Suave

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...&q=speed+limit

A bunch of good-for-nothing young people show what happens when you obey the speed limit.

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Carno

Dear God, that movie was drawn out and boring. They should have condensed that into a two minute clip. Plus they misspelled "obedience."

Interesting though. I really don't know how I feel about that though. On one hand I know speeding is illegal, yet on the other hand one part of me wants to be pissed off that they were holding up traffic.

I can only say I am glad I was not behind them that day

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ziadel

I love stuff like this.

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Borla

Except they broke other traffic laws that are just as severe in doing it. You are not supposed to impede traffic in the left lane.


I agree with their principle whole-heartedly though. Most speed limits on interstates are artificially low, especially with the technology in cars today for both safety and power.

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Carno

Most of the interstates around me are 70 mph. I do agree that 55 mph is too slow for that size highway.

They'll never raise the speed limits though. Way too many people would bitch. Especially old people.

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AngelicVampire

Wouldn't the traffic actually flow better if the people behind also kept to the speed limit rather than attempting to compress the formation? Iirc most compression in traffic problems (and the slowing down that occurs) because people rush up, slam on the breaks and then it goes backwards creating the slow wave.

martinguerre

not all states have a yeild to higher speed vehicles in the left law...several have it as a suggestion. it may have been legal...

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SecretMethod70

Yup, it's only just recently a law in Illinois (in the past year)...and even then, it's only actually sometimes enforced in the backwards areas of Illinois (see: anyplace outside of the greater Chicagoland area).

EDIT: OK, I've had a chance to watch it now and that was just *beautiful*. I love it.

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percy

Hmmm,...second year film students? I get the point they are getting across but all in all it seem a lttle to attention whorish for me. These are probably the same type of people who have 20 items at the 1-8 item checkout who don't understand why people behind them with less than 8 items are irritated, much like the drivers they were impeding.

trickyy

one video deserves two more.
here are some actual safe-driving ads. slow down (unless i'm behind you)!

http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KF/2006/02/rfsf_-_cyklist.mov
http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KF/2006/02...ammenstoed.mov

BigBen

I agree with the message;

I agree it was a little "Whore-ish"

And most importantly, there seems to be a profound lack of foresight in this case. I think that the term "What is the worst thing that could happen?" should have come into the conversation at the very start of the train-of-thought.

While impressive as having a rear-view mirror knocked off, I can quickly come to the conclusion that this stunt (although well-intentioned) could have seriously injured or killed someone.

A for effort, absolute F for thinking.

p.s.: I like the thought of having the speed limit set as "Safe and Prudent", factoring in
road conditions
driver experience
visibility
vehicle limitations, and servicability
other road users.

The term "Reasonable" would be up to the Highway Patrol officer and the Judge to decide.

Thank god no one was killed in the making of this video. That would have put a different spin on things, eh?

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Carno

Yeah, but they would not have caused it. The guy who clipped the car did it by his own dumb self. They didn't force him to be a raging maniac and try to pass on the shoulder.

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Sp0rAdiC

I saw this a few days before this thread, and I thought it was an interesting thought, one many people have had, but dangerously executed. After thinking about it and watching it again, I agree with Carno. It was the slow speed limit and the fact that everyone had gotten used to driving 20mph faster that made the guy swerve by on the right. Nobody forced him to do it, he just did it because he was pissed off that he had to go the <b>speed limit</b> so he made a foolish decision.

BigBen

Contributing Factor.

I don't care that it was entirely the guy's fault for passing on the right.

The fact remains that the situation WAS CAUSED by this group. Although they have no control over how people behave once placed in that situation, they should have realized that this could have turned ugly... real ugly.

Forget about legality for a second. Even if it was perfectly legal, was it ethical? Creating a situation like this is not ethical behaviour.

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Sp0rAdiC

It definitely wasn't ethical, but to get the point across sometimes those lines have to be crossed. Even if someone did get hurt, it would get their point across even better, that when people drive the speed limit, people get hurt.

skier

It wasn't ethical, but it was loud, dangerous, dramatic and attention grabbing. It's these sort of things that wake people up and show them just how some things are ridiculous and need to be changed. If they shortened it to a 1:00 video clip and managed to get it on atlanta local stations as a commercial it would have an even larger impact. Perhaps getting on local news channels.

