[thechat] Speed limits in USA
Luther, Ron
ron.luther at hp.com
Wed Aug 11 10:59:00 CDT 2004
Madhu Menon asked about US speed limits:
Hi Madhu!
When are you coming over?
I thought of some more things for you to be aware of:
Speed Limit signs. These are generally rectangular white signs with
black lettering on the right hand side of the road letting you know
what the posted speed limit is. They are supposed to be placed after
major intersections and after freeway on-ramps so that 'new' traffic
will be aware of the limit. They are clearly marked "speed limit".
Sometimes they will give you different numbers for day or night driving
or have a different limit for trucks.
Speed Advisory signs. We also have these 'other' signs that can be a
bit confusing. You might be in a 45MHP speed limit zone and see a
sign that says "30MHP Curve Ahead". AFAIK that's only a recommendation
and not a legal requirement. It doesn't say "speed limit" so I don't
think you can get a ticket for speeding if you stay at 43MHP through
the turn.
Other Speed signs. You will also see some signs that say "Slow Children
Ahead" or "Slow Cattle Crossing". Those signs are just plain mean. Who
cares if those kids or calfs aren't the brightest?
No numbers are given on these signs - which leaves them a bit open
to interpretation.
School Zones. You might be in a 45MHP speed limit zone and see a pair
of alternately flashing yellow lights with a "School Zone 20MHP Speed
Limit" sign between them. You will need to slow down for that. You
_can_ get a ticket/fine if you don't. Now ... if the lights aren't
flashing, then you don't need to slow down. See how easy!
BTW, the flashing sign _ending_ the school zone is likely to be facing
traffic heading the other way ... so you can get stuck behind someone
continuing to go 20MHP loooooong after the school zone has ended. Well
planned, eh?
Other School Zone signs. Hey! Those flashing lights cost money pal ...
so the 'newer' school zone signs look more like ordinary speed limit
signs. They might have some verbiage saying "School Zone 20 MHP Speed
Limit". And then, in teeny tiny letters at the bottom "8am to 9am and
2pm to 4pm schooldays". That means it's okay to honk your horn at
people driving 20MHP through there at 5:30pm in the evening on your way
home from work ... cuz the speed limit reduction is only in effect for
the posted hours. It also makes it even tougher to figure out where the
dang school zone ends!
Flashing yellow lights. A yellow flashing light in the middle of nowhere
usually means 'caution - slow down' ... but there won't be any numbers
associated with it. Some highways waaaaaaaaay overdo this - sez Ron
remembering a recent drive back from BFN, Texas where they had these
at _every_ blinking blinking intersection. [OTOH, some residential
neighborhoods 'turn off' the traffic lights (make them blink yellow)
after midnight or in the wee hours of the morning when traffic is light.
This is generally a good thing.]
Other Cool US Highway signs:
Two of my favorites ... a rectangular sign with alternating light and dark
diagonal lines (typically black and white - sometimes black and yellow).
There are no words at all on these signs. This sign means "bridge". There
is supposed to be one of these at the beginning and end of each bridge.
Why? I dunno.
I think they were created by rallyemasters so they could tell you to turn
after the bridge ... cuz that steel beam structure you drove over that
crossed the river doesn't count as a "bridge" if it doesn't have these
signs!
Finally ... we've got another sign ... usually diamond shaped in yellow
with a black squiggle on it. It you're lucky you'll see some of these
while driving around. If you're really lucky you might see one of these
with some magical "next 20 miles" words at the bottom. This sign means
'Look around. Make sure traffic is light. Then drop the hammer cuz there
is a fun 'twisty bit' coming up in the road ahead.'
HTH make your US driving a bit more fun,
RonL.
(Who remembers back before the US 'standardized' on colors and shapes
for various highway signs. Who knows - maybe there is an international
RFC on that today.)
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