Scrutable

dyqik wrote: Thu Jun 19, 2025 1:45 pm

bolo wrote: Wed Jun 18, 2025 2:41 pm U.S. speed limits ending in 5 are just as common as those ending in 0. Anything between 25 and 70 is pretty normal. Less than 25 is rare. More than 70 is rare and only possible in some states.

My impression is that ending in 5 is more common than ending in 0. I'd say that 30 is less common than 25 and 35 around here. 40 and 50 are rarer than 45, 55 is the default for dual carriageway and A-road equivalents, plus motorway equivalents in built up areas. 60 is pretty much nowhere, and some big highways are 65.

There's a push for more 20 mph zones in dense cities here as well. 15 mph isn't uncommon in airports, parking lots, etc.

Here the state limits* all end in 5, apart from the interstates (70 mph). When they're lower (for safety or noise reasons) it's usually by 10 mph increments, but not always. The lowest limit is 15 mph outside schools. But that's only used when the school is on a busy road and during hours.

I have wondered before if the ending in 5 thing was because the national limit was set at 55 mph during the oil crisis. That was an economic choice rather than a safety one.


*It often feels like most drivers think these are guidelines, mind.

Schools up here are typically 20 mph limits.

And the average speed here is typically the speed limit +5mph + 15-20%

I noticed on a recent trip through Spain and France that they have different ranges for their limits.
France is almost exclusively the Odd 'Tens': so 30 (restricted urban), 50 (urban) 70 (hazardous rural), 90/80* (rural), 110 (dual carriageway), 130 (autoroute)

Whereas in Spain we saw 20,30,40,50,60,70,80,90 limits. I think I might have seen a 25 at one point

It was interesting that in France, towns often have a chicane or a speed bump with 30 kph limit as you enter and leave the town, whereas in Spain there will sometimes be a set of traffic lights as you enter a town that'll be triggered if somebody is going faster than 50 kph.

* AIUI, a few years back Paris imposed a 'standard' 80kph limit on rural roads, but some departments have exercised their authority to increase their limits back to 90 (I seem to recall it was previously 100kph (similar to UK National Speed Limit).