Do speed limits change the feel of the road?

[Hurricane Rex]

Wierd question but thought I'd ask. For me it depends: when I-90 in Montana was increased to 80, I didn't feel any different, but when I-84 in Oregon was increased to 70T65, or US 20 to 65T60, it was a lot different. What are your opinions on this?

LG-TP260

[corco]

Having driven those roads, I didn't notice much on any of them. Everybody was already going 65+ on US 20 in Oregon and 70 on I-84 in Oregon, and yeah, actual driving speeds didn't seem to change at all on I-90 in Montana when the speed limit went up.

[ET21]

I'd say a reduction would, not an increase. Increases might make the road feel better too

[webny99]

This is a very intuitive question; I'm not sure there's a "yes" or "no" argument to be formed. As far as DOT's legitimately making a long-term change to a higher or lower speed, that rarely happens around here, so I can't say if a highway now being signed 65 instead of 55 mph makes a difference from how it used to feel. With that said, though, speed limits often change because the character of the road changes, like right here, where there's also a third travel lane opening up and a switch from guardrail to jersey barrier.

Side note: I am not an advocate of people braking when the speed limit drops. This is very unnecessary and tends to disrupt traffic flow; but the fact that it doesn't happen often suggests that not many drivers are really changing their speed that much. I personally don't drive a full 10 mph faster on 65 mph highways compared to 55 mph ones; I prefer around 75 regardless of the limit, maybe up to 80 mph on rural freeways.

[Nacho]

It certainly doesn't in Chicago, where traffic is probably moving either about 30 MPH over the limit or 30 MPH under the limit.

[jeffandnicole]

I think the speed limit changes the perception of the road.  People that have commented are too focused on their actual speeds.

If I entered Texas on an Interstate highway and saw the speed limit was 55 mph, I'd think that it will take forever to cross the state.  If I saw the speed limit was 70 mph, I'd be more ecstatic about it.  If I saw the speed limit was 80, I'd be thankful it won't take that long.  Yet, my actual driving speed would probably change very little, and I'll probably actually drive under the speed limit if it was 80 mph.

However, what if I was in Oklahoma and the speed limit was 75 mph, then entered Texas and they dropped the limit to 70 mph?  I'd be pissed that it'll take longer to drive thru a bigger state!  If it was still 75 mph, I may still be irritated.  If it increased to 80 mph, I'd be happy.  But I probably wouldn't change my speed at all.

I think speed limit changes within a state reduce the effect.  If I'm in Delaware, the limit is 65 mph on I-95 south of Wilmington.  Once I'm in Wilmington, it's 55 mph. I get to PA, and it's still 55 mph.  Not a huge deal.  However, I can drive on I-495 around Wilmington, and it's 65 mph.  I get to PA, and suddenly it's 55 mph.  Why the reduced limit? I'm not even in a city!  But again, my actual driving speed won't really change.

[theline]

Implementation of the national 55 MPH limit made all roads feel different. (Well at least those that previously had a higher limit.) Those that are too young to remember will just have to take my word for it that it was sheer agony. 

[Max Rockatansky]

60 MPH on I-5 up around Seattle this past week sure made it feel substandard...which it is..  When Michigan bumped speed limits up to 70 MPH on I-96 it made feel more modernized even though nothing had changed.  Everyone was going 70 MPH already and the speed limit increase bumped things up to about 80 MPH.

[cbeach40]

Not on its own. Driver behavior is only impacted by speed limits when there is strict enforcement. Drivers by and large will drive based on the road feel and will barely acknowledge speed limits.

[Brandon]

Wierd question but thought I'd ask. For me it depends: when I-90 in Montana was increased to 80, I didn't feel any different, but when I-84 in Oregon was increased to 70T65, or US 20 to 65T60, it was a lot different. What are your opinions on this?

Short answer: no.  No speed limit can change the feel of a road by itself.  The speed limit, on far too many roads, is an arbitrary number chosen by a legislature that knows jack shit about engineering.

[kphoger]

Taking this topic literally.....

Yes.  A higher speed limit makes me willing to drive faster, and driving faster accentuates bumps and dips.

