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In lieu of my less-than-friendly posts before, I'll just mention that I agree with the above. I still see the physics behind it; the statement that its not the speed that kills you, its the collision holds quite a bit of water. You're right in saying that the largest cause of accidents is the speed variance. The quoted distances it takes you to stop at 65, 75, 85.. they matter less when everyone is doing 75 or 85. Yep, my stopping distance is triple what it would be at 20 mph slower.. but so is everyone elses. I still hold that the largest safety hazard on the road is those driving uncomfortably slow.. they cause emergency lane changes, locked up brakes, and ultimately accidents -- even for the people obeying the posted speed limit.
I've never been one to obey the letter of the law, only the spirit: I see the reason for the speed limit, but that does not it is necessarily the only safe way to navigate a stretch of road. There are times when a stretch of 75 mph highway must be navigated at 45 due to weather, just as there are days when it is so barren that 85 can be navigated still under the "reasonable and prudent" clause of most reckless driving laws. Posted speed limits are designed for every vehicle, from semi to sports car.. with "standard" weather in mind. Any variation in these variables, to me.. allows for stretching it.. in both directions. To me, there's a clear line between safely driving (above the speed limit) and rercklessly driving. You can recklessly drive 20 mph under the limit.
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"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel
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