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Regarding the flow of traffic, I asked earlier if the flow of traffic was at the speed limit would you still be happy with abiding by it and got a lot of dancing around about sure IF it wasn't because of people deliberately trying to control traffic by obeying the law.
So let's try it again. If the flow of traffic (all of it) is naturally at the speed limit, NOT caused by someone up front driving less than the limit, do you equally strongly support driving with the flow of traffic as a good thing? This is a scenario I see regularly.
Also, the vaunted "speed limits should be set by the speed at which 85% of the people are comfortable driving" rule. If that rule is followed, then 85% of the people on the roads should be driving at the speed limit, and that would be the flow of traffic and the safest speed for all traffic to drive to prevent a variance in speed that we all agree is a major cause of accidents. Are you happy with that?
So your theory is that higher speed somehow reduces the number of vehicles on the road? How do you figure that?
It’s unlikely to be true but the logic is easy to figure out. If everyone gets where they’re going faster they’re spending less time on the road.
well, if my fears were not reality, then, why so many pile ups on the interstates? When bad weather sets in, people don't seem to have the common sense to slow down. Even though the news reports warn people to do so....
If they set speeds at 70, people go 85...which isn't a good thing....
Sorry, but I don't go along with your less then 1% of crashes....around here where I live, our insurance continually goes up due to so many crashes and fatalities.....
I didn't invent the numbers, they at straight from the NHTSA.
200 MILLION + drivers. 40,000 fatalities. Do the math yourself.
6 million crashes. (that's 3% of all drivers getting in a crash)
Half of which are property damage ONLY (no injuries or fatlities). Basically fender benders. (that's 1.5% of all drivers) so only 3 million are injury crashes (which range from a cut on a finger to needing life support) Again, 1.5% of all drivers.
40,000 or less fatalities. (that's less than 1% of all crashes, or .0001% of all drivers).
The math isn't rocket science, it's basic. You can choose to believe it or not, that's up to you. But you're flat out wrong and you really need to learn that. Your anecdotal evidence is not backed by the numbers.
Your rates go up because the costs of those fender benders have gone up due to the costs of fixing the cars. Oh, and those same insurers do more than cars and hurricanes have cost them billions in the last couple years and they have to recoup those losses.
And the pileups on the interstates? A very small percentage of crashes and most occur when traffic slows down.
Again, there are 200 million drivers driving each year. Latest stats are that the vast majority are speeding (80% or more) on the highways. If speeding caused crashes, there would be vastly more of them, not 3% or less of the drivers. Again, MOST crashes are low speed crashes (remember, this is according to the NHTSA), but speed is considered a factor in most of them, including ANY rear end accident no matter WHAT the speed it happens at. I've been rear ended 3 time while sitting at lights, all three had speed listed as a factor, even though at least one of them occurred at less than 10 mph.
Here's a federal study that completely refutes your premise:
The results of the study indicated that lowering posted speed limits by as much as 20 mi/h (32 km/h), or raising speed limits by as much as 15 mi/h (24 km/h) had little effect on motorist' speed. The majority of motorist did not drive 5 mi/h (8 km/h) above the posted speed limits when speed limits were raised, nor did they reduce their speed by 5 or 10 mi/h (8 or 16 km/h) when speed limits are lowered. Data collected at the study sites indicated that the majority of speed limits are posed below the average speed of traffic. Lowering speed limits below the 50th percentile does not reduce accidents, but does significantly increase driver violations of the speed limit. Conversely, raising the posted speed limits did not increase speeds or accidents.
Speed and accident data were collected in 22 States at 100 sites before and after speed limits were altered. Before and after data were also collected simultaneously at comparison sites where speed limits were not changed to control for the time trends. Repeated measurements were made at 14 sites to examine short - and long-term effects of speed limit changes.
I'm getting quite tired of fear mongers like you getting into hysterics over things you think you see that you really don't.
I'm getting quite tired of fear mongers like you getting into hysterics over things you think you see that you really don't.
Awwww Geeze, I'm very sorry but your going to have to deal with it, and also deal with the fact that your not always right....remember, please, your opinion doesn't mean that someone else is wrong b/c you disagree with them....especially about fear mongers and hysterics....I doubt that very much, just stating facts....
you don't like it, or if your very tired of it, why not try and take a nap.
Awwww Geeze, I'm very sorry but your going to have to deal with it, and also deal with the fact that your not always right....remember, please, your opinion doesn't mean that someone else is wrong b/c you disagree with them....especially about fear mongers and hysterics....I doubt that very much, just stating facts....
you don't like it, or if your very tired of it, why not try and take a nap.
Well she used data and facts while you’ve interjected with pure speculation.
Awwww Geeze, I'm very sorry but your going to have to deal with it, and also deal with the fact that your not always right....remember, please, your opinion doesn't mean that someone else is wrong b/c you disagree with them....especially about fear mongers and hysterics....I doubt that very much, just stating facts....
you don't like it, or if your very tired of it, why not try and take a nap.
To be fair, Tiffer actually was stating facts, then added the opinion on the end. And the facts support that most drivers drive to the condition and tolerances of the road, regardless of the posted speed limit. I drive one of the "worst" stretches of road in the nation twice a day, and my anecdotal evidence says that the vast majority of collisions are caused by poor driver attention/rapid braking/not moving with the flow of traffic. Sometimes that flow is 30mph, sometimes it's 70.
Something I am unable to wrap my head around is, the continuing 70 MPH speed limits....which is crazy...absolutely crazy, and we've all driven that fast on interstates, but when it 55 people do 65 and when its 70 people do 80 and more? Why? When you know full well, if you crash someone's going to be dead?
These arse holes who do these so called studies and then raise the speed limits all the time, are they nuts? I mean seriously? How fast does one really need to go? So so many people are killed every month and yet, they refuse to change it....it's like we're dumb robots, walking around in a daze....oh yeah, lets raise the speed limit to 75? Geeze Louise....are they nuts?
And no one says a word?
In many parts of the country, higher speed limits are practical not crazy.
In many parts of the country, higher speed limits are practical not crazy.
yeah, I'm sorry, I've driven interstate enough to know that there is definitely practical, and then there is crazy. When I'm on the road, would certainly rather slow down some, then to chance hurting someone else....
there is in fact, an old saying, everything within moderation....yes, I've done some speeding, but I won't chance driving like some manic, I don't need to, as always seem to enjoy the ride...and I'm certainly not a slow driver....if higher speeds were practical, they'd up the speed limit signs...but they know if they'd do that, there are drivers out there who would drive even faster, so, that's the reason why they don't.
Rules are there for a reason, I chose to follow them.
If Your doing 5 - 10 miles over the speed limit, there is no reason to go faster....you then become a risk and hazard to everyone else on the road.
To be fair, Tiffer actually was stating facts, then added the opinion on the end. And the facts support that most drivers drive to the condition and tolerances of the road, regardless of the posted speed limit. I drive one of the "worst" stretches of road in the nation twice a day, and my anecdotal evidence says that the vast majority of collisions are caused by poor driver attention/rapid braking/not moving with the flow of traffic. Sometimes that flow is 30mph, sometimes it's 70.
Well, like I said, before, my son's a cop, and I prefer to stay within those standards....and yes, sometimes the speed limit is slower, but why go 70 when the speed limit is 55? Sorry, but today's world is a whole lot different....people do not view laws and rules the same any more, let alone have respect for them and others.
Well she used data and facts while you’ve interjected with pure speculation.
Agreed.
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