Background

New Hampshire DOT (NHDOT) is working to promote “reasonable and safe” speed limits for conditions and in a number of instances found that raising the existing speed limit was the appropriate solution.

Establishing and managing credible speed limits impacts safety. Community safety often suffers when we reduce speed limits in reaction to an event without considering the context and operations of the roadway. Educating the public one town or one highway segment at a time takes a lot of effort and it is not always received well. However, when explaining why a speed limit should fit the character of the roadway, the NHDOT has been pleasantly surprised by the number of people that seem to “get it.” (B. Lambert, interview with the author, December 30, 2019).