Speed Limits (rant/curiosity)

[MrSlacker]

I am 18 (in a few days) and have two VERY different opinions on this
Opinion of 18 teenager: I hate people who drive slow. Going 25 on an empty one way street is way too slow! You can easily go at least 35 there without any problems. On empty high ways, I do not see why you cannot go 70ish.

Opinion on a teen who is taking driving classes: I hate people who start honking when I am driving with an instructor. I have to drive 5 below speed limit so I usually drive at about 25. I also have a lot more control of the car when going that slow and have more time to react.

Overall I think speed limits on high ways are a bit low. Also here, most high ways are 50-55, not 75 like many other places.

 

[lostspyder]

All the drunks I know always drive the speed limit. There is a much smaller chance that they will get pulled over that way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaara /img/forum/go_quote.gif What? Do you really think someone driving drunk really cares that much about the speed limit? I mean they are already driving drunk, so it is safe to assume they are ok breaking the law so a speed limit isn't going to stop them. If they are going go a set speed the limit really doesn't matter...as they are drunk and probably not thinking to much about the speed limit.

 

[JSTpt1022]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostspyder /img/forum/go_quote.gif All the drunks I know always drive the speed limit. There is a much smaller chance that they will get pulled over that way.

Agree on that point. Unfortunately, drunk driving is still something that is often not taken seriously enough. Especially in rural locations I've noticed.

 

[itripalot]

I think ideas like speed limits are keeping this country from reaching its true potential. We should be challenging our citizens not limiting them. How are people ever going to become better drivers if there is a limit on how fast they can go. I propose some speed minimums. Then people would have to learn to drive better. when your really speeding you get into the driving and pay attention. When you are just cruising you space out or talk on your cell phone.

 

[Redo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itripalot /img/forum/go_quote.gif I propose some speed minimums. Then people would have to learn to drive better.

Many roads and nearly all expressways have speed minimums

 

[Seaside]

The thing is not your will or driving ability.
If you can drive like a F1 driver, that doesn't matter.
Speed limit is law, whether you like it or not.
Guideline is... don't drive over +10mph in highway near cities, +5mph at highway in rural area. Remember those undercovers are everywhere. If you got pulled over by a truck with tiny flashing light that is barely visibile and the cop is wearing T-shirt & short pants with tiny police mark printed on it... you still gonna get ticketed.
If you got ticketed in some counties, they will fine you like crazy. Something like $25 per each mile over the speed limit, plus some other fees you don't understand. The number of tickets you got will effect your insurance policy for 5 to 7 years, and that's lot of money.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itripalot /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think ideas like speed limits are keeping this country from reaching its true potential. We should be challenging our citizens not limiting them. How are people ever going to become better drivers if there is a limit on how fast they can go. I propose some speed minimums. Then people would have to learn to drive better. when your really speeding you get into the driving and pay attention. When you are just cruising you space out or talk on your cell phone.

You make a couple of very good points here. In today's multi-tasking world the monotony of driving slow has a great number of people prioritizing everything under the sun over their need to focus on driving. If speeds were faster and thus more demanding I think "focus on driving" would make large gains on their priority lists. ...we're becoming more and more like computers with each passing day.

 

[kg21]

I do think speed limits should be raised overall (not everywhere, but case by case) as long as driver training is better/more strict. The autobahns have long been an example of no speed limits working, IMO that is because Germany as a whole has better drivers than the US. The slow merging mentioned in this thread is a great example of bad driving here, they make it dangerous for the traffic they are merging into but they don't know any better. There is also a lack of courtesy (not letting people in, cutting off constantly, driving slow holding up cars and refusing to pull over, playing "cop" by going exactly the speed limit in the passing lane, etc.). I really think the driving tests here need to be harder with much more/better training, its much harder to get a license in Europe/Asia for a reason. Maybe my perception is really bad because I live in California (the west and east coast are said to have the most aggressive and least skilled drivers overall) and I just realized no amount of training will fix people who are asses.

