Why do US highways have such low speed limits? (Cannonballing)

[Nocturnal310]

been driving around a lot due to lockdown bs and getting out of city. I noticed fastest highways dont even have speed limit of 80 mph.
this makes me very nervous to cruise at 90 mph for longer than few minutes due to cops.

These guys cannonballing from NYC to Cali have to install so many police scanners just to be able to go barely over 100 mph.


I have driven all over the world and even in Asia...the speed limits are much higher.
In europe, drivers cruise at over 110 mph easily.


With modern cars and tires being so advanced, they can easily handle such speeds....why are US highways not increasing speed limits?

other than that, lot of soccer moms in crappy crossovers drive at 50 mph on fast lane...which further slows down the traffic and our lives.


What is the reason for slow driving in our great Murica?

going over 100 shouldnt be a big deal on highways...it helps u reach destination faster and infact is better for fuel economy.

[Baylorballs]

1. ppl are stupid
2. if you post 80 mph speed limit, that means ppl go +5 or 10 mph, so pushing 90mph. faster speeds = less reaction time and more time to brake
3. ppl are stupid
4. I agree, on long, flat straight aways, up to 100 mph is reasonable
5. ppl are stupid

we have tens of thousands of road deaths every year. It would just go up from there if we up the speed limit Mr. Op bro man

[bsmit107]

-Control. Even if you drive for 6 hours and don't see a cop....you know they COULD be around the next corner. It's a mental fuk....they're always "watching"
-Speeding ticket revenue
-Less road maintenance and repair cost
-Not sure a majority of Americans (judging from how they drive now) would be capable of adhering to the laws of an autobahn type of highway.

I used to live in a small town (like 15k people) that had 2 exits off of a large interstate. Something like 70% of traffic ticket revenue came from our cops pulling people over on the interstate within a 2 mile span.

[Godfrd824]

1. ppl are stupid
2. if you post 80 mph speed limit, that means ppl go +5 or 10 mph, so pushing 90mph. faster speeds = less reaction time and more time to brake
3. ppl are stupid
4. I agree, on long, flat straight aways, up to 100 mph is reasonable
5. ppl are stupid

we have tens of thousands of road deaths every year. It would just go up from there if we up the speed limit Mr. Op bro man

Negative, in fact when Montana went from no speed limits to having speed limits, accident rates went up.


https://trid.trb.org/view/667740

[blazenbb]

2. if you post 80 mph speed limit, that means ppl go +5 or 10 mph, so pushing 90mph. faster speeds = less reaction time and more time to brake

80 mph posted states don’t fk around. Got pulled over going 82 and he said he would pull anyone going faster than 81. I hate people who sit in the left because there’s already a car sitting in the left in front of them. Then you have this long ass line of kunts sitting in the left and I go to the far right around everyone.

Mostly agree with you op, except how would it be better for fuel economy? I’m barely getting any mpg when I’m going 100+mph. Explain

[SteadyFlexOnU]

I speed everywhere and dont drive less then 90 on the highway. If i see a cop in the distance i slam on my breaks. Sounds safe huh. Fk the pig enforcement for tickets BS forced by these cokksukking lawmakers. I do what the fuk i want fuk u

[Godfrd824]

I speed everywhere and dont drive less then 90 on the highway. If i see a cop in the distance i slam on my breaks. Sounds safe huh. Fk the pig enforcement for tickets BS forced by these cokksukking lawmakers. I do what the fuk i want fuk u

You sound like a 12 year old in all of your posts, what's up with that?

[Jax05]

What is the reason for slow driving in our great Murica?

- Catering to the lowest common denominator
- Safety inspections are a joke
- Driver education is a joke

[need2grow10]

The idiots I see everyday shouldn't be driving at all, much less at 80+.

[Exiled93]

Living in Virginia Beach this whole area has the lowest speed limits I've ever seen. Large parts of the interstate are only 55mph. Then tons of smaller roads have like 25 or 35mph speed limits for what seems like no reason.

[engj]

Highway design is intentionally over-engineered for a actor of safety, same as building design.

A major highway gazetted for a 60mph speed limit will likely have a 90mph design speed.

