Should you get a speeding ticket for going 10 km/h over the speed limit?

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by habernac

ah, to be in Europe where the speed limit on divided highways is 130-140. .

In a similar vein, highways here in New Zealand are almost always 100 km/h, but they are never the straight, 4-lane divided highways us Canadians are used to. They're typically quite windy and hilly, and never more than two lanes unless it's a city motorway. A lot of these same roads would be in the max 60-80 range if they were in Canada. It took some adjusting when I first moved here when every car was tailgating and passing me, but eventually I got used to driving faster. A lot of Canadians and Americans that drive down here have similar experiences with the highways, and a lot of kiwis drive like absolute maniacs.

Not sure what the point I'm trying to make here is, but I think as long as you're driving out of Edmonton you can't go fast enough!

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by strombad

As far as I know it's because that road just never changed despite the Beddington overpass.

Going west on Country Hills the speed jitters from 60 to 80 and back to 60 and then back to 80 with little indication as to why.

It's a terrible stretch.

Most of Country Hills could handle a speed limit of 70 pretty easily IMO. Country Hills west of Shaganappi reminds me of 14st in the SW with it's spacing of lights, which has a limit of 70 of course. Another road with a limit of 70 is John Laurie which again has similar spacing of lights and actually, even more entrances without lights (19 st, Charleswood, Brisebois, etc).

That part where it goes up to 80 just past Beddington (heading westbound), just to go back to 60 before Shaganappi is just silly (not for the speed, it can easily handle a limit of 80, just for how short of a stretch it is) .

[V]

Originally Posted by Acey

People say this all the time, but it often doesn't apply to the major routes. Alberta seriously cranked up their engineering standards for roads in regards to merge distances, grades, and the allowed radius for curves. Anyone who has driven on the new southeast part of Stoney Trail would probably say it is Autobahn-quality or better, but in reality it only meets Alberta's 110 kph design standard (you'll have to ask AB Trans why their policy is to sign 10 below the standard, but 10 kph is not "far, far below"). Deerfoot Trail, for example, is nowhere near the current 100 kph design standard.

I can't say I'm opposed to these new extremely strict standards they have for engineering roads here.

I thought it was pretty standard to set the posted limit 10 kph lower than the design limit. That's generally what I've seen in my experience.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by habernac

ah, to be in Europe where the speed limit on divided highways is 130-140. Our speed limits are based on the 1950s still, which is preposterous. In town, I think most roads are calculated correctly. But highways definitely deserve a bump up. We're not driving cars with fins anymore that handle like wagons on gravel roads.

They can do that in Europe because they are strict as hell about tail-gating, passing and drunk driving.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by V

I thought it was pretty standard to set the posted limit 10 kph lower than the design limit. That's generally what I've seen in my experience.

Design speed is not design limit. If it were, we'd have a ton more crashes!

[V]

typo on my part. design speed is generally 10 kph higher than posted speed limit. In our designs that's what we've been told.