The article discusses issues involved in the balancing of safetyand efficiency, and the necessity for compromise in settng speed limits. There are a wide variety of factors, including highway designs, road conditions, traffic volumes, etc., that influence speeds and safety. Lower speed limits work better in some situations, higher speed limits work better in others. experience in california is described where a balance between the 55 mph and 65 mph speed limits was set by looking at individual roads, their accident rates, congestionlevels, geometrics, the prevailing speeds on those highways, together a number of other factors. California' efforts has resulted in increased compliance on the speed limits, thus freeing enforcement resources to work on dui (driving under the influnce), unsafe lane changes, and other violations with consequent safety benefits.
Abstract