There was a school of thought regarding speed limits going back to the 70's and 80's when speed traps were the norm in small towns outside Atlanta. The towns would set speed limits unreasonably low to increase the numbers of speeders they could ticket and the fines they could charge due to the larger differences. We lived nearby one of the worst in the state, Stockbridge, GA. The feds came in to do a traffic study and one of the methods they used was that 60% (or so, can't remember the exact number) of observed drivers would drive a safe speed on any road regardless of the posted sign. So they determined a lot of the major streets the town had posted 25 and 35 MPH, should instead be 45 MPH and on the outskirts of town 55 MPH based on the percentage of people already driving those speeds. Generally speaking, people didn't speed up with the new signs with higher limits, but the towns revenue went way down! The governor eventually disbanded the town's police force for a while because they still were abusing drivers especially those from out of county, but the town eventually got their PD back a few years later.
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