of left-handed entrances and off-ramps which can throw people off and cause sudden lane changes.
I was just going to say that about Michigan....that's why I was surprised about 40..driving my whole life there have to realize not everywhere is the same. ..Thanks! !
I was just going to say that about Michigan....that's why I was surprised about 40..driving my whole life there have to realize not everywhere is the same. ..Thanks! !
I am just across the river in NJ, we have 60-55 mile pier hour on highways, and 25-35 on roads. I don't remember the last time I was able to drive 60 m/h in my area. Even 25 in the city is allot higher then some other countries would allow.
Where does NJ have a 60 mph speed limit? I don't think it exists.
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You just can't get them too often.
