That is the MAXIMUM speed limit at which you can travel on that road. You are expected to slow down for corners and hills where your view of the road is obstructed.
Just around the corner and over the hill were four kids standing next to their bikes and talking, completely across the road. I was going 35 mph and doubt that I could have stopped had I been going 55.
I'm glad you did what you were legally required to do. You slowed down because the conditions in which you were driving required you to do so for you to be driving safely.
Are you saying I would have been at fault had I sit one of them when I was driving 20 below the posted limit?
If you came around that corner an hit a child on a bike that was stopped on the road, it would be your fault. If a child runs out in front of you or swerves into your lane at the last moment, that's different.
However, if they are stopped, or simply going slowly in the same lane you are in, you are responsible for being able to stop, and if you hit them, it's your fault.
Ohio Code: 4511.21 Speed Limits.
(A) No person shall operate a motor vehicle, trackless trolley, or streetcar at a speed greater or less than is reasonable or proper, having due regard to the traffic, surface, and width of the street or highway and any other conditions, and no person shall drive any motor vehicle, trackless trolley, or streetcar in and upon any street or highway at a greater speed than will permit the person to bring it to a stop within the assured clear distance ahead.
According to the law, you need to be able to stop within the distance you know to be clear.
If you don't know that, you shouldn't have a driver's license.
Does everyone always drive at a speed at which they can stop within the assured clear distance? No in reality they don't, but by doing so they are accepting responsibility for their role in what might happen as a result.
A car is a very dangerous piece of machinery if misused.
I'm not making excuses for what these kids did. What they did was reckless and dangerous. However, according to an earlier AP article this was not the first car to approach the decoy, and the others were able to avoid the decoy safely.
The pranksters created a situation that contributed to this accident, and they should definitely be punished. However, the driver's operating the vehicle outside the bounds of how it is supposed to be legally operated also contributed to the accident, and was a major factor in the severity of the accident.
Laying the guilt of the injuries sustained by those in the car completely on the pranksters in an emotional response to them escaping injury while those in the car were severely injured isn't just.
Everyone is responsible for their own actions and the part those actions played in the incident.
First of all, I have yet to see you acknowledge that the persons placing the deer in the roadway broke the law.
Second, I will breathlessly await your response when a person's felonious actions result in you "not having your vehicle under control".