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I like the no limit signs in Germany, but they also have some strict limits in some places. There was a street in my friends hometown that was pretty much an alley that had a 5kph posted limited. It was funny to see the local police sitting out there with a speed trap. Seriously, you could take your foot off the brake with the car in gear and go faster then that.
In NJ interstates and major toll roads are posted at 65mph (~105kph). Secondary highways are usually 50mph (~80kph). County roads vary from 35mph - 50mph (~55kph - ~80kph) depending on density. Surface streets in urban and residential areas are almost always 25mph (~40kph).
Of course here in NJ we treat speed limits as speed minimums, especially on the larger interstates. Most traffic flows around 80mph (~130kph) and the only people actually going the limit are little old ladies in the right lane, lol. Heck, we even have a current radio campaign against "Left Lane Dicks" or the people who insist on driving the speed limit in the left lane and hold up traffic.
Of course here in NJ we treat speed limits as speed minimums, especially on the larger interstates. Most traffic flows around 80mph (~130kph) and the only people actually going the limit are little old ladies in the right lane, lol. Heck, we even have a current radio campaign against "Left Lane Dicks" or the people who insist on driving the speed limit in the left lane and hold up traffic.
Most of the unlimited autobahns are two lane ones and going along at 140mph-150mph + and having a truck decide to overtake at 80mph about 100yrds in front scares the *hit out of you.
The Police on the autobahns are very strict on the way you drive though. Weaving or tailgating will get pulled and fined pretty quick.
Anyway, over here (UK) it's and in brackets what people tend to do:
1. 20mph near schools (20mph)
2. 30mph in towns (30mph-35mph)
3. 40mph through villages on main roads (60mph)
4. 50mph near accident black spots (60mph)
5. 60mph is the national speed limit, so if no signs 60mph is it. (60mph-70mph)
6. 70mph on motorways and 2 lane carriageways. (80mph-90mph)
The Police are very strict with #1 & #4, pretty strict on #s 2,3 & 5 and unless you draw attention to yourself (weaving, tailgating) you can pretty much travel at 85mph on the motorways all day. On a 2 lane road though best to keep it to 80mph. If you crack 95mph/100mph on a motorway they'll pull you on sight.
I consider speed signs to be advisories designed to warn me of road conditions. On suburban roads labeled 35 (MPH) I will drive 40 to 50, on open two lanes set at 50 I use 55-60, On expressways I keep up with traffic. Last week on I-93 south of Boston the pack was doing 80 to 90+ mph. I settled for 80 to 85 or so to avoid getting run over.
I use curve speed signs as indicators. If an entrance or exit ramp is posted for 30 mph I feel safe taking it at 45 in the car and 50+ on the bike. Rural roads are about the same. The one thing that really slows me down is the speed indicating sign. I saw one in a small town in Maine that was next to a 25 mph sign. I slowed to 25, after checking that I would not get run over from behind, and it felt like I was parked.
One of my memorable speed limit experiences happened in Canada. I was driving my old Buick Wagon and went into an interstate off ramp that was posted for 40 at my usual 60. About 1/3rd of the way into the corner I realized the sign meant 40 kph not mph. So I just continued to scrub off speed with the brakes, drift past the apex and catch the power slide and hit the next expressway at 65 mph or so. Great fun but it would have been less intense if they had put KPH on their sign.
I consider speed signs to be advisories designed to warn me of road conditions. On suburban roads labeled 35 (MPH) I will drive 40 to 50, on open two lanes set at 50 I use 55-60, On expressways I keep up with traffic. Last week on I-93 south of Boston the pack was doing 80 to 90+ mph. I settled for 80 to 85 or so to avoid getting run over.
I use curve speed signs as indicators. If an entrance or exit ramp is posted for 30 mph I feel safe taking it at 45 in the car and 50+ on the bike. Rural roads are about the same. The one thing that really slows me down is the speed indicating sign. I saw one in a small town in Maine that was next to a 25 mph sign. I slowed to 25, after checking that I would not get run over from behind, and it felt like I was parked.
One of my memorable speed limit experiences happened in Canada. I was driving my old Buick Wagon and went into an interstate off ramp that was posted for 40 at my usual 60. About 1/3rd of the way into the corner I realized the sign meant 40 kph not mph. So I just continued to scrub off speed with the brakes, drift past the apex and catch the power slide and hit the next expressway at 65 mph or so. Great fun but it would have been less intense if they had put KPH on their sign.
I can relate to the off-ramp experience in Canada. It took me a while to get used to the kilometers. The distances given in kilometers had a sort of psychological advantage though. Those numbers decreased faster, giving the impression that you were getting there quicker.
Built up areas, in towns/cities villages etc: 30mph, or 40mph in wider roads
National speed limit (rural areas, single carriageway roads): 60mph
National speed limit (motorways and dual carriageways): 70mph
In some very dense residential areas there are 20mph zones.
Some rural roads, like the one I drive on to work, are notoriously restricted to 50mph rather than 60mph, with hundreds of speed cameras too, one of which I was caught by and fined. This is supposedly to reduce speed on the road to reduce accidents, but is a crock of bull. Why? Because the only bit with cameras on it is a flat, straight bit where one could probably do 80mph with no trouble, and accidents never happen. The accidents all happen on the bendy areas, and due to stupid manouvres like dangerous overtakes, and where it's impossible to even go around the bends more than about 40mph in the first place. The cameras are a stupid government money making ploy.
^^^ I think I saw signs saying "Derbyshire: it's 50 for a reason" or something. We sure all know the reason.
Overall I found driving in the UK to be a really agreeable experience. Speed limits are mostly sensible (save the 70 one on motorways, which fortunately doesn't seem to be enforced) and virtually everyone respects the rules and other drivers (no tailgating, which is a relief coming from France). Germans are good drivers too but tend to drive more aggressively.
In France
30 km/h (19 mph) near schools and zones with heavy pedestrian traffic
50 km/h (31 mph) in towns
70 km/h (44 mph) on some non-grade separated urban expressways and though hamlets on main roads
90 km/h (56 mph) on regular roads
110 km/h (68 mph) on expressways/urban freeways
130 km/h (81 mph) on motorways
Well, the old revenue generation sure helps, especially when they tend to target out of state drivers on the major highways. Speed limits in Jersey have always been treated by residents as a bit of a joke.
On the legal end, they can raise the limits, but the issue of doing it tends to revolve around congestion points. The Fed guideline is that speed limits should be maintained on interstate highways (which most in NJ are) for at least 10 miles. The problem, the state argues, is that if we raised the speed limit further it would cause issues at the congestion points where the higher limit would be unsafe. Since the congestion points happen rather frequently, it would cause confusion. So, what ends up happening is, we all drag race from congestion point to congestion point ignoring the signs.
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