I complained when I returned. Asked to be shown where that rule was present in the state's official driver's manual. It wasn't in there. I passed.
As an example, in Germany, the speed limit on 2-lane highways is (from memory, it's been 5 years) 100 kph. But when you enter a town, which is designated by a specific sign that tells you the name of the town, the speed limit drops to 50 kph. There is no sign that says "speed limit is now 50 kph." It is implicit from the sign saying you are entering that town. Upon leaving the town, there will be a "speed restriction removed" sign. This doesn't mean there's no speed limit, it means the speed restriction has been removed and your speed limit is back to 100 kph.
Yield or "give way" signs make tons of sense. Think of a small two lane road that crosses a four-lane highway. The cars on the larger road have the right of way and cars entering or crossing must give way/yield to that traffic. There's generally no need for a stop sign, but we as Americans are used to it and see it as the only way to do things.
Much like your German example, it exists solely to tell you the speed limit has changed. Rather than put a number on a sign and be done with it, its an inexplicable white circle with a black line across it!
What is the "National Speed Limit" you ask? Again it depends on where you are, and even what you are driving. The only advantage I can think of is they don't need to replace these signs should the limits be changed...
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UK_national_speed_li...
And never mind the actual highways, where there's no speed limit unless posted. And trucks still can only go 80kph. So you have 2 lane Autobahn. Trucks at 80-99kph on the right lane. 90-200kph cars on the left lane. The trucks that go 80 will have a bunch of trucks that want to go 90 trying to pass them. Then add the ups and downs where even the 90kph truck that's passing will slow to 75. Even if you're only cruising at 150kph (actually a pretty nice cruising speed), if you come up on an "elephant race" as they call it behind a bend in the road it's not fun. This extends to 3 lane highways too. Just that now you actually have cars switching from the middle lane to the left lane, because one truck is passing another. So you have an 80kph truck on the right, 90kph truck on the middle lane and a 100kph car in the left lane and the 200kph Mercedes or BMW approaching from the rear.
In the US and Canada for example the speed limit is just the same. Everyone goes at 100kph in Canada, truck or no truck. While you have people speeding there as well obviously, everyone is sort of going at the same speed.
in NJ, everyone is going about the same speed, but way over the limit. people seem to be pretty good about staying out of the passing lane in light traffic.
in VA, everyone does seem to more or less go the speed limit.
in MD, it's utter chaos. you'll see a minivan going exactly the speed limit in the left lane, people passing it 10-20 mph over the limit, and wild people weaving in and out of exit lanes to pass everyone else at even higher speeds.
that's my experience anyway.
No its not my friend.
Because it is only telling you something that you should already know if you have passed your Theory Test.
Namely that the National Speed Limit is the default state.
Anyone who has passed the Theory Test will know what the NSL is based on the road they are on and the vehicle they are driving. Its not difficult, you've only got to be able to tell the pretty darn obvious difference between a built-up area, single carriageway, dual carriageway and motorway (and whether a central reservation is present or not).
Which is why you only (typically) find NSL signs:
- in locations where the context may normally dictate otherwise (e.g. presence of street lights)
- where temporary limits are changing back to NSL (e.g. after motorway roadworks)
As a counter example, a UK person visiting the US would have almost zero difficulty understanding any of the speed signage, as they all incorporate the actual speed limits. Similarly, there is zero expectation you have passed the theory element of a US drivers licence. The US has roads with different speed limits for different vehicles too and still manages to get clear signage with numbers.
Good signage can be clear regardless of any tests, virtually all other speed signage in the UK incorporates a number. Speaking from experience, even those who have sat a theory test can often not really understand that sign or forget its meaning. There's not even any guarantee a licenced UK citizen has ever sat a theory test, given those who gained a UK licence before the introduction of the theory test in 1996 have generally never been required to sit one. The pre 1996 "theory" element was some random questions from your tester during the practical.
I also know many UK peeps who learnt to drive before 1996 and never have I heard one of them bitch and moan about "how stupid the NSL sign is".
We all know the US is a bit of a nanny state and everyone is constantly covering their backsides to avoid getting sued, and that's probably why the US has explicit speed limit signs splattered at every opportunity. Because if the US had the NSL system, some smart-alec would have a crash and then open up a lawsuit because they were too dumb to figure out which of the four types of road they were on.