[anonymous]

Fines for local cities to spend on Gibs

And most American driver are fukkin retards who don't understand the left lane is for passing

[IronKrazy]

Negative, in fact when Montana went from no speed limits to having speed limits, accident rates went up.


https://trid.trb.org/view/667740

lol @ Montanta. They are the fuking exception bro. There is NO fuking way it would fly in the midwest. I see it has been mentioned more than enough that now-a-days, especially because of phones, that it would never EVER fuking happen. Motherfukers are brainless zombies out here. SRS. Doing 6-10 under in the left lane or both while holding people up. MULTIPLE PEOPLE DOING IT. Phones, looking around, eating, talking, being completely and directly ignorant to others who are paying attention and need to get to work or elsewhere. I can feel my blood spiking just thinking of the past 6 hours on the road. Not to mention this whole fuking week.

Example: I'm already doing 50 - 55 in a 40 on a main back road with a double yellow because I KNOW they will ride my ass as if I'm not going fuking fast enough! They are 15+ car lengths behind and catch up to me. They're there, at my ass. What do they do with a double yellow line being there, where it's sometimes hard to see other traffic either directly in front or coming the other direction??? Take a FUKING guess. And it happens MANY fuking times.

Many need baseball bats to the fuking face. The ignorance, carelessness and recklessness of these fuking animals is D.I.S.G.U.S.T.I.N.G! Every fuking time I see chit I hope to christ they wrap it around the next fuking pole or tree we come up on. I wanna get out and piss on their fuking corpses.

[Jasonw1178]

Germans and people in a lot of countries with really fast roads, the driver takes it seriously and is focused on driving. Here in the US, a lot of driver's are doing many things not related to driving.

[Briangumble]

I think we, the US, should have our own version of the autobahn. But we would also need to drastically increase driving education and increase the requirements for getting a license. There's too many people that can't drive or drive stupidly, but that would be fixed with better drivers ed.

[gluon]

I think we, the US, should have our own version of the autobahn. But we would also need to drastically increase driving education and increase the requirements for getting a license. There's too many people that can't drive or drive stupidly, but that would be fixed with better drivers ed.

i don't think improving drivers ed would fix anything. you already learn everything you need to know during drivers ed, what exactly is drivers-ed skipping over? thing is driving well requires discipline, focus, and regard for safety, which also happens to be the 3 biggest things most people lack. There isnt a chance in hell that any drivers ed course can make people good drivers. Only thing I think would help is draconian punishment's for cellphone usage while driving, talking dwi offence level.

im all about America #1 etc etc. but god damn i will admit there's are so many got damn fukwits on the road, just horrible drivers in general in the US. People who only speed up when someone tries to pass, only to slow down and form a rolling road block with the slow lane drivers are the scourge of the earth.

[ralphlaurenbrah]

Roads are trash in the US compared to Germany for instance. Our government just sucks. Also it gives the police aka the extension of the government more power. They can then pull you over to harass and steal more money from you and the government is stronger. It’s all about power and money like everything else.

[6-SPEED]

Driver's education in the US is terrible. Almost all Americans can easily get a driver's license because the standards are so low that it ensures just about everyone will pass. So in response to having millions of poorly trained people on the roads, low speed limits are posted. Well the low speed limits ensure a constant stream of revenue from people speeding and the highways aren't any safer because regardless of speed untrained drivers will always find a way to crash and cause chaos. Here in Germany, it can be expensive (1200 - 1500 euro) and time consuming to get a license because more training is involved. But Germany has proven that better trained drivers is what leads to safer roads, not the speed limits.

[Jax05]

i don't think improving drivers ed would fix anything. you already learn everything you need to know during drivers ed, what exactly is drivers-ed skipping over?

Make driver's ed a requirement to get permit? Then improve driver's ed.

Right now you can literally remember the answers for the questions they ask for permit, then have your mom teach you to drive. When all is said and done, you have your driver's license for less than $50. In most places in Europe by the time you get your license you're about $1500 into it (with driver's ed). Now which one will you value more, $50 license or $1500 license?

Driver's education in the US is terrible. Almost all Americans can easily get a driver's license because the standards are so low that it ensures just about everyone will pass. So in response to having millions of poorly trained people on the roads, low speed limits are posted. Well the low speed limits ensure a constant stream of revenue from people speeding and the highways aren't any safer because regardless of speed untrained drivers will always find a way to crash and cause chaos. Here in Germany, it can be expensive (1200 - 1500 euro) and time consuming to get a license because more training is involved. But Germany has proven that better trained drivers is what leads to safer roads, not the speed limits.

basically all of this


Now one of the main obstacles here is that US folks have almost 0 discipline compared to lets say Germany. It's just different mentality. If you ask Americans, majority would probably tell you that getting a driver's license is in the Bill of Rights whereas in Germany (and most Europe/rest of the world) it's a privilege.

