A 17.3 mph speed limit sounds like a typo but Wisconsin officials say the oddly specific number is the entire point

At this facility in Wisconsin, drivers are expected to keep to the specific speed limit of 17.3mph.

In Wisconsin, drivers can go up to 70mph on interstates and 30mph in urban areas.

But the limit plummets to a significantly lower 17.3mph when it comes to a specific facility in Appleton.

This will strike many people as a peculiar limit to set, but there’s a rationale behind this decision.

Why you need to keep to a 17.3mph speed limit in this Wisconsin facility

You might expect a lower speed limit at a place like the Outagamie County Recycling and Solid Waste facility.

After all, it’s filled with heavy haulers – hardly a place for tearing up the road.

But you might have anticipated the limit would be set at 15mph or 20mph, not 17.3mph.

It seems awfully specific, doesn’t it?

What’s the logic behind this precise speed limit? To get people to sit up and pay attention.

After all, there is the temptation to go into autopilot when your limit is set at a standard number.

But 17.3mph is bound to make your more alert and keep your eye on the dashboard.

“We want every single person to have a safe visit and make it home at the end of the day,” officials said of the decision.

Decimal point speed limits aren’t a one-off, as noted by Carscoops.

In Colorado Springs, drivers visiting on shopping center had to keep to 8.2mph.

It’s an unusual sight to see on a street sign no doubt, but it a decision made with safety at the heart of it.

By forcing drivers to actually look at the signs and register that it’s a deviation from what they’re used to it, these decimal point speed limits are breaking the ‘autopilot’ mode that some drivers slip into.

Around the world, speed limits look a lot different

While many drivers love the feel of letting rip in their cars and going full throttle, governments understandably put laws in place to maintain public safety.

Some places take a more unorthodox approach to this – take a look at one road in Hungary that is more ‘musical’ in achieving lower speeds.

But some places have taken a more relaxed approach to the matter of speeding.

The Autobahn in Germany will immediately spring to mind for most people, with its limitless speed the stuff of legend in the car world.

But even that distinction could soon become a thing of the past.

Now that a majority of Germans are asking for a limit, it might be time to pump the brakes.