Relaxok's thread about speed limits got me thinking about this one. What are some of the more unusual speed limits out there? On the Ole Miss campus in Oxford, the speed limit is 18, in honor of legendary QB Archie Manning's jersey number when he played there. I can't think of any other speed limits signs that doesn't end with a 0 or 5.
Many private roads have this sort of thing, with any integer or a even non-integer speed limit. It's really not worth listing them all.
My local community college has a speed limit of 8 in the parking lots.
I find 50 MPH to be unusual. I can only think of two or three places I've seen it in CNY.
To quote the MUTCD:
Quote
The Speed Limit (R2-1) sign (see Figure 2B-3) shall display the limit established by law, ordinance, regulation, or as adopted by the authorized agency based on the engineering study. The speed limits displayed shall be in multiples of 5 mph.
(Section 2B.13, Paragraph 2, Page 56)
QuoteI find 50 MPH to be unusual. I can only think of two or three places I've seen it in CNY.
To quote the MUTCD:
Quote
The Speed Limit (R2-1) sign (see Figure 2B-3) shall display the limit established by law, ordinance, regulation, or as adopted by the authorized agency based on the engineering study. The speed limits displayed shall be in multiples of 5 mph.
(Section 2B.13, Paragraph 2, Page 56)
I'm 99.99% sure that means that speed limits can end in 0 or 5, as those are both multiples of 5 (10 and 15 are both multiples of 5). There are thousands upon thousands of roads with x0 speed limits in this country.
I've always found Ohio's 60 MPH speeds to be odd, especially when paired with a 55 truck limit (I'm looking at you, US 33.) Most of the time it's on a limited access road and, with a state limit of 65, just seems nonsensical. Just pick 55 or 65 and be done with it.
There have been experiments with speed limits which are not integer multiples of 5, to determine whether drivers are more likely to comply with them. These unusual limit values have not been found to improve compliance and that is part of the reason the MUTCD does not allow them on roads open to public travel.
QuoteI've always found Ohio's 60 MPH speeds to be odd, especially when paired with a 55 truck limit (I'm looking at you, US 33.) Most of the time it's on a limited access road and, with a state limit of 65, just seems nonsensical. Just pick 55 or 65 and be done with it.
The worst for me is Colorado's micromanagement of speed limits. SH-318 sticks out as particularly obnoxious because it's so rural- the speed limit ranges from 50-55-60-65 with several 5 MPH speed drops/increases. Throughout the state, 5 MPH speed limit changes aren't horribly uncommon, and they're often just for a short stretch of road.
Then at major intersections in rural areas they'll often drop the speed limit from 65 to 55/45 just through the intersection (whereas most states would just put up an advisory speed with the intersection sign). 36 east of Byers has a lot of those, as does 14, and pretty much every other major state highway.
On 287 South heading into Fort Colliins where you get to the old 287 alignment into LaPorte, the speed limit drops to 25 just before the light, despite being entirely surrounded by speed limits of 45/65. It's obviously designed to make sure you stop at the light, but it's obnoxious.
Quote from: Quillz on February 12, 2011, 02:35:55 PM
My local community college has a speed limit of 8 in the parking lots.
The speed limit inside the parking decks at Virginia Commonwealth University is 6mph. Not too many people observe this, though, and I'm surprised no one's ever driven off one the decks.
Quote from: 6a on February 12, 2011, 04:14:23 PM
I've always found Ohio's 60 MPH speeds to be odd, especially when paired with a 55 truck limit (I'm looking at you, US 33.) Most of the time it's on a limited access road and, with a state limit of 65, just seems nonsensical. Just pick 55 or 65 and be done with it.
I tend to take 60mph speed limits a little more seriously than a 55 or 65 limit. 55 or 65 is often the result of a statewide legal ceiling on how high the speed limit can be set. 60 rarely is, and looks more like something tailored to the road in question.
