We're at the point with speed limits now where you could probably close your eyes and list off all the typical ones. Not that that's something you should be doing in a car, but... you know what I mean. 20mph in school zones, 70mph on most interstates... that sort of thing. Sometimes people get a little too used to the speed limits.
But do you think you could ever get tired of seeing 17.3mph on a sign? Well, that's what people in Outagamie County in Wisconsin are facing. As reported by Fox News, the strange number is all part of an admittedly very clever plan.
They placed the speed limit in a key work zone area, which sees thousands of trucks, contractors, and residents alike. This flow of people can sometimes mean danger if people aren't always paying attention on the road.
Well, officials have argued that setting the speed limit to the strange number will help people stay alert on the road. A social media post released by the officials explains, "Why 17.3? Because it makes you pause. It makes you look twice." The number's supposed to stop drivers from being in "autopilot".
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This Isn't the Only Speed Limit Like This
But, strangely, there's more than just this Wisconsin speed limit that are pretty strange. While it certainly isn't the most common thing in the world, they happen occasionally. According to Sabre Roads, Priya Raghubir of the University of California says that "drivers might be more likely to adhere to speed limits they perceive as more precise, such as 24 or 26, rather than multiples of 5 or 10."
And that's the basis behind some strange speed limits in the U.S. According to Jalopnik, there are some similarly weird ones out there. One of the most prominent ones is in Hawaii, where most of the state is stuck at a 55mph speed limit.
Some other strange speed limit signs include Copake, NY, where there's a 10 1/2mph sign, and Haverford College, Pennsylvania, where there's a 13mph speed limit.
Here's hoping this works. Traffic accidents are a real issue, and anything that stops that is a win in my book!
