The federal government issued new road design standards Tuesday for the first time in 14 years, and Biden administration officials say the long-delayed manual will make roads safer for walkers, cyclists and even motorists on crowded streets. The latest edition of the “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways,” a go-to reference for traffic engineers, includes new advice on how state and local governments should set speed limits. The new standards downplay—but do not eliminate—long-standing guidance that instructs engineers to set speed limits at a rate that 85% of drivers travel under. Safety advocates have argued that the 85th-percentile rule encourages people to drive faster, regardless of whether it’s safe to do so.
Source: Route Fifty