Quote from: oscar on February 12, 2011, 04:44:01 PM
I tend to take 60mph speed limits a little more seriously than a 55 or 65 limit. 55 or 65 is often the result of a statewide legal ceiling on how high the speed limit can be set. 60 rarely is, and looks more like something tailored to the road in question.
Same here for the most part, though our very few 60 zones here in Oregon (one on I-84 east of Portland, one on I-5 through Salem and one on I-5 through Eugene--I don't know if Medford has one) are basically the result of ODOT trying to throw us a bone against the 65mph ceiling in less dense urban areas. They'd probably be 65 zones if we had a higher ceiling.
As a result, on pretty much any freeway or rural highway, I take the limits with a grain of salt. They're completely arbitrary.
-Alex (Tarkus)
yep, nearly every speed limit of 55 is the result of someone being too lazy to do a real engineering study and letting a 1973 federal law do the work for them.
the town of Trenton, Tennessee is near-universally signed at 31 on its major town roads.
there is a Speed Limit 11 sign in a state park in Wolf Creek, Oregon.
private property (which abounds with examples): I have an embossed Speed Limit 6 sign from - where else? - Six Flags.
not quite a speed limit sign, but there is a California standard sign that says "signals set to 23 mph" - this was put up in towns with a speed limit of 25 to encourage obedience. It was adopted in other states: I believe there still are some left in Klamath Falls, OR.
Speed Limit 8 was actually a well-established standard in the early days of motoring. I have seen a 1920s sign catalog that showed a standard sign made out to 8.
There are Speed Limit 1 and 3 signs in various California truck weigh stations. Likely they exist in other states, too, and perhaps 2 does as well. 1 tends to be the limit for laden vehicles, while 3 is for unloaded. They have different lanes with separate scales.
I used to find x0 speed limits odd, mostly just because I think x5 are more common in a lot of areas. (I grew up in NJ, and you could usually count on 25 residential, 35 arterial, 55 divided highway, and later on 65 for freeway -- although there were a handful of rural 2-lane roads with 50 mph.)
Here in Washington, with the 70 rural/60 urban freeway limits, it doesn't look nearly as strange to me.
For me I find it easier to go 2 over when the speed limit is x5 instead of x0. It's easier for me to go 37 than 32 or 67 than 62. I'm sure it's purely psychological, but I just feel like the car (any car) actually drives more naturally at the x7 speed. If I were driving a car without a speedometer, I'd bet more often than not I'd be clocked at an x7 speed.
Quote from: corco on February 12, 2011, 08:34:34 PM
For me I find it easier to go 2 over when the speed limit is x5 instead of x0. It's easier for me to go 37 than 32 or 67 than 62. I'm sure it's purely psychological, but I just feel like the car (any car) actually drives more naturally at the x7 speed. If I were driving a car without a speedometer, I'd bet more often than not I'd be clocked at an x7 speed.
this may be the case for me too. A lot of the time I find myself doing 77 - but this just may be the underlying belief that California Highway Patrol will not care about anyone doing under 80.
also, I've noticed that the highest speed at which I feel like I am safely "cruising", as opposed to actively having to pay 105% attention to the road, is 97 mph. Over 100 and I'm feeling unnerved and vigilant, but on extremely rural roads, I've been known to set cruise control to 97 and putter along just as though it were any other speed.
Not sure if this qualifies but there's a mountainous road in the San Jose/Saratoga/Los Gatos area that has advisory speed limits (black-on-yellow) of 19 and 16 MPH on some sharp curves and yes, this is a public road maintained by the local government.
I have been maintaining a page of pictures of odd speed limit signs I've encountered. I don't have many and they're mostly on private property. I have a "no faster than a walk", a 4, a 6, 2 8's, an 11/13/18, a 14, a 19, and a 23. They're all linked from:
http://www.teresco.org/pics/signs/speedlimits.html (http://www.teresco.org/pics/signs/speedlimits.html)
Quote from: 6a on February 12, 2011, 04:14:23 PM
I've always found Ohio's 60 MPH speeds to be odd, especially when paired with a 55 truck limit (I'm looking at you, US 33.) Most of the time it's on a limited access road and, with a state limit of 65, just seems nonsensical. Just pick 55 or 65 and be done with it.
