I don’t think you can do 80kph in US cities either. Extra-urban EU roads allow 70 or 90 as well unless really curvy or with plenty of entrances, but in cities it’s 50 or less. I always thought that matched the US.

The difference I’d say is that 45kph get you much “farther” in EU cities than the average US city.

It's not uncommon to drive 70mph (110kph) on highways inside US cities.

Regular roads in cities often allow up to 45mph (70kph).

I’m pretty sure all roads above 55mph in the US are restricted access (exit/entrance ramp only) interstates - not highways with stoplights and intersections.

Well, interstates are highways. It's the Interstate Highway System.[1]

And outside cities, there are some highways with speed limits over 55mph without restricted access.[2]

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System

2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_Sta...

There are tons of farm to market roads in Texas that have 70 speed limits out of towns and lower limits within towns. Many towns on these roads setup speed traps and have stoplights or stop signs.

US-380 runs directly through cities with stoplights too.

55mph roads with intersections, are all over the place in Kansas and Colorado, both in urban and rural. Some intersections have traffic lights, many don't.

Texas would like to have a word with you.

Texas is damn huge. If you drive from Los Angeles to Houston, halfway to Houston is in Texas.

As someone who lives in Scotland, having a car is becoming a curse if you live in a city. Too many bus lanes and one way systems. I would rather take public transport as it’s less hassle.

Great for the environment, but it means that I actually go in to cities less than I normally would now that I live outside the city and have a car. I already pay for the car, and the extra cost of the public transport is expensive in addition to this. So I go less.

As an aside - I can’t understand how businesses survive as a result of this seemingly conscious decision by councils to cripple incoming consumers coupled with Amazons shady marketplace that doesn’t play by the same rules in terms of fake goods.

> Great for the environment, but it means that I actually go in to cities less than I normally would now that I live outside the city and have a car. I already pay for the car, and the extra cost of the public transport is expensive in addition to this. So I go less.

This is exactly my experience since I bought a car.

There is quite a difference in how speed limits are enforced in most of Europe vs most of the USA. European authorities are generally far more lenient and reasonable.

That's not true at all from my experience, quite the opposite.

For example, in California the speed of traffic on the highway is quite often 80-85mph in a 65mph zone, and not enforced. That wouldn't fly in Germany on any road with a speed limit.

I don't think so. Electronic speed systems with fines sent to your home no matter where you from, mobile speed detectors, unmarked police cars, all sorts of cameras and etc. Which country is lenient,may I ask?

You will rarely get pulled over for speeding on the motorway in the UK. You will be fined if caught by a speed camera, but for the most part they're clearly marked and drivers know to slow down. For those who are pulled over for speeding, they're usually let off with a warning provided there's nothing else going on, such as dangerous driving, or substance abuse.

In Germany, you can easily contest speeding accusations when caught on camera, especially if your face is not clearly visible. My first speeding ticket ever was actually on the Autobahn. They wrote me a letter saying that I had been accused of speeding. They never followed up with it.

Sweden has 600 traffic cops to cover the whole country (at least that was what I was told in a Swedish driving school in 2014). Getting pulled over for speeding on the motorway rarely happens. I once drove from Ystad to Göteborg going over 200kmh most of the way. No problem. I was once spoken to by a police officer after I drove through the tunnel in the centre of Göteborg at more than twice the speed limit. The officer simply asked me to slow down.

In Poland the motorways are very well made, and so the speed limit is a bit higher — 140kmh if I remember correctly. There aren't any speed cameras on the motorway, and in my experience the police won't come and issue fines to people unless there's been an accident. Even then, the maximum fine is ~€100.

Some countries — I think most — are quite lenient. Some countries like Spain are more like the USA, and actively look for people to fine by hiding in different places every time. The Polish don't even bother hiding. If they want to raise some revenue, they'll sit in the same spots every time. It's also not true that every EU country will pursue a speeding fine no matter where you are from.

Every friend I have in the USA who has been pulled over for speeding has been fined. Police in the USA are militant. That's just part of their culture. This is pretty clear in all the videos available on YouTube too.

Can confirm the bit on Polish motorways, me and many other people I know / see regularly travel in the 200kph+ range. Roads are good enough to handle that relatively safely, there is good lane discipline among drivers so you don't have to slow down that often, there is no speed cameras at all and you only see police when there has been an accident.

I got a 1200cc hypersport because of these conditions - the ability to warp-speed between cities at full throttle is awesome.

Right, I once drove to Heathrow at 99 MPH when late for a flight, and at that moment noticed most drivers in the inner lane were going 99. Nobody goes faster than 100, because if you do get caught above 100, you would loose your license.

Ummm it's mostly speed cameras I'd say so 0 space for leniency

If you do think a fine is unfair you can contest it pretty easily though. Most people who do this are incorrect and end up still paying the fine (because the were actually speeding) but in cases where the cameras are wrong or if there was something special going on the fine is usually thrown out the window.

At least that's my observation here in .nl. Obviously the cameras aren't always right, but the people I see complaining the most are also the ones that drive >10% over the speed limit by default anyway.

I learned to slow down. Got two tickets in a week in the Czech Republic, both for about 10km over the limit. That's about 6mph, which is most likely not going to warrant a ticket in the USA.