Road safety activists and some states are pushing to depart from a longstanding rule that sets speed limits in the United States based largely on how fast drivers actually travel. This is due to the 85% rule, which ties speed limits to the speed of the 15th-fastest vehicle out of every 100 traveling a road in ideal conditions. Critics say this approach encourages speeding. Ohio is among the states considering new guidelines that focus more on safety. But supporters of the rule say it provides the safer approach by limiting the speed discrepancy between drivers who abide by the posted sign and those who ignore it because the road design allows them to do so.

Judges in several states may soon get a new tool to stop dangerous drivers from speeding again. A device called intelligent speed assistance prevents a car from accelerating far past the speed limit. Virginia this year became the first state to approve such a tool for reckless drivers. Similar measures are awaiting governors' signatures in Washington and Georgia. The Washington legislation was inspired by a Seattle crash in which a teenager traveling 112 mph killed a woman and three children when he slammed into their minivan. He was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. When he gets out on probation, he will have to install the device.