60 seems to be standard on Interstates in Cuyahoga County.
Quote from: Kacie Jane on February 12, 2011, 08:26:21 PM
I used to find x0 speed limits odd, mostly just because I think x5 are more common in a lot of areas. (I grew up in NJ, and you could usually count on 25 residential, 35 arterial, 55 divided highway, and later on 65 for freeway -- although there were a handful of rural 2-lane roads with 50 mph.)
Here in Washington, with the 70 rural/60 urban freeway limits, it doesn't look nearly as strange to me.
Funny you should mention New Jersey: I believe 50 is the default limit in rural areas today.
Quote from: Jim on February 13, 2011, 11:02:01 AM
I have been maintaining a page of pictures of odd speed limit signs I've encountered. I don't have many and they're mostly on private property. I have a "no faster than a walk", a 4, a 6, 2 8's, an 11/13/18, a 14, a 19, and a 23. They're all linked from:
http://www.teresco.org/pics/signs/speedlimits.html (http://www.teresco.org/pics/signs/speedlimits.html)
I'll have to get you one of the '14 1/2' from Nike.
--Andy
Quote from: 6a on February 12, 2011, 04:14:23 PM
I've always found Ohio's 60 MPH speeds to be odd, especially when paired with a 55 truck limit (I'm looking at you, US 33.) Most of the time it's on a limited access road and, with a state limit of 65, just seems nonsensical. Just pick 55 or 65 and be done with it.
Along with US 30 east of Mansfield, and the Cleveland area freeways.
Seven or eight years ago I found these in Columbus
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.roadfan.com%2Friversp.JPG&hash=8d5a78e168a5f3600c20830bb3bc57d5f38d705f)
This was (is?) the parking lot for Riverside hospital (4 miles north of Ohio State Univ)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.roadfan.com%2Fwood12.JPG&hash=aa9e48ada02e566cbbcec879a414f59f7f059410)
This one is at the entrance to an apartment complex on Kenny Rd between Fishinger and North Broadway (and a mile or two west of Riverside Hospital)
A shopping center in Fultondale, AL has a speed limit of 27.
Something worth mentioning: The MUTCD makes it explicit it does not apply to parking lots.
Is it true that at one point in time, Montana had speed limits signs that simply said, "Reasonable and prudent?" I read this somewhere a long time ago and took it to literally mean that signs in the state used to say that. But I never found any pictures or any other supporting evidence.
Quote from: Quillz on February 14, 2011, 05:34:08 AM
Is it true that at one point in time, Montana had speed limits signs that simply said, "Reasonable and prudent?" I read this somewhere a long time ago and took it to literally mean that signs in the state used to say that. But I never found any pictures or any other supporting evidence.
You wouldn't actually need signs if the law's on the books.
Quote from: Quillz on February 14, 2011, 05:34:08 AM
Is it true that at one point in time, Montana had speed limits signs that simply said, "Reasonable and prudent?" I read this somewhere a long time ago and took it to literally mean that signs in the state used to say that. But I never found any pictures or any other supporting evidence.
Alp's Roads has a picture of one. (http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/mt/misc/)
Reminds me of this one on the PA Turnpike Ext of the NJTP :P
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ssoworld/4983156246/in/set-72157624814793553/
Not a true error, but... well you'll get the point :eyebrow: :-D
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on February 14, 2011, 12:46:33 AM
Something worth mentioning: The MUTCD makes it explicit it does not apply to parking lots.
No, the MUTCD makes it explicit that the 2009 edition DOES apply to parking lots that allow public travel. So Hawaii will be waving aloha to its blue stop signs.
