Do All Countries Have The Same Speed Limits For The Highways?

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A speed limit is the fastest speed that one is allowed to travel on roadways in a motor vehicle. Speed limits are usually set by legislative bodies and enforced by law enforcement. The speed limits that are set are usually what is appropriate for the driving conditions on a particular road. If the road is narrow or very curvy, it may have a lower speed limit than a road similar to it that is a little wider and has less curves. Highways, however, are quite unique in their speed limits for several reasons. One of those reasons is that they are usually straight and quite wide. This means their speed limits are higher than 2 lane roads that can be narrow or the streets in town.

The speed limits that are set on a highway are not higher than what is reasonable, so they do not endanger a person´s safety. However, it is important that an individual adjusts their speed for such conditions as fog, rain, or snow despite what the speed limit says. There are areas that actually post minimum speed limit signs to keep the flow of traffic in check, but in hazardous conditions, it is not necessary to obey these minimum speed limit signs and not recommended to travel at the maximum speed.

This is common in the U.S., but what about speed limits in other areas around the world? Montana used to have a highway with no speed limit. Are there any more highways anywhere in the world that has no speed limit?

And there is.

The Auto Bond highway in Germany has no speed limit. It doesn´t matter how fast a person drives, they will not get pulled over for speeding. This is where the "rule of thumb" regarding not driving faster than what is reasonable comes in. Only about 30% of the motorways in Germany actually have speed limits, but there is no universal speed limit put in place.

As for other speed limits around the world:

  • The United States: Anywhere between 55 and 80 mph
  • The United Kingdom: 70 mph
  • France: 68 mph when it is raining and 80 mph when it is not
  • Italy: 80 mph, but is reduced to 70 mph in rainy conditions and on curvy roads. The speed limit can go as high as 95 mph on roads that are straight with three lanes going each direction.
  • Netherlands: 75 mph on most motorways, but there are some places in which the limits are 62 mph.
  • Switzerland: 75 mph
  • Canada: 55 to 70 mph
  • China: 75 mph
  • Australia: 80 mph

With the exception of Germany, most speed limits are enforced on highways. Usually, if the traveler is traveling within 10 mph over the speed limit, law enforcement may not issue a ticket. In fact, only about 1% of speeding tickets are for violations 10 mph below the speed limit. However, every country has their own guidelines regarding how they enforce speed limits. The United Kingdom, for instance, considers it an offense if a person is exceeding the speed limit by what is considered tolerable plus 10% plus 2 miles. This is an example of a formula used rather than simply ticketing someone for driving their a certain number of miles per hour over the speed limit.

Nevertheless, it is fair to say that if you are going to visit a country and rent a car, it is good to obey the speed limits because you can receive a speeding ticket if you´re not complying with the posted speeds. If there is a highway and a sign posting the speed limit, then that means there is a law enforcement officer to pull you over if you don´t obey.

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