Speed Limit Information Over the past year there have been inquiries by some residents regarding the speed limits posted on their roadways and wishes to change the limits. Most residents are under the impression that Township officials and Police have control over what speed limit is posted. The fact is neither the Township or Police have any control over posted speed limits. Penn Dot regulates speed limits through criteria listed in the 67PA Code, Chapter 201. Townships are required to follow the criteria when posting a speed limit on a roadway. Penn Dot or a police officer that is certified by the state does a traffic study. The BRP is fortunate to have Sergeant Larry Pence as a certified traffic analyst and a traffic analysis unit. The traffic analysis unit is placed on the roadway for a period of three to five days. The unit records the day, time, speed and number of vehicles traveling the roadway. Information recorded by the unit is downloaded and a report is generated. Penn Dot requires that speed limits be posted within 5 mph per hour of the 85 th percentile speed recorded by the unit. The 85 th percentile speed is the speed at which 85% of drivers are at or below . For example, if the 85 th percentile speed is registered at 32mph, then the speed limit must be posted at 30 or 35 mph. The Township is not permitted to deviate from the requirements. If you feel that there is a speeding problem on your roadway please contact us and allow us to review the situation. One problem we have run into is that some residents have demanded a study in an effort to reduce the posted speed and then find out the 85 th percentile has actually risen. Once the study is completed the speed limit must be adopted. Some other things to keep in mind are that speed limits are very rarely posted below 25mph unless it's on private property. We have no speed limit jurisdiction on private property, state or county highways. I hope this article better explains the process for posting a speed limit. Any questions or comments can be forwarded to Sergeants Larry Pence or me at (610) 269-4300 or our email address brpd@comcast.net . |