Quote from: AlpsROADS on February 14, 2011, 10:48:11 PM
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on February 14, 2011, 12:46:33 AM
Something worth mentioning: The MUTCD makes it explicit it does not apply to parking lots.
No, the MUTCD makes it explicit that the 2009 edition DOES apply to parking lots that allow public travel. So Hawaii will be waving aloha to its blue stop signs.
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/knowledge/faqs/faq_general.htm#q7
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/intro/intro.htm (see ¶ 03)
^^^
Good luck enforcing that! With the thousands upon thousands of parking lots both public and private, who would they get to police MUTCD regulations?
To me, 50 mph is not a particularly unusual limit. As was previously mentioned, it is used here on 2 lane rural roads. But it is also used on roads like US 46 and NJ 10. I've also seen it on US 206 south of Somerville (I think). It is probably 50 mph on US 22, but I don't venture down there frequently (I think I've been on US 22 in NJ once in my entire life).
Also, x0 speed limits were mentioned as unusual in general. I dispute that as well. In my town, several local roads have 40 mph limits. So at least in my area of the country, 40 mph and 50 mph are fairly standard for certain classifications of road.
Quote from: AlpsROADS on February 14, 2011, 10:48:11 PM
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on February 14, 2011, 12:46:33 AM
Something worth mentioning: The MUTCD makes it explicit it does not apply to parking lots.
No, the MUTCD makes it explicit that the 2009 edition DOES apply to parking lots that allow public travel. So Hawaii will be waving aloha to its blue stop signs.
Never mind, then. That was definitely in the NPA. Must have had a lot of negative feedback from property owners and law enforcement.
Quote from: yanksfan6129 on February 15, 2011, 08:56:02 PM
To me, 50 mph is not a particularly unusual limit. As was previously mentioned, it is used here on 2 lane rural roads. But it is also used on roads like US 46 and NJ 10. I've also seen it on US 206 south of Somerville (I think). It is probably 50 mph on US 22, but I don't venture down there frequently (I think I've been on US 22 in NJ once in my entire life).
Also, x0 speed limits were mentioned as unusual in general. I dispute that as well. In my town, several local roads have 40 mph limits. So at least in my area of the country, 40 mph and 50 mph are fairly standard for certain classifications of road.
I grew up a block off of 22. In those days (if memory serves), it was 45 from New Providence Road in Mountainside (the easternmost light) east to 1/9, 50 from there west to 202/206. Farther west than that I'm not sure.
My memory is fuzzy, but I recall seeing a speed limit 14 1/2 at a campground along PA 134 south of Gettysburg.
The other day, I went hiking in the McDowell Mountains northeast of Phoenix. The road to the trailhead had a 13 mph speed limit.
What is up with the weird speed limits anyway? Just post a 10 or 15 mph limit and be done with it! :pan:
I've seen 6mph in airports (where the little luggage cars go) and 14 and 24 in an amusement park.
30mph and 45mph make me uncomfortable, but they're not very uncommon.
Quote from: mrpablue on February 22, 2018, 10:52:53 PM
30mph and 45mph make me uncomfortable, but they're not very uncommon.
(emphasis mine)
So they're somewhat common? :bigass:
Also, 30 MPH and 45 MPH aren't exactly unusual.
Quote from: freebrickproductions on February 22, 2018, 10:57:23 PM
Quote from: mrpablue on February 22, 2018, 10:52:53 PM
30mph and 45mph make me uncomfortable, but they're not very uncommon.
(emphasis mine)
So they're somewhat common? :bigass:
Also, 30 MPH and 45 MPH aren't exactly unusual.
I meant that double negative...haha :nod:
So like this? (https://goo.gl/ZLM67K)
:bigass:
16 in a neighborhood in Lincoln Beach, Oregon. Default is 25 and 20 is possible but uncommon outside Portland but 16?
