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Well, donno how goes it in your areas but here, in Seattle Metro and I5, old speed limit of 60 mph is pretty much laughed at now.
For one, there is no traffic, what is good. Same time, everyone, with exception of righteous few, goes WAY above speed limit.
I have it documented on dash cam ME cruising at above 80 and being passed by cars going I can only guess how fast. Normally, going home, I am on 75 cruise control - and all that on 60mph SL freeway.
So here's what I realized yesterday.
With all that moving so fast - I have, actually, witnessed much less accidents, than when traffic was for real and everyone creeped at 15mph.
Literally! I commute twice a day, as usual, I am the essential, from Auburn to Seattle, 33 m one way - and I have seen maybe 3-4 fender benders? That's with totally crazy stunts done by speeders, almost along Russia dash cam ones.
I guess, driving fast isn't actually that bad, after all....
60mph is way too slow for NJ. I normally drive above 75mph on the highways here and police do not pull you unless you are going over 85mph. Also the police are not doing routine patrols as they used to since many are now being stationed outside of stores to enforce mask and social distancing.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Before I started to work from home, my morning commute from Sammamish to Seattle (23 miles) at 5am was not bad, with little traffic that early. On I90, speed limit 60, I would set cruise for 67, and most people were 67-70 mph.
Yesterday I had to go into the office for something, left home at 9am, found less traffic than I used to have at 5am, and it was moving at 70-72. I kept up, but watching out for state patrol. In Seattle, Alaskan Way is now 25 MPH and I stuck to that, several cops were parked along the way with radar. They are not enforcing distancing, in fact at Ivar's Fish Bar, several people were in line close together, no masks.
Last edited by Hemlock140; 05-05-2020 at 10:12 AM..
I guess, driving fast isn't actually that bad, after all....
When speed limits are correctly set based on measured 85th percentile vehicle speeds, speeds can increase while accidents decrease. This is usually not followed in the US due to the revenue generation associated with underposted speed limits.
Maybe they should have speed limits for anyone under 30. Over that age, you should be able to drive at any speed... Except for school zones and high traffic areas/times....
I think this just proves that speed does not necessarily cause accidents, it is the volume of people that do. Humans take chances, are more distracted, are impatient, and if you put enough together, they will mess up eventually, regardless of speed.
As mentioned, many speed limits are artificially lowered to help build revenue to the local area.
Speed limits in California are adjusted based on the average speed of drivers on a given road. Many times you will see a road that has a speed limit of 40, a couple miles later 45, then down the road 50 and then back to 40. As traffic speeds increase and the majority are hitting those speeds the city will change the speed. I think I read that changes to speed limits happen every 3 years here.
When speed limits are correctly set based on measured 85th percentile vehicle speeds, speeds can increase while accidents decrease. This is usually not followed in the US due to the revenue generation associated with underposted speed limits.
Thank goodness we don't do that too much. Otherwise, some people would be cruising at 70 in front of elementary schools. In rural Texas, they're not far off from that actually.
Seems like there's a lot of this "young invincible" mentality. Problem is, physics couldn't care less how old you are. Smack something going 75+, good luck with that.
If there are fewer wrecks in some places right now, it's only because of less traffic. Higher speeds may not contribute directly to more wrecks, just more deadly ones.
I utterly despise being on the same road with people doing 80-90+. That's why airplanes were invented.
If these people only hurt themselves, that'd be one thing I guess. If they hit someone else, that's double the problem.
I say bring back 65 on all interstates and 55 max on anything else with all road-approved vehicles governed at 70. That's about all our safety technology (all we're willing to spend money on without race car regulations anyway) will cover.
Too many of our roads are poorly designed and maintained, and our cars aren't nearly as bullet-proof safe as we think they are.
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