Do You Want To Go Faster?
06-12-2010, 09:15 AM
#21
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Re: Do You Want To Go Faster?
You actually have your percentages backwards...1% of vehicles are traveling 75-80 while 90%+ are near the speed limit. When I go to the beach, most traffic on I-64 is going 65, west of Richmond they are traveling about 70. Very little traffic is traveling 75-80.
I agree with the highlighted statement, which is why the speed limit needs to be lowered and fines increased for exceeding the speed limit. All the higher speed limit will do is increase the number of fatalities on the interstate for sake of saving 2-3 minutes of travel time. The reason I say this is that the majority of drivers (including most of the people posting in this thread) do not know how to control a vehicle in an emergency situation. Anybody can drive MPH down a straight highway, but what happens when a slower vehicle pulls in front of you or you150 find a pothole or a 2x4 or a ladder? People are overturning vehicles on the highway at 65mph, why increase the speed limit? The only thing it will do is increase the odds of a fatality.
A little more food for thought...I am one of those that are traveling less than 65 on the highway. I pull a 33' 10,000 lb camper with my F250 a couple of times a month. The tires on my camper have a max speed rating of 65mph, as do most ST trailer tires. While I do have the power and appropriate hitch to prevent sway, I still travel 60-65 on the highway so that I can easily handle the unexpected. A trailer that starts to sway at 70 is much harder to bring under control than one that starts to sway at 60, not to mention the idiots that don't respect others and insist on cutting off larger vehicles. Don't I have a right to use the highways that I am paying taxes for?
I agree with the highlighted statement, which is why the speed limit needs to be lowered and fines increased for exceeding the speed limit. All the higher speed limit will do is increase the number of fatalities on the interstate for sake of saving 2-3 minutes of travel time. The reason I say this is that the majority of drivers (including most of the people posting in this thread) do not know how to control a vehicle in an emergency situation. Anybody can drive MPH down a straight highway, but what happens when a slower vehicle pulls in front of you or you150 find a pothole or a 2x4 or a ladder? People are overturning vehicles on the highway at 65mph, why increase the speed limit? The only thing it will do is increase the odds of a fatality.
A little more food for thought...I am one of those that are traveling less than 65 on the highway. I pull a 33' 10,000 lb camper with my F250 a couple of times a month. The tires on my camper have a max speed rating of 65mph, as do most ST trailer tires. While I do have the power and appropriate hitch to prevent sway, I still travel 60-65 on the highway so that I can easily handle the unexpected. A trailer that starts to sway at 70 is much harder to bring under control than one that starts to sway at 60, not to mention the idiots that don't respect others and insist on cutting off larger vehicles. Don't I have a right to use the highways that I am paying taxes for?
You have the right, just stay in the right lane. So many assholes on the 95 corridor between Quantico and DC drive the speed limit or slower in the fast lane, and drive next to each other blocking traffic, which is also illegal. In this area in nova, the slow lane is the passing lane, and that is pathetic. Also this area is the worst in the country IMO for people not getting out of the fucking way. The fast lane is for passing, not grandpa doing 40mph lost.
06-12-2010, 09:35 AM
#22
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Re: Do You Want To Go Faster?
You actually have your percentages backwards...1% of vehicles are traveling 75-80 while 90%+ are near the speed limit. When I go to the beach, most traffic on I-64 is going 65, west of Richmond they are traveling about 70. Very little traffic is traveling 75-80.
....
Don't I have a right to use the highways that I am paying taxes for?
....
Don't I have a right to use the highways that I am paying taxes for?
Also, you must only drive during rush hour, or never go north of Newport News, because the vast majority of cars on I-64 in my area are going 75-80.
As far as your last statement, of course you can use the interstate. You just have no business using the left lane of the interstate when driving that pickup.