308 Ocean View St
https://goo.gl/maps/EvTi92mdh1G2
Quite a threadbump there.
As to the topic, the speed limit on James Street in Durham, NC, used to be 27 mph, with standard signs, but residents complained about it and it was changed to 25.
There used to be a "Speed Limit 9" sign at the Virginian retirement home on US-50 just east of Fairfax City; it was plainly visible from the road and was a standard sign in every way except the odd number, though of course it was on private property so it doesn't necessarily "count" in the same way as James Street. They emphasized it in resident and employee communications, too (I worked there during high school). Don't know if the sign is still there because I haven't been past there recently, though I don't see any reason why they'd change it.
Edited to add–the Google Maps app shows they still have a "Speed Limit 9" sign, though not in the same spot where it was 27 years ago. You'll have to pan the camera view to your left to see it: https://goo.gl/maps/xdtWjQ9UwGB2
Quote from: mightyace on February 15, 2011, 08:28:05 PM
^^^
Good luck enforcing that! With the thousands upon thousands of parking lots both public and private, who would they get to police MUTCD regulations?
One crash, and a reasonably competent lawyer, is all it will take to bring the parking lot into compliance. After the owner pays out a whole bunch of cash, of course.
To what extent are the unusual speed limits just rounding for common metric speed limits?
5 km/h = 3 MPH (5 km/h ~ 3.1 mph)
10, 6
15, 9
20, 12
25, 16 (this due to rounding 25km/h ~ 15.5 mph)
30, 19
35, 22
40, 25
45, 28
50, 31
55, 34
60, 37
65, 40
70, 43
75, 47
80, 50
85, 53
90, 56
95, 59
100, 62
105, 65
110, 68
115, 71
So if any of the numbers on the right are speed limits, they are nearly divisible by 5 in metric.
In one of the roads that is beside the parking lot of Opry Mills in Nashville, TN, the speed limit is 24.
Last week, I saw this "05 MPH" advisory sign at Gainesville Regional Airport:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/809/40647932554_44ec3a3bbf_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24VVhcm)
While not actually a speed limit sign, the leading zero is unusual.
Quote from: formulanone on April 10, 2018, 06:31:35 AM
Last week, I saw this "05 MPH" advisory sign at Gainesville Regional Airport:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/809/40647932554_44ec3a3bbf_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24VVhcm)
While not actually a speed limit sign, the leading zero is unusual.
That speed hump is very poorly designed if it needs a 5 MPH advisory speed. Most I've seen are all over 15. Unless it's an actual speed bump and they used the wrong term.
(And I say this unsure if there are specific outlines for referring to speed bumps and speed humps).
Quote from: SectorZ on April 10, 2018, 09:52:16 AM
Quote from: formulanone on April 10, 2018, 06:31:35 AM
Last week, I saw this "05 MPH" advisory sign at Gainesville Regional Airport:
While not actually a speed limit sign, the leading zero is unusual.
That speed hump is very poorly designed if it needs a 5 MPH advisory speed. Most I've seen are all over 15. Unless it's an actual speed bump and they used the wrong term.
(And I say this unsure if there are specific outlines for referring to speed bumps and speed humps).
It was one of those smooth bumps which could probably be taken at higher speeds than 5mph. There's folks crossing to parking, dropping off departures, or picking up passengers. But the sign worked, because I slowed for a photo.
This weekend we were at the Tides Inn in Irvington, Virginia. The inn's property has a Speed Limit 12-1/2 mph sign (I didn't get a picture). Nearby, there's some sort of old folks' home across the street from the Golden Eagle Golf Club. We could see one of their streets had a Speed Limit 22 sign and the other had a nautical sign reading SLOW–NO WAKE." Never seen the latter on a road before. Didn't get a picture of that either because I didn't want to drive into their property just for a photo, but I'll look later to see if Street View passed close enough to see it (I highly doubt it).
Edited to add: Not legible on Street View.