[dsfyu404ed]

If by "theoretical sense" you mean "doesn't fit your personal world view" then sure. The safest speed limit being one that the overwhelming majority of people would naturally follow were it not posted is basically considered fact in the civil engineering world. There is study upon study backing it up.

The desire to minimize the speed at which crashes happen literally costs lives when applied in the real world because reducing the frequency of crashes is the superior option.

[SketchySeaBeast]

> The desire to minimize the speed at which crashes happen literally costs lives when applied in the real world because reducing the frequency of crashes is the superior option.

While I understand that minimizing crashes is important, I'd rather be faced with scenarios where we crash in a manner where people survive more often - any accidents that do happen at the higher speed is going to skyrocket the chances of a fatality.

[magduf]

>The safest speed limit being one that the overwhelming majority of people would naturally follow were it not posted is basically considered fact in the civil engineering world. There is study upon study backing it up.

It's too bad the civil engineers working as traffic engineers absolutely refuse to actually follow the recommendations of these studies. Honestly, I can't think of a more intellectually dishonest profession than civil engineering (specifically, the traffic engineering subset of it; the guys who build buildings and bridges are OK).