timalkin

It seems a lot of you have an unfair prejudice against law enforcement officers in general. That's to be expected. Nobody likes to be told that they are wrong, and that's a police officer's job on a daily basis. Police officers do catch reckless drivers. They can't sit at every stop sign and wait for laws to be broken, just like they can't sit on every stretch of every highway and catch people breaking the speed limit.

You might be the best driver in the world, but you can't speed up your reaction time if you are greatly exceeding the speed limit. Sure, you can probably drive your vehicle safely at 100 MPH on an empty stretch of road, but how are you supposed to avoid the deer crossing the road or the furniture that fell from the back of someone's truck (yes, it has happened)?

Guess who has to walk up to your vehicle after it's been wrecked because you were being stupid and has to look at the bloody remains of your family and friends. That's right: Police officers. There are bad apples in every profession, but these guys have a tough job and they only enforce the law for your own safety.

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TM875

Well, since this thread has been brought back from the dead...let me just remind you that at any speed above 40mph, your chance of suffering a fatality is hugely increased. From 65 to 75 to 85, you're almost equally likely to die. Why not allow motorists to continue at a more comfortable speed if safety really is not an issue?

Most drivers feel the most comfortable at around 75mph on the highway. American highway systems are build for this speed in mind - after all, no designer was ignorant enough to believe that every motorist would go the posted speed limit. Highways are intended to be safe at speeds far faster than what's posted. I've studied it greatly, and it's almost certain that, if limits are abolished, most speeds will average around the 75mph mark.

Increasing speed also decreases speed variance; that is, the speed at which cars pass each other. This is the most likely time for a crash - if the cars get out of each other's way sooner, then this time will decrease. Now, if other distractions were decreased, such as the mom talking on the cell phone, listening to the kids, and playing with the DVD player all at the same time, then saftey would be far more assured than keeping speed limits at the antiquated mark of 55mph.

Pennsylvania has recently increase the speed limit on the Turnpike to 65mph all along the route (before it was 55 in Philadelphia and raised to 65 outside of the city). Guess what? Less people are speeding, and even fewer people are speeding by a gross margin (85+). Surprise? Not really.

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Jinn

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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