What does average speed mean?

[VonEverly]

Average speed refers to the average speed of the last 100 kilometers traveled by a car during its journey. Highways: On highways, the maximum speed for small passenger vehicles must not exceed 120 kilometers per hour, while other motor vehicles must not exceed 100 kilometers per hour, and motorcycles must not exceed 80 kilometers per hour. For roads with two lanes in the same direction, the minimum speed in the left lane is 100 kilometers per hour; for roads with three or more lanes in the same direction, the minimum speed in the leftmost lane is 110 kilometers per hour, and the minimum speed in the middle lane is 90 kilometers per hour. Roads: For roads without a central dividing line, the speed limit is 30 kilometers per hour in urban areas and 40 kilometers per hour on highways. For roads with a central dividing line, the speed limit is 50 kilometers per hour in urban areas and 70 kilometers per hour on highways. Speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour: The speed limit is 30 kilometers per hour when entering or exiting non-motorized lanes, passing through railway crossings, sharp curves, narrow roads, or narrow bridges, when making U-turns, turning, or descending steep slopes, in conditions of fog, rain, snow, dust, or hail with visibility less than 50 meters, when driving on icy, snowy, or muddy roads, and when towing a malfunctioning motor vehicle.

[OAdelyn]

I've been driving for over a decade, and average speed is essentially the overall speed for the entire trip. For example, today I drove 50 kilometers from the east to the west of the city, taking exactly two hours, so the average speed was 25 kilometers per hour. This includes all the time spent waiting at traffic lights and crawling in traffic jams, unlike instantaneous speed which only reflects performance at a specific moment. It's particularly useful for calculating fuel costs—for someone like me who drives for business every day, I've found that maintaining a speed around 40 km/h is the most fuel-efficient. If the navigation shows the average speed is too low, I know it's time to change routes—after all, time is money.

[SanIsabelle]

In plain terms, average speed is the total distance you've traveled divided by the total time taken. Remember last week when I went on a road trip? I drove 120 km on the highway in 1.5 hours on the way there, but got stuck in traffic on the return trip - 150 km took 3 hours. The overall average speed turned out to be 47 km/h. This number is actually more interesting than we think, as it factors in all the time spent on rest stops, refueling, and detours. One time I discovered that for the same route, the average speed at dawn can be a full 20 km/h higher than during evening rush hour.

[StElliot]

As a frequent long-distance driver, my understanding is simple: the total distance divided by the total time equals the average speed. A couple of days ago, during a family road trip, the navigation showed an average speed of 67 km/h for a 300 km journey, which means the time spent resting at service areas and slow driving through towns was all included. I've particularly noticed that maintaining an average speed of 100 km/h on the highway is the safest—it avoids speeding fines while ensuring timely arrival at the destination.