[bigcat3655]

Not european so tell me if I've heard wrong, but I heard that while you can drive as fast as you want on european highways, if you do crash your driver's license is pretty well faurked for a long time and you get hammered with really really high fines

[sumolgi]

Ticket revenue. There are towns that pay their police exclusively from traffic tickets and jail processing fees.

[Nocturnal310]

NJ Highways are 55mph but most people in the middle lanes are doing 75mph+. If you're doing anything less than 85mph in the left lane you need to gtfo

jersey drivers are insane. they put new york drivers to shame lol

[nosirrahx]

"Karen" sponsored speed limits are the ones that really piss me off. There are 2 places locally where the speed limit drops to 25MPH in a zone that would be 40 - 55 anywhere else in the country.

One of them has a perfectly straight and flat stretch for 1/2 a mile with fields at both sides of the road. I know who lives at the end of that stretch and know that they are responsible for the speed limit. They are old and their house is set back far from the road so this has nothing to do with safety. They are also connected with the town.

The other is literally the highway, Rt 66, and goes through a section that is infested with "I have 9 Liberal signs and flags in my yard" Karens. The houses are very far apart and set back far from the road as this is literally the highway. If you are coming down the hill through this section and get stuck behind one of the Karens that lives there the cyclists in the breakdown lane will literally pass you.

[anonymous]

"Karen" sponsored speed limits are the ones that really piss me off. There are 2 places locally where the speed limit drops to 25MPH in a zone that would be 40 - 55 anywhere else in the country.

One of them has a perfectly straight and flat stretch for 1/2 a mile with fields at both sides of the road. I know who lives at the end of that stretch and know that they are responsible for the speed limit. They are old and their house is set back far from the road so this has nothing to do with safety. They are also connected with the town.

The other is literally the highway, Rt 66, and goes through a section that is infested with "I have 9 Liberal signs and flags in my yard" Karens. The houses are very far apart and set back far from the road as this is literally the highway. If you are coming down the hill through this section and get stuck behind one of the Karens that lives there the cyclists in the breakdown lane will literally pass you.

I see that exact same kind of lawn sign catlady Karen campaigning on Nextdoor to get "race exhausts" banned by my city because Assault Straight Pipes are too loud.

[Firefightn24]

Read somewhere a while back that most of our highways and especially interstate highways are designed to drive much faster on than we do.



But we have so many idiots driving around it ruins it for everyone else.

[conspiracy5]

Your are complaining for 80mph???
In australia, most highways are only 80kmph to a max 110kmph (thats 50mph to 68mph)
Nothing more than 68mph ever and there r loads of cops everywhere

[_zman]

People who don't want to drive in Europe have plenty of other methods of transportation, but gramps and grams in US can only drive to get where they want to go. There's a ton of people on the highway that flat out hate driving and passive aggressively drive. They'll even ride the left lane at the speed limit to stop other people from speeding.

We also have a low entrance fee to become an eligible driver. Almost anyone can get a license and it's pretty hard to lose it.

Our roads are also not as well maintained as they are in Europe. Croatia barely has any money but their roads are in pristine condition, but they also have a lot of toll roads. So their infrastructure is well-funded.

Plenty of roads and interstate systems in the US can afford to have a higher mph limit, but there's just too many bad drivers out there for that to make sense.

[Briangumble]

It's also worth noting that when the speed limits were originally made, it was intended to lower the fuel consumption. I believe it was during the oil crises of the 70's or 80s'. But we don't have that problem anymore especially with more electric vehicles on the road.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation...imum_Speed_Law

[BeginnerGainz]

1. ppl are stupid
2. if you post 80 mph speed limit, that means ppl go +5 or 10 mph, so pushing 90mph. faster speeds = less reaction time and more time to brake
3. ppl are stupid
4. I agree, on long, flat straight aways, up to 100 mph is reasonable
5. ppl are stupid

we have tens of thousands of road deaths every year. It would just go up from there if we up the speed limit Mr. Op bro man

^^^^

[SirFapsAIot]

REVENUE

/thread




there is absolutely ZERO reason to have speed limits on 3 or 4 lane highways especially after certain hours, if people just knew how to drive responsibly there would be little to no issues with accidents and as it is most people in this country should not have driver's licenses