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Do You Obey The Speed Limit

10/09/2012

If you asked a group of people what the most disobeyed traffic sign is most of them would say the stop sign or the yield sign. In fact, the most disobeyed traffic sign on our roads, streets, and highways is the maximum "Speed Limit" sign.

Speed limits are most frequently set through statutes. Speed limits can usually be lowered, or sometimes raised, from the legislated speed limit through a process called speed zoning. Common factors included in speed zoning are: 85th percentile speed (the speed at which 85% of the traffic is traveling), design speed, road features, crash records, administrative judgment, engineering judgment, and political influence.

State laws usually allow either state or local authorities to set highway speed limits above or below the statutory ones. Prior to taking such action on any portion of a highway, the law normally requires that governmental authorities conduct a study to determine the safe speed limit for that part of the highway. State laws may also allow such authorities to specify different speed limits on all or selected highways either for various times of the day or for various types of vehicles (e.g., trucks). For instance, the Texas Transportation Commission recently voted in favor of increasing the speed limit to 85 MPH on a toll road, State Highway 130. The concern with raising the speed limit is most drivers do not see the posted speed limit as the maximum speed limit they should be driving for safety. To manage the safety of motorists will require strict enforcement of the posted limit by the Texas law enforcement.

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Do You Obey the Speed Limit

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