That's not true everywhere. My wife's parents live in rural Iowa on a highway that has a 45 mph speed limit. Their home is part of a small cluster of homes and their mailbox is across the road, similar to the circumstances in the OP story.
Regardless, living on a highway is not prime real estate.
The only time I see otherwise is if mountains or rivers are involved, or there is density (in which case it is sure to be zoned!).
With very low traffic density, you might build the house closer to the road (maybe 10m off, separated with trees) for just that reason – to save land. (Not all rural houses are farms.)