You've been convinced that speed kills by the propoganda machine, but if that were the case the German autobahn would be a death trap, rather than having a lower fatality rate than our interstate system. What kills are vehicles being in the left lane when they have no business being there, passing on the right, inattentive driving, tailgating, and inadequate vehicle maintenance. These are all things people can be ticketed for, maybe it's time we start doing that, rather than setting speed limits that put everybody in violation of the law. Btw, there is a significantly lower fatality rate on the autobahn in Germany than on other roads in Germany, which is pretty good evidence that speed limits, by themselves, have no bearing on safety. Don't believe me? How about that the no-speed-limit sections of the autobahn have a no greater fatality rate than the sections with speed limits? It's not like they don't have 18 wheels on the autobahn, they just don't have them in the left lane.
Here, learn something
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa346.pdf
Last edited by marlinspike; 06-12-2010 at 09:43 AM.
06-12-2010, 09:43 AM
#23
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Re: Do You Want To Go Faster?
Isn't the speed limit 60mph south of Yorktown on I-64? This 70 limit is only going in effect in the places where it is presently 65. Even if I accept your premise that most people are doing 70 in the present-65 zones, moving the speed limit to 70 still does what I said it does - make the speed limit more in line with the speed people actually drive.
Also, you must only drive during rush hour, or never go north of Newport News, because the vast majority of cars on I-64 in my area are going 75-80.
As far as your last statement, of course you can use the interstate. You just have no business using the left lane of the interstate when driving that pickup.
You've been convinced that speed kills by the propoganda machine, but if that were the case the German autobahn would be a death trap, rather than having a lower fatality rate than our interstate system. What kills are vehicles being in the left lane when they have no business being there, passing on the right, inattentive driving, tailgating, and inadequate vehicle maintenance. These are all things people can be ticketed for, maybe it's time we start doing that, rather than setting speed limits that put everybody in violation of the law. Btw, there is a significantly lower fatality rate on the autobahn in Germany than on other roads in Germany, which is pretty good evidence that speed limits, by themselves, have no bearing on safety. Don't believe me? How about that the no-speed-limit sections of the autobahn have a no greater fatality rate than the sections with speed limits? It's not like they don't have 18 wheels on the autobahn, they just don't have them in the left lane.
Also, you must only drive during rush hour, or never go north of Newport News, because the vast majority of cars on I-64 in my area are going 75-80.
As far as your last statement, of course you can use the interstate. You just have no business using the left lane of the interstate when driving that pickup.
You've been convinced that speed kills by the propoganda machine, but if that were the case the German autobahn would be a death trap, rather than having a lower fatality rate than our interstate system. What kills are vehicles being in the left lane when they have no business being there, passing on the right, inattentive driving, tailgating, and inadequate vehicle maintenance. These are all things people can be ticketed for, maybe it's time we start doing that, rather than setting speed limits that put everybody in violation of the law. Btw, there is a significantly lower fatality rate on the autobahn in Germany than on other roads in Germany, which is pretty good evidence that speed limits, by themselves, have no bearing on safety. Don't believe me? How about that the no-speed-limit sections of the autobahn have a no greater fatality rate than the sections with speed limits? It's not like they don't have 18 wheels on the autobahn, they just don't have them in the left lane.
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06-12-2010, 10:30 AM
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Re: Do You Want To Go Faster?
Isn't the speed limit 60mph south of Yorktown on I-64? This 70 limit is only going in effect in the places where it is presently 65. Even if I accept your premise that most people are doing 70 in the present-65 zones, moving the speed limit to 70 still does what I said it does - make the speed limit more in line with the speed people actually drive.
Also, you must only drive during rush hour, or never go north of Newport News, because the vast majority of cars on I-64 in my area are going 75-80.
As far as your last statement, of course you can use the interstate. You just have no business using the left lane of the interstate when driving that pickup.
