[adjkant]

> Doesn't this seem inherently dysfunctional?

The whole point of the thread is that bikes and cars sharing the road with these sharrows is dysfunctional so yes, that's the point...

> The maximum is there precisely so drivers can respond to slower traffic, not so all traffic will conform to that maximum.

I don't know of a single place in the US where the maximum isn't treated as something to conform to. I've driven in the Northeast, South, and California. You'll get honked at for going noticeably under the maximum in all three places. What you describe just simply isn't the practicality of the US roads.