I'm sorry. I'll happily bitch and moan about other aspects of UK roads (e.g. not-so-smart motorways). But NSL ? Nah mate ... it makes sense and you know it. ;-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_European_road_si...
If it depends on what you’re driving they can’t put a single number on it. I would guess putting multiple numbers on wouldn’t be an improvement.
Most other classes aren’t listed.
Likely the German way is better as the real law everywhere is “do not drive faster than is safe for conditions” but that is a number that changes day to day.
Well, actually, the opposite -- you have to understand the meaning of the symbol that is the sign.
In the US, you'll see a sign that's 9 lines of text that you're supposed to read & comprehend at 35 mph = 56 km/h.
Isn't that what reading is?
For example, the first time you see a sign in the UK denoting whether you or the oncoming lane has right of way through a narrow spot the meaning may not be totally obvious.
Signs like what? The only signs I can think of that have a bunch of text are stuff like valid parking hours.
> Signs like what? The only signs I can think of that have a bunch of text are stuff like valid parking hours.
Like this one, except you have to read it at 65+ mph: https://3gz8cg829c.execute-api.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod/...
It's 3 signs totaling 10 lines:
LEFT LANE
HOV 2+
ONLY
6AM - 10AM
2PM - 7PM
MON-FRI
NO TRUCKS
VIOLATION
$250
FINEAnd helpfully those words are much much larger.
I will note that signs like that don't exist in my area.
It's definitely distracting to have so much text, since you're still supposed to quickly read all of it, just in case it might say something other than what you expect. Not sure how that's supposed to work at 65+ mph.
Even if you aren't able to read the entire sign, there are other clues that should alert you to the fact that you might not want to be in that lane.
There'll be a sign that you're leaving the town (same as entering the town, just crossed out). The speed restriction removed part is implicit.
I find driving in the US easier because of that. I just which there was roundabout instead of stop signs everywhere.
Understanding speeds, perhaps, but driving? There are many things that require context and state like the rightmost lane becoming an exit lane requiring action to continue straight ahead. You have left turns from right lanes in some states. There are different U-turn laws in adjacent states. Stop signs permitting right turns without stops in some states through tiny exception text.
there are some cases where there is an implied state/town speed limit, but other than that, all the information you need to drive safely/legally is on signage in front of you or a hundred feet back.
More exactly the "need to stop for ensuring safety" has come first, followed by the Stop sign itself, while in the US it looks like the Stop sign has come first, no matter the actual "neediness" related to traffic safety.
It seems they can’t assume drivers recognize a “no U-turn” sign, even though there’s a clear similarity with other signs (round with a red edge and a diagonal red line means forbidden, black arrows mean driving directions)
So, they write its meaning below it (https://www.alamy.com/beverly-hills-california-usa-8th-septe...).
Weirdly, they do assume their population and tourists can understand written English when passing such signs at speed in a car and even know what a ped xing is.
It may be a broader cultural thing, though. Their state flags also are full of text (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_U.S._states_and_t...)
How are these different from other 'right turns on red' in the US ?
I find turning on red to be a pretty bad idea, because Americans rarely stop fully and look out for pedestrians. I think a majority of pedestrian accidents occurs on turn on reds/stops .
Rarely is being heavily abused in this statement. It's just not true. Otherwise pedestrian fatalities would be vastly higher than they are. Additionally, regional driving habits differ drastically. People in Colorado and California drive far more aggressively than they do in Iowa or even more densely populated areas on the east coast, where policing is far more rigorous.
The only reason there aren't more injuries to pedestrians is that there aren't very many to begin with and those that are on foot operate on the assumption that every driver is out to kill them.
Right on red is indeed unsafe: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/002243...
A prime example of this is the "No U-Turn" signs all over the US. People make U-turns at these spots all the time. The sign is really just there to ensure that any accident resulting from said U-turn is always, no matter what, the turner's fault in a legal sense.
b) Is that supposed to be a rebuttal or something? I think "do whatever but strict liability if you F up" would be fine even for average and below average drivers. That's mostly how things already work in practice.
Sounds unwise - this is a fundamentally unsafe policy [1], and more people will die if it's implemented.
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/002243...
Other traffic calming measures do more to slow drivers down and improve safety while potentially making the entire drive faster, or at least more pleasant and efficient due to a steady speed.
I think we're starting to recognize that, but it's a lot easier to toss up another sign than to move a curb, and stop signs are seen as less of an "anti-car" measure.