There are speeding laws in the US, just as there are speeding laws in Europe, so there is no real difference there. The major difference is in how those laws are enforced.
In the US we are used to having police officers patrol the streets and highways. In Europe they patrol through cameras and radar. You can travel from one country to another and count on one hand the number of police cars you see on the side of the road (if any).
But it is the sophistication of the system that is different. As you travel on the highway, there are large digital boards which provide basic highway information, similar to the US. And if you are going too fast on the highway, they use this very system to warn you specifically.
For example, if you are going over the speed limit, but still within reason (say 10km), there will be a message that says “Slow down Lic: XYZ123“. We first noticed this system in France on a trip back from Paris. We were speeding down the highway and noticed these flashing messages on the digital boards (it took us a few boards to understand). We mostly noticed it because it changed as we approached the board and then we realized the license plate looked familiar. We looked up the message (it was in French) and realized they were talking to us.
I’ve always found tickets to be an ineffective (not just expensive) way to curb our illegal actions. You either get the ticket in the mail and cannot even recall the circumstances, or you get pulled over and annoyed. Either way, the goal of the law is met with too much friction to make it effective. Yet a simple, time-sensitive, warning can be so much more so.
