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Road speed limits are used in most countries to set the maximum (or minimum in some cases) speed at which road vehicles may legally travel on particular stretches of road. Speed limits may be variable and in some places speeds are unlimited. Speed limits are normally indicated on a traffic sign. Speed limits are commonly set by the legislative bodies of nations or provincial governments and enforced by national or regional police and / or judicial bodies. The first maximum speed limit was the limit introduced in the United Kingdom in 1861. The highest posted speed limit in the world is , which applies to some roads in Poland〔http://www.autostrada-a4.pl/safety/traffic-rules〕 and Bulgaria;〔http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=140674〕 similarly Texas posts on one long toll road.〔http://abcnews.go.com/US/speeding-texas-85-mph-highway-opens/story?id=17549839〕 However, some roads have no speed limit for certain classes of vehicles. Best known are Germany's less congested Autobahns and areas of Australia's Stuart Highway.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Current speed limit policies )〕 where automobile drivers have no mandated maximum speed; measurements from the German State of Brandenburg in 2006 showed average speeds of on a 6-lane section of autobahn in free-flowing conditions. Rural areas on the Isle of Man,〔 the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra,〔http://www.mahatranscom.in/faq.aspx〕 and Telangana,〔http://www.transport.telangana.gov.in〕 also lack speed limits, but speeds are lower when measured on those lower design roads. Speed limits are usually set to attempt to cap road traffic speed; there are several reasons for wanting to do this. It is often done with an intention to improve road traffic safety and reduce the number of road traffic casualties from traffic collisions. In their ''World report on road traffic injury prevention'' report, the World Health Organization (WHO) identify speed control as one of various interventions likely to contribute to a reduction in road casualties. (The WHO estimated that some 1.2 million people were killed and 50 million injured on the roads around the world in 2004.)〔World Health Organisation (2004) p. foreword, "In high-income countries, an established set of interventions have contributed to significant reductions in the incidence and impact of road traffic injuries. These include the enforcement of legislation to control speed and alcohol consumption, mandating the use of seat-belts and crash helmets, and the safer design and use of roads and vehicles."〕 Speed limits may also be set in an attempt to reduce the environmental impact of road traffic (vehicle noise, vibration, emissions) and to satisfy local community wishes for streets usable by people out of cars. Some cities have reduced limits to as little as for both safety and efficiency reasons. In situations where the natural road speed is considered too high by governments, notably on urban areas where speed limits below are used then traffic calming is often also used. For some classes of vehicle, speed limiters may be mandated to enforce compliance. Since their introduction, speed limits have been opposed by some motoring advocacy groups. ==History== The United Kingdom Stage Carriage Act 1832 first introduced the offense of endangering the safety of a passenger or person by 'furious driving'. The first numeric speed limits were created in the UK by a series of Locomotive Acts (1861, 1865 and 1878); the 1861 Act introduced a UK speed limit of on open roads in town, reduced to in towns and in rural areas by the 1865 'red flag act'. The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896, which raised the speed limit to (being the estimated speed of a horse being driven 'furiously') is celebrated to this day by the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. The first person to be convicted of speeding is believed to be Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, who on 28 January 1896 was fined for speeding at . He was fined 1 shilling plus costs.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=National Motoring Museum )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】work=BBC Radio 4 )〕 In Australia, during the early 20th century, there were people reported for "furious driving" offences. One conviction in 1905 cited furiously driving when passing a tram traveling at half that speed.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://prov.vic.gov.au/publications/provenance/provenance2004/keeping-order#sthash.6erps9hJ.dpuf )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Speed limit」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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