You've been convinced that speed kills by the propoganda machine, but if that were the case the German autobahn would be a death trap, rather than having a lower fatality rate than our interstate system. What kills are vehicles being in the left lane when they have no business being there, passing on the right, inattentive driving, tailgating, and inadequate vehicle maintenance. These are all things people can be ticketed for, maybe it's time we start doing that, rather than setting speed limits that put everybody in violation of the law. Btw, there is a significantly lower fatality rate on the autobahn in Germany than on other roads in Germany, which is pretty good evidence that speed limits, by themselves, have no bearing on safety. Don't believe me? How about that the no-speed-limit sections of the autobahn have a no greater fatality rate than the sections with speed limits? It's not like they don't have 18 wheels on the autobahn, they just don't have them in the left lane.
Here, learn something
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa346.pdf
Also, you must only drive during rush hour, or never go north of Newport News, because the vast majority of cars on I-64 in my area are going 75-80.
As far as your last statement, of course you can use the interstate. You just have no business using the left lane of the interstate when driving that pickup.
You've been convinced that speed kills by the propoganda machine, but if that were the case the German autobahn would be a death trap, rather than having a lower fatality rate than our interstate system. What kills are vehicles being in the left lane when they have no business being there, passing on the right, inattentive driving, tailgating, and inadequate vehicle maintenance. These are all things people can be ticketed for, maybe it's time we start doing that, rather than setting speed limits that put everybody in violation of the law. Btw, there is a significantly lower fatality rate on the autobahn in Germany than on other roads in Germany, which is pretty good evidence that speed limits, by themselves, have no bearing on safety. Don't believe me? How about that the no-speed-limit sections of the autobahn have a no greater fatality rate than the sections with speed limits? It's not like they don't have 18 wheels on the autobahn, they just don't have them in the left lane.
Here, learn something
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa346.pdf
You are comparing apples and oranges. If our roads were engineered like the Autobahn and we had laws enacted (and enforced) then I would support faster speeds on our highways. Unfortunately there is a big difference between how the Autobahn and our roads are constructed and maintained. There is also a big difference in the driving culture. Until you can change those things, speed limits on roads in America need to be lower, not higher.
06-12-2010, 11:22 AM
#25
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Re: Do You Want To Go Faster?
Thanks for the permission to use the interstate, please pass on the message to the idiots who cut me off while I'm in the right lane where I belong.
You are comparing apples and oranges. If our roads were engineered like the Autobahn and we had laws enacted (and enforced) then I would support faster speeds on our highways. Unfortunately there is a big difference between how the Autobahn and our roads are constructed and maintained. There is also a big difference in the driving culture. Until you can change those things, speed limits on roads in America need to be lower, not higher.
You are comparing apples and oranges. If our roads were engineered like the Autobahn and we had laws enacted (and enforced) then I would support faster speeds on our highways. Unfortunately there is a big difference between how the Autobahn and our roads are constructed and maintained. There is also a big difference in the driving culture. Until you can change those things, speed limits on roads in America need to be lower, not higher.
06-12-2010, 01:01 PM
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Re: Do You Want To Go Faster?
Some men see things as they are and ask "why?" I dream things that never were and ask "why not?" Why not encourage our police officers to ticket those who are actually dangerous rather than lower the speed limits? If you're going to encourage a particular policy, the one that seems to be hte right choice is the one that actually improves society in the long run. Killed in a car crash or not, our lives are short. Let's stop worrying about ourselves and make changes that endure.
I was like that at one point, however after a while I realized that i would never get anyone to see everything my way and I would have to compromise to get most of what I wanted. My main goal when driving is to arrive at my destination safely. I am pretty sure that most Americans would agree with me. The easiest and cheapest way to achieve that goal is for the general driving public to slow down.
One problem with your suggestion is the public backlash that would result. Think of what happened with the additional fines that were tacked onto misdemeanor driving charges...the public went apeshit over it when the law only affected the worst driving offenses which are a small percentage of violations. Politicians will support what is popular, not necessarily what is right which is why that law was repealed. Increased enforcement of existing laws will only draw the anger of the voting public, something no politician wants. The general public perceives increased enforcement to only be another form of taxation (just look at some of the posts on this site) and they continue to collect citations for poor driving. After all, studies indicate that most drivers believe that they are good drivers even though they cannot even correctly identify common road signs.
