The insurance companies are a large part of this problem [with unreasonably low speed limits]. They say that lower speed limits save lives. That's patently false. The reason they support lower speed limits is they know that people will ignore them, so when they get a speeding ticket the insurance company can give the driver a considerable increase in his insurance. If the purpose of insurance is to cover unusual risk, then nearly every speeding ticket surcharge they issue is pure profit since the act of exceeding an unreasonably low speed limit is hardly unusual. Some insurance companies take those profits and buy radar/laser guns to give away free to police! The police, always cash-strapped, gladly accept these so that they can go out and "take back the highways". The insurance companies will issue enough speeding ticket surcharges to cover the cost of the units in less than one year. (A radar unit goes for about $1,200, lasers, $3,800.) These devices will continue their revenue-enhancing duties for another 3-5 years. Not a bad profit from a legal product. How many other businesses can manipulate their profits in such a manner?