It's a commentary aiming to promote change in their state/society/community. I support em for being an active part of that process

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little_tippler

erm...I only saw the video without sound so I can«t join in the discussion yet. But...is it just me or is that guy talking on the phone while driving? That is one of the biggest causes of road accidents.

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Sweetpea

just hmmmm. i think they have too much time on their hands. but it was fairly interesting.

and yeah, often 55 can be too low, but mostly uring the Day... i dunno, I would like to note at night, 55 is probably appropriate, when it's raining a shitstorm in Seattle here... usually, most of us go well below the speed limit of 55.


sweetpea

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Yakk

So have speed limits that vary by weather.

Heck, there would even be money to make the signs change the speed limit depending on the weather. 75 in clear days, 35 to 45 on stormy nights.

The Rule of Law is not helped when you people become habitually used to breaking the law.

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stevo

I would have been pissed if I was behind those kids. Didn't we have a thread on here a few weeks ago about SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEPING RIGHT. I'm suprised no one rammed one of those cars out of the way (not that I would have). I wouldn't have passed on the shoulder either, I've seen more than one accident because of that. I might have tried to pass between two of those cars though, they all seemed to have smaller cars and those were pretty wide lanes. Man would that freak them out.

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cellophanedeity

I watched the first video and think what they did was interesting, if dangerous. We're supposed to go with the flow of traffic, and can get ticketed for going the limit if the rest of traffic is going over.

What really got me were those other videos. Holy crap they were scary.

balefire88

The second video here made no sense. Are they saying the mom and daughter shouldnt have been speeding? The other car came out of the freaking bushes! I suppose on a street you might have been able to slow down if you were going under the speed limit, but what if that was a highway? With the lack of any kind of housing or businesses around, it very well might have been. The tagline should have been "Coming out of the bushes onto a highway without looking hurts."

shakran

The video was, as others have mentioned, totally unethical.

But I agree with the premise.

speed limits in the US are artificially low. But they are set that way because the mandatory driver training does not teach you how to actually drive well, and advanced driver training is an option taken up by few people.

The answer is not speed limits. The answer is better driver training.

Suave

I think it was perfectly ethical. They obeyed the speed limit and drove in a safe manner. They should not be held responsible for the actions of other drivers when said drivers refuse to be safe.

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SecretMethod70

Honestly, I see nothing wrong with what they did. The argument that they were blocking traffic on the left is a poor one. Aside for the fact not all states even have a law about that (and I don't know if Georgia does or does not), the left lane is the "passing lane." Add to that the speed limit is the speed limit, the passing speed should not be above 55. If someone is going the fastest allowable speed, you should not be passing them. As for it being dangerous, I hold nothing against them for this. 100% of the danger is caused by other people breaking the law, being impatient, and *intentionally* putting other people's lives at risk. That's a far cry from driving the speed limit in a lane.

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shakran

Because they did something, knowing it would cause danger, BECAUSE they wanted to cause danger. They wouldn't ordinarilly have been driving at 55mph. They certainly wouldn't have been organizing a formation to keep all traffic at that speed if it weren't for this project.

Intentionally doing something that you know has a high probability of causing harm just to get a story is not ethical.

Sp0rAdiC

we've pretty much all agreed that it isn't ethical shakran, I don't think anyone is arguing for that. The reason it's such a powerful message is because it is unethical, yet it is the "law"

SecretMethod70

High probability? I don't know about that. I don't know about you, but I don't think that the majority of people are raving lunatics who will risk their lives and others just to pass up a car. Would it frustrate people to no end? Absolutely. Did they intend on causing danger or do anything which should be expected to cause danger? Absolutely not. If I were one of the people behind them (and I speak as someone who never drives below 65 on the expressway and frequently above it), I would have been very frustrated, but there's no way in *HELL* I would drive on the shoulder and risk lives just to pass them up. I have nothing but the utmost contempt for anyone who would even *consider* doing that and no sympathy at all for their situation.

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flstf

I think I recall seeing on the news back in the "drive 55" days where some police cars did what these kids did and some drivers actually tried to pass them on the shoulder.

BigBen

Suave, I hear you. I understand what you are saying. They are making a point about the absurdity of the law, and they did not do anything dangerous (besides the whole cell phone thing). The situation that they created, and knew in advance that they would create, on purpose, was to bottle-neck traffic.

That situation was the definition of dangerous. Raised tempers, unsafe following distances, unnatural traffic flow, and other things that I am missing, I'm sure.

