Originally Posted by
BurghBiker
When a roadway is being built/reconstructed it is designed to accommodate the 85th percentile figure of what the motoring public actually drives, not the speed limit. The 85th is usually significantly higher than the posted speeds. This is done for "safety" reasons. The posted speeds are often arbitrarily assigned based on a location. For instance around here, within a city, 30 mph is the usually the max allowed speed regardless of whether the road is a neighborhood street or a wider arterial.
In California, a posted speed limit below the observed and documented actual 85th percentile is unenforceable. This means that the fastest 16% of all motorists determine the speed limit postings for everyone. Add another 5mph for enforcement leniency -- no one ever gets a ticket for going 28 or 29 in a 25mph zone.
I assume that, since you seem to be a sensible fellow, you don't care what speed the motorists do as long as they give you the proper distances/clearances and right of way when passing, turning and pulling out from side roads.
Originally Posted by iltb2
Fixating on reducing vehicle speed limits, without regard to the real cause of cyclists' risk from motorists (i.e. driver inattention to actual conditions), is another feel good-accomplish nothing significant advocacy campaign.
I disagree, in the sense that higher speed makes any collision more disastrous for those involved. Relative speeds between motor vehicles and bicycles also govern how suddenly a cyclist appears to a motorist, how much time a motorist has to react to the presence of a cyclist (or vice-versa), and the cyclist's ability to take the lane safely when necessary.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069