Reckless Driving 94/55 fairfax help (buy, construction, dangerous)

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by gomason

Cruise control works like a beauty especially at 530 am when no one's on the road.

That's the thing; there are lots of other drivers on the road then. In this case, I think using CC would actually make me focus less and would make it harder to slow down or speed up when I need to. (I'm not even sure if I have it; I'll have to look.)

[TheSpecialOne]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

[/b]
Um. Speed alone most certainly can be a problem. Try as you might you just can't justify doing 90 on our roads. We do not have the Autobahn here. Take I 66 as an example. Especially once past Haymarket the Deer population is out of control. Do you really believe that someone "safely" driving 90 mph can avoid a Deer just as easy as someone doing the speed limit of 70? Just one example of course but we could do this all day.

I don't always agree with some of the speed limits around here but 90 mph is not safe under ANY circumstances around here.

You are right. But speed is only a problem if used recklessly. No reasonable driver would like to ride an exit at 90mph for example. This is reckless, but you do not need a speed limit to regulate that. You need well trained drivers. No speed limit doesn't mean that all drivers will or should now drive 100mph. Drivers should simply use their common sense. And yes you need put more emphasis on better training rather than speed limit.
One thing for sure is that the 55 and 65mph speed limit on our highways is too low. Almost all drivers go little bit over the limit. It is hard to go below that limit with today's cars.
80mph would be more reasonable.

[FCNova]

Today's cars have cruise control. It's super easy to keep it at 55-65 in today's cars.

[TheSpecialOne]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

The autobahn sounds great, but a few things I believe are different: 1. There are fewer cars. 2. I think (could be wrong) the super-high speeds are only allowed on the equivalent of our interstate, between large cities--much like Texas, which now has an 80-mph limit on rural stretches of interstate, which gradually decreases as you get closer to a metro area. 3. I know for a fact that it's much harder to get a license there--much more driver training and a lot more cost (I think I read equal to about $1500 US). 4. Drivers there are trained not to be in the left lane unless passing. (Texas emphasizes this as well.) So it's unlikely you would rear-end someone on the Autobahn or that they would pull a Maryland and bleed over without signaling--but you could still hit a deer. Which I believe they call Strasswurst ("street sausage").

You nailed it. Germans understood that the solution isn't the speed limit.
They defined proper traffic rules. They required better training; drivers actually learn how to drive.
Then they leave it up to the drivers to use their best judgment and common sense. The results is less accidents. So, the no speed limit works.

On the other hand, we in the US decided that proper driver training wasn't important. In some states, driving tests are even simply done in a parking lot. We give licenses to inexperienced 15yo that never received proper training.
If we really care about safety, those are the problems we should solve. The speed limit isn't the most effective solution to address safety issues.
The low speed limits on our highways are there to serve one purpose: generating money for the states and cities.

[dkf747]

Don't go more than 19 over. That's a good way to reduce your chances of RD.

[lvoc]

I would point out we have lost OP.

OP if still reading lawyer time. No option. It is serious enough that even if you have to tell parents or beg off friends relatives you must have a lawyer and potentially a good one.

I once made a plane at Kennedy from Stanford CT in an hour. Could have gotten hung if nailed. Didn't.

At over 110 big Mercedes is not happy on the autobahn. 100 or 105 is OK. Car is a squirrel above that speed.

And at 100 or so we were passed by a group of 15 or so motorcyclist going at least 20 mph faster.

[Bigfoot424]

Um, what?

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by TheSpecialOne

You are right. But speed is only a problem if used recklessly. No reasonable driver would like to ride an exit at 90mph for example. This is reckless, but you do not need a speed limit to regulate that. You need well trained drivers. No speed limit doesn't mean that all drivers will or should now drive 100mph. Drivers should simply use their common sense. And yes you need put more emphasis on better training rather than speed limit.
One thing for sure is that the 55 and 65mph speed limit on our highways is too low. Almost all drivers go little bit over the limit. It is hard to go below that limit with today's cars.
80mph would be more reasonable.

Again, I disagree. My example using Deer is a perfect example. An inexperienced driver has a much better chance of avoiding a Deer compared to someone driving at a much higher speed. Sometimes the experience of the driver plays no role. I'm trained in high speed driving and have been involved in pursuits that you wouldn't believe actually occurred. (Back in the old days) I've stayed up on high speed training at a federal facility training facility with some excellent defensive driving instructors for the LE world. This is out in the country and these guys, with their training, also hit Deer. You can be what you believe is the best driver in the US but you can't account for the unexpected no matter how good you are.

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by TheSpecialOne

You nailed it. Germans understood that the solution isn't the speed limit.
They defined proper traffic rules. They required better training; drivers actually learn how to drive.
Then they leave it up to the drivers to use their best judgment and common sense. The results is less accidents. So, the no speed limit works.

On the other hand, we in the US decided that proper driver training wasn't important. In some states, driving tests are even simply done in a parking lot. We give licenses to inexperienced 15yo that never received proper training.
If we really care about safety, those are the problems we should solve. The speed limit isn't the most effective solution to address safety issues.
The low speed limits on our highways are there to serve one purpose: generating money for the states and cities.

The problem is that many drivers aren't German trained. Although German drivers can be lauded for their level of drivers training, a polish truck driver has not the level of training and is driving an uninspected truck. The same issues that bigfoot brings up on unintended consequences with high speed. A truck passing on a hill on the autobahn is going 70 to overtake a 65 mph truck and the motorcycle needs to be able to quickly slow from 130 mph. There are bottlenecks, it's not utopia. One wreck was a sedan wrapped around a tree, literally, and the life flight landed on the autobahn. I don't know if it was going to hospital or the morgue.

[gomason]

Originally Posted by TheSpecialOne

You are right. But speed is only a problem if used recklessly. No reasonable driver would like to ride an exit at 90mph for example. This is reckless, but you do not need a speed limit to regulate that. You need well trained drivers. No speed limit doesn't mean that all drivers will or should now drive 100mph. Drivers should simply use their common sense. And yes you need put more emphasis on better training rather than speed limit.
One thing for sure is that the 55 and 65mph speed limit on our highways is too low. Almost all drivers go little bit over the limit. It is hard to go below that limit with today's cars.
80mph would be more reasonable.

80MPH is not reasonable at all in an urban area like this. That's the speed limit in the middle of the desert of Nevada when the nearest village is 20 miles away.