I am not going to pull out a dictionary quote of ethics, but I will say again that this was unethical behaviour. Unless of course changing the speed limit provided a safer environment for all, for ages to come. Then we get into moral relativism; I am going to disagree with that argument, since the guy was quoted talking solely about traffic tickets, and not anything about safety.

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Fearless_Hyena

Ethical? That's a tough call. If their local state trooper/highway patrol rigorously enforces this stretch of road, e.g. getting written for 59 in a 55, their point would have a much better foundation.

In fact, it might have proven their point better if they just went 5mph over the posted speed limit! I don't know that any cop would write *anyone* for 5mph over unless they comitted another offense.

Drawn out? Yes. I agree that a one-minute spot with the highlights would have had MUCH more impact!

The whole ethics argument intrigues me. They created the situation, and they can have a reasonable expectation of the *un-ethical* things that people will likely do in that situation. So who's worse? The guy passing in the breakdown lane was creating a serious risk for everyone involved. They were following the letter of the law that we collectively decided, but could have anticipated the consequences. Who's to judge?

krwlz

I think their major point aside from the limit being too low, is how can they expect us to follow traffic laws if they are not consistantly enforced? Since that many people got pissed, obviously they are not enforced in any regular way. And if they were consistantly enforced, they would realize that maybe the speed limit ought to go up.

moot1337

The first vid was funny as shit... when people behave like lunatics when expected to obey the law, you've got to be able to tell that something's wrong.

A couple things to clear up: In Colorado, at least, you can't be pulled over or given a citation for going up to 5 mph above the speed limit (although I'm sure cops would probably make exceptions in a school zone-rightfully).

Also, in Colorado, speed limits do change with the weather - another traffic law dictates that you may be pulled over, even if you are doing the speed limit, if that speed presents a danger to yourself or others during those road conditions. Posted speed limits apply for optimum road conditions, and it's up to officers to judge whether or not you're going too fast. Usually this works, because most people will realize that 75 is way too fast for whiteout blizzard weather with icy roads.

Again, I'm not sure of traffic laws in different states, but I think what these people did was a good way to bring peoples attention to how artificially low the speed limits were. While it may be reasonable for a city to nail a guy for doing 100 or more, having artificially low speed limits on large highways which can quite obviously handle much more is NOT the way to do it. Roads should be judged for their maximum safe speed, and people going slightly over that should probably not be prosecuted. Those doing in excess of 25 over, on the other hand, are driving at severly unsafe speeds (unless the limit is 55 on a high speed highway, mind you) and should get hammered.

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cowudders14

Good on them for the idea and the stunt, crap video though - I nearly closed it when the cars came under the bridge and they reversed it etc so many times it was dull. Very irritating!

The video though - yeah, make it 45 seconds or 1 minute, and show it on TV. Very good point.
Ethical? I'm not sure, but, as said, the line needs to be crossed sometimes to make a point. So much of history has people doing things that are unethical, but have brought about changes by highlighting somthing that needs to be changed. This is one fo those things. Pity they didn't have media backnig and bring he news agencies on board before doing it.

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analog

These kids lines up and did the speed limit. Bottlenecking, unsafe following distances, rage, passing on the shoulder (and as one person in this very thread suggested, passing BETWEEN the cars? How fucked up is that?), etc., are all things the other drivers did. They didn't have to follow closely, that was their decision. All those other things were choices made by those other people. Was there influence? No more influence than you'd find in anyone's environment.

I'm coming out of the grocery store. What separates me from getting to my car 5 seconds faster depends on whether or not there was someone coming out of the door of the store behind me, and I held the door open for them. I am not a victim of the other person's departure from the store, I chose to stop and hold the door open- influence on your environment does not hinder free will... the person behind me did not MAKE me 5 seconds later getting to my car.

The people in the cars behind these kids had their choices- drive safely under the abnormal conditions, or behave like fucking morons. A few of them chose the latter. Such is being human.

(As for complaining about cellphones, we're not derailing this thread by rehashing that old argument, thanks)

meepa

Not to get off topic, but I thought the best part of the video was the "featuring" at the end and they showed Anna. I did not notice her anywhere else in the film, but if I had, I would not have been so annoyed that it lasted so long. Otherwise pretty interesting.

Suave

And I shall disagree on the basis of moral relativism and difference of principle.

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Stage

This is awesome - I wish I would have thought of it