Maximum Safe Speed. As you travel every day to campus, the road makes a large
turn that is approximately an are of a circle. You notice the warning sign at
the start of the turm, asking for a maximum speed of 55 \(\mathrm{mi} /
\mathrm{h}\) . You also notice that in the curved portion the road is level -
that is, not banked at all. On a dry day with very little traffic, you enter
the turn at a constant speed of 80 \(\mathrm{mi} / \mathrm{h}\) and feel that
the car may skid if you do not slow down quickly. You conclude that your speed
is at the limit of safety for this curve and you slow down. However, you
remember reading that on dry pavement new tires have an average coefficient of
static friction of about 0.76 .while under the worst winter driving
conditions, you may encounter wet ice for which the coefficient of static
friction can be as low as \(0.20 .\) Wet ice is not unheard of on this road, so
you ask yourself whether the speed limit for the turn on the roadside warning
sign is for the worst-case scenario. (a) Estimate the radius of the curve from
your \(80-\) mi/h experience in the dry turn. (b) Use this estimate to find the
maximum speed limit in the turn under the worst wet-ice
conditions. How does this compare with the speed limit on the sign? Is the
sign misleading drivers?(c) On a rainy day, the coefficient of static friction
would be about \(0.37 .\) What is the maximum safe speed of for the turn when
the road is wet? Does your answer help you understand the maximum-speed sign?