How fast a cough travels

A cough produces a brief, fast airflow jet, but its peak speed varies widely by person and measurement method. In one study of 29 participants, maximum velocities ranged from about 1.5 to 28.8 m/s; the upper end is about 64 mph. So 60 mph is plausible as an upper-peak estimate, but it is not a typical speed for every cough. The illustration is an AI-generated synthetic diagram.