Show Lots lets Be Realistic Speed Limits I I Reprinted from the time Jul July 1963 issue of Contact Utah Highway Patrol magazine You are arc tooling along north out of Dallas on a completed section of Interstate 35 Its It's a magn magnificent road traffic is light the signs spaced along the side tell you that the speed limit is 60 day 55 night True its it's a prima facie limit but you are from another state and dont don't know that YOU OBSERVE the law for fora a while but it soon becomes apparent that a speed of 70 is safe on such a roadway as this Your YOul car is in perfect shape and you know you are the worlds world's best driver So you decide to set your own speed limit You arc are distracted from your driving task somewhat however by the necessity of frequently checking behind you to see that there are no Texas State Stale Police cars lurking lurking lurk lurk- ing there Every car parked on the shoulder is suspect it may have a radar set aimed at you YOU KNOW you OU are driving at the speed for which this road was designed but you also know you are breaking the laws of the sovereign state stale I of Texas You dont don't enjoy the trip rip as much as you otherwise would and you probably dont don't drive as attentively as you should either You make it to the Red River River Elyer Riv Ely er without being nabbed and cross the bridge into the great state stale of Oklahoma Here 15 1 is not yet under construction and you arc are on old Route 77 ITS IT'S NARROW its it's two- two access is unlimited its it's hilly and all intersections are areat areat areat at a grade Hazards lie In wait everywhere The first sign you see informs you OU that you may now go 65 day and 55 night You slow down to a more sensible 60 and there are sections sections sec see lions where your sense of self self- preservation tells you to go slower than that IN II I MISSOURI you find yourself yourself your your- yourself self on US which is a well- well maintained but lUt old two lane highway with many hills and curves The speed limit is 70 da day 65 night Your mind contrasts contrasts contrasts con con- this with the completely complete complete- ly different situation you found on 35 1 in Texas and Jike ike ke the average motorist may do you may begin to wonder if legislators legislators legis legis- and traffic officials really really really real real- ly know what time tIle heck they are arc doing You recognize that there is often orten good reason for variations variations varia varia- lions in speed limits different different differ differ- ent terrain for example but you have seen too many wide variations under similar conditions conditions conditions con con- and too many outright contradictions to think that speed limits are always alwa'S rea rca listic IF F THERE is so 50 much disagreement disagreement disagreement dis dis- dis- dis agreement on what constitutes safe and reasonable speed limits limits limits lim lim- its you may be forgiven for wondering if it some of the tIme other traffic regulations you are asked to obey arc realistic too Now lets let's take a good look Jook at the speed limit situation in inthis inthis this coun country try What is this thing called speed Websters Webster's dictionary defines speed J as fye rate of 1 i movement or motion clo ty i MUCH I nonsense has been uttered and written about speed and to some the word even carries a bad tion So So lets let's keep a few facts in mind as we explore this subject First speed is not a bad thing Everything that moves does docs so at a certain rate of speed A speed of mph is necessary to keep one of our satellites in orbit and when we get around to really exploring space our our ships will have to achieve an an escape velocity of at least mph AT TIllS THIS moment you OU are traveling close to 1000 mph how fast fast the rotating at the time equa equa- equa- equa I tor br I Speed is the tIle basis of all all' transportation Without it our I highway system would be use use- less The faster vehicles can move safely t the e more efficient efficient effi effi- dent and useful is that tem SECONDLY speed by itself does docs not cause accidents If you were in outer space you cOL could d safely travel at the speed of light if there thore were nothing in your our path to hit But if your vehicle did hit something the results would be somewhat spectacular Similarly on the ground if it your our car hits something the degree of damage will vill be largely determined d by how fast you are moving at the time of impact In other words to a great extent speed determines determines de de- de- de the severity of an accident but is not the sole cause of oC the accident and in some accidents may not be a causal factor at alL So what we have in our traffic tic fie situation is a wide variety of conditions that limit safe speed congestion e r lighting vehicle conditi o 0 n n. n road design and condition and many many other factors SPEED MUST 1 at all times thues be controlled to fit the conditions conditions condi condi- lions prevailing at a a given I place and time A safe speed for prevailing conditions cannot cannot cannot can can- not always be left up to the judgment of the tIle driver and that is the reason for official control Realistic maximum speed limits are determined by a number of factors such as the extent and type of or developments developments develop develop- ments along the roadside THERE IS S a world of oC difference difference difference differ differ- ence between a stretch of l highway in wide open country country country coun coun- try and a similar stretch of oC highway where strings of motels motels motels mo mo- gas stations bars and hamburger joints have built up along it In the later case vehicles moving on and off orf the Ute highway highway high high- way create a great deal of conflict conflict con con- with through traffic and speed must be reduced Other factors include the condition of the roadway the number of intersections and Ute the normal normal norm norm- al at volume of traffic EXPERIENCE has shown slown that in any given traffic situation situation situation sit sit- about 85 per cent of all drivers will drive dElve at or below nn an appropriately safe speed Fifteen per cent will exceed a safe In speed zon zoning lg engineers general generall 1 y I utilize this principle Speed limit t. t signs igns are being taken down Actual speeds of passing vehicles are arc recorded and the speed limit is set at atthe atthe the Ute speed at which 85 per cent pent of the drivers either cither drive at ator ator ator or below It should be emphasized emphasized sized that the posted limit is is' the maximum for ideal condi condi- Under adverse conditions conditions condi condi- Lions traffic must slow to a reasonable and proper speed for the conditions ONCE A realistic speed limit limit lim urn it is set it must be enforced or about 15 per cent of oC drivers will tend lend to exceed it it Speed limits are difficult to to enforce in the first place and an unrealistically low speed I limit is impossible to enforce because nearly everybody d y will exceed it by a considerable considerable considerable consider consider- able margin An unrealIstically high limit on a particular roadway will of course encourage some drivers to drive too fast for conditions and accidents will ensue ALTHOUGH speed by itself does not cause accidents it does reduce time and ability to meet emergency situations and it docs does largely determine the severity of an accident if one occurs Much l is lost and nothing is gained by setting speed limits too loo low for prevailing condi condi- Nearly all drivers will violate the limit and this will lead to contempt for all traffic I laws SOME SOlIE DRIVERS will vill observe observe ob ob- serve the Ule limit This causes considerable variation in the speeds of vehicles The Capacity capacity capacity ca ca- of the roadway will be reduced Violators will be distracted distracted dis dis- dis- dis traded from their driving task by watching for tor the tho police Any public education program arn on speed will suffer because people will realize that an unrealistic un Wl- realistic situation is being dealt with There is a continuing trend to raise rural speed limits Where this will end is difficult t tto to say But many traffic authorities authorities authorities au au- au- au believe 70 mph is about the maximum speed at which the a 1 driver can control the ordinary ordinary ordinary nary automobile TIlE THE MINIMUM l de design s i g n standards for our mile Interstate System were developed developed developed devel devel- for a safe speed of 70 mph Since these standards apply throughout the time country there will be no excuse for variations among the states in the rural speed limits on these interstate roads |