A 17.3 MPH Speed Limit Sounds Like A Mistake, Wisconsin Says It Isn’t
Wisconsin drivers are doing a double-take after spotting a 17.3 mph speed limit sign. Officials say the oddly specific number is designed to break “autopilot” driving habits. Similar decimal-point speed limits, such as 8.2 mph, have appeared elsewhere. Habituation is what we humans experience when we fail to notice something because our brain believes the information is somewhat unimportant. We roll by a 25 mph (40 km/h) speed limit sign and don’t think too hard about whether we’re actually going below that limit. Wisconsin has a government facility that’s trying to buck that trend with a simple decimal point. Rather than a limit of 15 or 20 mph, drivers have to stay below 17.3 mph (27.8 km/h). And that double-take is exactly the point. Read: Speed Limits Are Outdated, And We All Know It According to officials at the Outagamie County Recycling and Solid Waste facility, the oddly precise number was chosen for one simple reason. It forces people to stop and actually lo...