Why do you even need cars there? Everything is within cycling distance.
Nowadays, I ignore any speed limits. I'm frequently speeding when it's safe, and I'm very frequently going slow enough to people flash lights or honk at me - no crashes since that.
I of course recognise I was at fault and don't blame the speed limit - I should've known to adjust my driving regardless of the limit. However this way of thinking isn't uncommon and while the speed limit isn't at fault, it had its part in causing the crash.
It would be unreasonable (& annoying) to have different speed limits for every different corner/stretch of road. There's also considerations such as the weather & lighting conditions to take into account (& while I have seen signs on motorways for variable speed limits based on those in Europe, you cannot expect every case to be covered).
The problem of speed limit overuse (recognized even by our officials) is a lot smaller in western Europe, if you got your experience from their roads.
I seriously doubt this. It's a speed 'limit' not a speed 'target'. I can't fathom how you could think 'sign says x, I'm sure if I go that speed I can get around this sharp turn safely'. How strict were the driving tests where you learned?
Please be aware that the rather strict driving test in the Netherlands means that you are trained for at least 40 odd hours, or let's call it 60 hours on average, to drive at the speed target. Going too slow means you're unable to handle the traffic, and going too fast is illegal, so this strictness can instruct people to drive at the speed target.
Yes, I did name them targets, because that's what they're used for. It looks like a target, it acts like a target, it's called a target. Legally, they're limits, but I don't think you'll ever see many people driving at the limit. Always at least 1 or 2 km/h faster.
Same experience with the speed target/limit in the Czech republic.
In many European countries, there actually is a speed limit before almost every sharp turn that's in or near a bigger city, and thus people begin to think like this.
Not only there are speed limits before sharp turns, but unnecessary small limits in regular turns or on straight motorways, which makes people go over the limit even when the limit makes sense.
Public transport is good, though.
The roads there are twisty, with dry stone walls either side, mostly. Except for the mountain roads that are spectacular.
Then there's the TT, when bikers from all over the world come there to race, and about a dozen or so die each year. Apart from that, though, road fatalities are not exceptional.
Driving there is great, because you don't have the constant worry of "am I going over the limit?" or "what is the limit here?". You stop worrying about the number, or checking your speedo, and concentrate on driving safely on the road. How fast or slow you're going becomes irrelevant, it's all about how you drive on the road you're given.
The speed limit is as much a target as a limit. If the limit is 60 then there's a feeling that "well, they know their business, it must be safe to drive at 60 here". What is authorised becomes advised. No-one can blame you if you lose control due to speed, because you were driving under the speed limit so it must have been OK.
With no limits, it becomes your responsibility to decide what's safe. And yes, there are people who think they can drive safely much faster than they actually can. But they they tend to head for the mountain roads where's less traffic to get in their way. There's also less macho bullshit around it because there's no "rebel cred" in driving over the limit when there is no limit.
Conversely, driving slowly in town is accepted, because it's clearly done for good reasons. Speeding in town isn't socially acceptable (if you want to go fast, head to the mountain and do your worst). People drive more safely, and more courteously because they have responsibility.
It's a great system. I wish we adopted it here in Australia.