[Hurricane Rex]

The speed limit, on far too many roads, is an arbitrary number chosen by a legislature that knows jack shit about engineering.

At least some legislators know more than their respective DOT's (Oregon).

LG-TP260

[hbelkins]

Side note: I am not an advocate of people braking when the speed limit drops. This is very unnecessary

Not if the reduction isn't adequately signed to allow drivers to let off the gas and gradually slow down until they get to the point of the reduction. And especially since revenue grabbers are known to stalk their prey right inside the lowered-limit zone.

[kphoger]

Side note: I am not an advocate of people braking when the speed limit drops. This is very unnecessary

Not if the reduction isn't adequately signed to allow drivers to let off the gas and gradually slow down until they get to the point of the reduction. And especially since revenue grabbers are known to stalk their prey right inside the lowered-limit zone.

Especially when said speed limit drop is at the bottom of a steep hill.

[webny99]

Side note: I am not an advocate of people braking when the speed limit drops. This is very unnecessary

Not if the reduction isn't adequately signed to allow drivers to let off the gas and gradually slow down until they get to the point of the reduction. And especially since revenue grabbers are known to stalk their prey right inside the lowered-limit zone.

Especially when said speed limit drop is at the bottom of a steep hill.

To clarify, I meant on freeways, when a standard reduction of 10 mph occurs, it is obtuse to brake, especially in dense traffic.

Any approach to a town or village on a two lane road, or any single reduction of >10 mph is a different story. Chances are you need to brake if a major change in roadway character accompanies the speed limit reduction.

[20160805]

On US/I 41 in Wisconsin, when the speed limit was 65 it seemed to move at a pretty consistent 68 mph or so, barring congestion/backups.  Since the speed limit was raised to 70 in 2015, moving speed can now be anywhere from about 65 to about 82.  People in my neck of the woods just don't seem to know how to keep a consistent 70 mph.

Excessively slow speed limits just make me feel like I'm barely moving and thus make me dislike the road itself (I'm looking at you, WI 55 through Kaukauna).

[capt.ron]

Implementation of the national 55 MPH limit made all roads feel different. (Well at least those that previously had a higher limit.) Those that are too young to remember will just have to take my word for it that it was sheer agony. 

And NOBODY paid any attention to the 55 limit. The national speed limit of 55 came into being when I was 3 years old so that's all I knew until the limit was increased to 65 in 1987 (I think) and then repealed in the early 1990's. But when I was a kid in SoCal in the 1970's, NOBODY drove 55 on the freeways. Traffic moved at 65.
Still, some states are stuck in the past regarding their 2 lane roads (I'm looking at YOU, Arkansas!!) signing them at 55 when some of them can benefit for a speed increase to 60 or even 65.
When I drove in Texas, I was taken aback by the higher speed limits on their 2 lane rural highways. To me, any limit higher than 55 on a 2 lane highway feels rather strange to me.

[Roadsguy]

But when I was a kid in SoCal in the 1970's, NOBODY drove 55 on the freeways. Traffic moved at 65.

Isn't that general expectation with speed limits, at least lower ones? Drive 10 over? I'd imagine people after 1987 treated 65 as 75 as they do today. Did they strictly enforce 65 until the NMSL was repealed?

[Guysdrive780]

Here is the thing, You know how you are on a gravel road and you moving very slowly and your feeling almost every bump. But the faster you go in your car, the less likely you feel these bumps and it feels smoother.

It depends on the quality of the highway, if the highway is built with horrible quality with cracks, at a slower speed, you will feel them. But the faster you go, the less likely you will feel bumps in the road. There is a good myth-buster's  experiments that kind of test this and will explain it better than I could so here is the video:

[theline]

Implementation of the national 55 MPH limit made all roads feel different. (Well at least those that previously had a higher limit.) Those that are too young to remember will just have to take my word for it that it was sheer agony. 

