You might honestly think that the speed limit in Manhattan is "whatever you can crank it up to between red lights." That's wrong, and the New York City Department of Transportation wants you to know that it's 30 mph.

More than that, however, the NYC DOT wants you to know why it's 30 mph, and has put a series of amusing ads into rotation to deliver the message that a pedestrian hit at that speed has an 80 percent chance of survival, versus the 70 percent chance of dying a human clobbered at 40 mph faces. The commercials start with an unlikely character expounding on a subject you wouldn't expect before the speed limit question is posed by the omniscient voiceover. Check out the humorous PSA spots for yourself after the jump.

[Source: Advertising Age]