Then you have to deal with the money side of it. Our police departments really don't have the staff to enforce driving laws to the extent that you are talking about and with budget concerns they won't be expanding any time soon. On top of that, our interstate system was not designed to support the higher speeds of the Autobahn. We don't even have the budget to maintain our existing roads, so where would we get the money for redesigning and rebuilding our interstate system?
If we were able to start over again, then your suggestions would be great as evidenced by how well they work in other countries. Unfortunately we have an existing system and the reality is that it is not easy to adapt our current system to those suggestions. The realist in me keeps coming back to the same solution... get drivers to slow down.
Last edited by IMSHAKN; 06-12-2010 at 01:04 PM.
06-12-2010, 01:14 PM
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Re: Do You Want To Go Faster?
Think of what happened with the additional fines that were tacked onto misdemeanor driving charges...the public went apeshit over it when the law only affected the worst driving offenses which are a small percentage of violations.
...
Then you have to deal with the money side of it. Our police departments really don't have the staff to enforce driving laws to the extent that you are talking about and with budget concerns they won't be expanding any time soon.
On top of that, our interstate system was not designed to support the higher speeds of the Autobahn. We don't even have the budget to maintain our existing roads, so where would we get the money for redesigning and rebuilding our interstate system?
...
Then you have to deal with the money side of it. Our police departments really don't have the staff to enforce driving laws to the extent that you are talking about and with budget concerns they won't be expanding any time soon.
On top of that, our interstate system was not designed to support the higher speeds of the Autobahn. We don't even have the budget to maintain our existing roads, so where would we get the money for redesigning and rebuilding our interstate system?
To the first part - I don't think we need extremely large fines that many people cannot simply afford to get compliance. I think what we need to get compliance is mandatory court appearances and to actually cite the people. It's pretty rare that you see tickets for tailgating or unlawful lane change that was for a failure to signal or passing in a truck on an upgrade. They should have made texting a primary offense though.
To the second part - this directly counters what I just said. I don't really disagree with you there, but maybe if we didn't shell out for LIDAR in a state where radar detectors are illegal and BMW police motorcycles, we could spring for a few more VSP troopers.
To the third part, I'm not saying it needs to be unlimited speed limit, but I have yet to see a part of our interstate system that is currently 65mph where a person cannot safely operate a passenger vehicle at 80mph. Heck, we could kill two birds with one stone if we imposed a light truck not for business purposes tax, with those taxes earmarked for the VSP.
Last edited by marlinspike; 06-12-2010 at 01:16 PM.
06-13-2010, 09:44 PM
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Re: Do You Want To Go Faster?
The biggest problem I see is the "safety" laws are all abused with other agendas that have nothing to do with safety. We have plenty of laws that "serve and protect", but none are enforced, and the ones that are, are done because the targets are easy money and not necessarily because they are the problems the laws were meant to solve. Equipment tickets are meant to prevent people from driving unsafe cars, yet instead of actually ticketing unsafe cars, they are giving me exhaust tickets, sometimes for my stock exhaust even. They are more concerned with what muffler I have and if I'm going 5mph over the speed limit than they are the actual real safety hazards, like joe hillbilly and his truck with a 20 foot 2x4 sticking out the back ready to decapitate anyone who happens to rear-end him (and remember the person behind him may not cause an accident with this result, it could be a 3rd person behind him), or some jackass driving around with 2 feet of snow on the roof of his Van (I have personally had a sheet of snow fall off the top of someone's Van onto my windshield during winter while I was driving down the road, it was one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me, instantly blinded), or all the morons that drive in the rain with their lights off. There are plenty of ticketable extremely dangerous offenses that people do all over the place every day, that are just never enforced, because the police go for the easy pickings instead of the real problems. My muffler and tint or lack of front plate isn't killing anyone. The jackass that runs red lights in the rain with his headlights off most certainly will.