And NOBODY paid any attention to the 55 limit. The national speed limit of 55 came into being when I was 3 years old so that's all I knew until the limit was increased to 65 in 1987 (I think) and then repealed in the early 1990's. But when I was a kid in SoCal in the 1970's, NOBODY drove 55 on the freeways. Traffic moved at 65.
Still, some states are stuck in the past regarding their 2 lane roads (I'm looking at YOU, Arkansas!!) signing them at 55 when some of them can benefit for a speed increase to 60 or even 65.
When I drove in Texas, I was taken aback by the higher speed limits on their 2 lane rural highways. To me, any limit higher than 55 on a 2 lane highway feels rather strange to me.

As someone who was driving in the 1970s, I'll take exception to your assertion that "NOBODY paid any attention to the 55 limit." Traffic definitely slowed, at least here in the Midwest, when the limit was first adopted. Over time, traffic speed crept up again as enforcement eased in many states. The feds noticed the lack of enforcement and threatened states with loss of federal funding for the offending states and many of those states stepped up enforcement for a time.

In the mid '70s we were returning to Indiana on I-70 from a vacation to the east. My wife was stopped on the small section of 70 in West Virginia. She got a ticket for going 64. I took over driving and was stopped a few miles into Ohio. I was going 60 and got off with a warning. I kept it at 55 on I-70 all the way back to Indiana. It was agony.

In Indiana, the limit on rural 2-lanes was 65 before implementation of the national limit. Those roads still have the 55 limit that was imposed then. Because of that lower limit I still drive slower on those roads than I did before the limit was reduced, and I think that's true for most drivers.

[capt.ron]

But when I was a kid in SoCal in the 1970's, NOBODY drove 55 on the freeways. Traffic moved at 65.

Isn't that general expectation with speed limits, at least lower ones? Drive 10 over? I'd imagine people after 1987 treated 65 as 75 as they do today. Did they strictly enforce 65 until the NMSL was repealed?

I remember traffic moving around 70 during that time. But that was in Arkansas. I drove about 69-70 at that time.  I seldom encountered anybody driving slower.
Me and family took a vacation to SoCal in June 1992. I remember my mother following behind some crazy fast truckers in Arizona as we were heading west on I-40. Diesel was cheap in those days and most of the truckers dropped that hammer hard and got on down the road quick!
I believe at that time, the speed limits on the freeways in the city areas were 55. Traffic moved at 60-65 unless congested.

[Flint1979]

60 MPH on I-5 up around Seattle this past week sure made it feel substandard...which it is..  When Michigan bumped speed limits up to 70 MPH on I-96 it made feel more modernized even though nothing had changed.  Everyone was going 70 MPH already and the speed limit increase bumped things up to about 80 MPH.

People in Michigan drive 80 mph on the freeways regardless of what the speed limit is. I'll have my cruise control set for 80 and still get passed.

[ftballfan]

60 MPH on I-5 up around Seattle this past week sure made it feel substandard...which it is..  When Michigan bumped speed limits up to 70 MPH on I-96 it made feel more modernized even though nothing had changed.  Everyone was going 70 MPH already and the speed limit increase bumped things up to about 80 MPH.

People in Michigan drive 80 mph on the freeways regardless of what the speed limit is. I'll have my cruise control set for 80 and still get passed.

I-96 and M-6 are infamous for this IMHO

[jeffandnicole]

60 MPH on I-5 up around Seattle this past week sure made it feel substandard...which it is..  When Michigan bumped speed limits up to 70 MPH on I-96 it made feel more modernized even though nothing had changed.  Everyone was going 70 MPH already and the speed limit increase bumped things up to about 80 MPH.

People in Michigan drive 80 mph on the freeways regardless of what the speed limit is. I'll have my cruise control set for 80 and still get passed.

I-96 and M-6 are infamous for this IMHO

I always wonder why people thing their area is unique in terms of speeding. 

This happens country-wide.

[webny99]

I always wonder why people thing their area is unique in terms of speeding. 
This happens country-wide.

I've been to Michigan several times in the last few years. You can pretty much guarantee that traffic in the left lane will be moving at least 80 mph.

That cannot be said of Upstate NY, or many other rural areas across the country, where 80 could get you pulled over, especially on 55 mph freeways. Granted, Michigan is decent with setting their speed limits, and I'm sure that plays into it as well.