Speed limits are decided under the assumption that people will exceed them under normal driving conditions.
In other words, speed limits are usually intentionally too slow. It would be insane to follow them in many situations.
In other words, speed limits are usually intentionally too slow. It would be insane to follow them in many situations.
If true, this seems silly. So I'd love to know if you have specific information about the decision process, or whether this is just an assertion/feeling.
In Australia people do stick to limits, more or less. At least, speeders are judged by other drivers fairly harshly.
Going 8-20 Km/h too fast (the US equivalent) would definitely not be okay here. It happens, but if the police notices you're likely to get a ticket.
Maybe it's because Australians get ticketed more for it, or are more likely to get ticketed for it. Back when I was living in one of the capitals (Adelaide) I recall there being quite a few fixed location speed cameras, red light cameras, and combined speed and red light cameras, plus regular mobile cameras on the arterial routes and often on the secondary routes.
Back when I used to expose myself to free-to-air TV I also remember there being regular advertising campaigns about how driving even 5k/hr faster increases stopping distance significantly. The required stopping distance on dry road at 40k/hr is 26 meters[1] and at 50k/hr is 35 meters.
Maybe we care about each other just a tad more. I don't know.
1. http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/Driver-guide/Speeding/Stopp...
Everyone I've met who drives under the speed limit is a bad driver who doesn't understand traffic dynamics enough to understand when going faster is more expedient and matches traffic patterns. By going too slow, you actually cause a hazard by forcing people to pass you.
By going too fast you'd kill somebody especially in dense European cities.