 

[kramer5150]

I guess I can see where many of you are coming from. Its not necessarily driving fast that directly causes accidents, its driving dangerously that causes accidents.

This kind of reminds me of my first speeding ticket...
I was following a cement mixer who was going just a hair over the posted speed limit. It was dropping chunks of cement on my car and it was severely blocking my vision. So, I speed up to get around it. BAM... Cop got me going ~15 MPH over the limit. Which certainly was a violation, but There were no cars in front of us or to the sides, and not being able to see around it I felt was a greater danger, than me passing it up.

According to the law, I am supposed to slow down... WAY down (~25 in a 45 zone) pull over to the right lane and let the cement truck pull farther ahead so I can see around it. I don't agree with this, my slowing down creates an obstruction and IMHO violates the basic speed law of California. I really don't want to get rear ended by all the people speeding (LOL)

Yet... the law forbids me to pursue the safest option.

So I can certainly see why many of you have this opinion.

Unfortunately when the majority of drivers speed, it causes them to tailgate and get into accidents. They don't have the common sense, that if you speed (or drive faster than surrounding traffic), you better not follow another car too closely.

I am very thankful speed limits in my area are enforced, despite my ticket.

 

[bhd812]

speed limit signs work on this theory.

you pass one sign with a posted limit at 55, then you may go 55mph.

you pass a second sign on the same stretch of road with a posted limit at 55 then you must add 55 from the first sign and the 55 from the second sign and now that's your speed limit. which is 110mph.


this is the problem in America cause the only reason why so many people are getting speeding tickets is because they can not add! simple mathematics people!!

and yes you can keep on adding up the signs as the more you pass but the law is by definition.. you may only travel the posted limit. so if you pass 4 separate 55 mph signs on one stretch of road then you must travel at 220mph, anything less you can get a ticket.

you counter restarts when ever you turn on or junction onto a new stretch of road.

now if you don't mind i have to wake up early and teach this volunteer driving class i signed up for..going to teach them teens how legally pass on the median in 7am traffic..

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itripalot /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think ideas like speed limits are keeping this country from reaching its true potential. We should be challenging our citizens not limiting them...

Hahahah... I loved your post. Yes, everyone should be made to live in constant vigilance--it's the only way we'll reach our "true potential." Driver's education should be taught on speedway courses where there are few second chances, because after all, once a bad driver, always a bad driver, regardless of experience... Right?

Back to the original post. I agree with the other posters who mentioned that if you want certain rights for yourself, you have to be comfortable with everyone else having the same rights. I'm not extremely comfortable with the way some people choose to drive now at the current limits. For example, many times I've seen someone who absolutely refuses to go below the speed limit. This is the kind of person who weaves in and out of slower-moving traffic, sometimes veering completely out of the lanes to get by. This attitude that one needs to go faster than everyone else is the problem. If the speed limits were 85 mph, then driving 85 mph would be fine, but until cars and roadways become safe enough for those speeds, no thanks. After all, how many sharp turns and hidden intersections are there on the Autobahn?

The police department around here does not care about drivers who speed less than 10 mph above the posted limit, especially if that speed goes with the general flow of traffic. So, I'm comfortable that their goal is to spot dangerous drivers.

 

[averydonovan]

Given how the average driver drives, do you really want them going faster than they really should be? Do you trust the guy holding a cellphone to one ear and a coffee cup in the other to go 75MPH on in inner-city freeway where the posted speed is 55MPH? Do you really think the kid who just turbocharged his CRX and is trying to impress his high school buddies has the experience necessary to decide that 65MPH on an arterial street where the posted speed is 35MPH is perfectly acceptable? Won't you wish you had not been going 40MPH in a 20MPH school zone when a kid pops out 60 feet in front of your car and it takes 75 feet for you to completely stop? What will you be thinking when your car goes through the guard rail and plummets downward off a cliff when you decided that your car could take that curve at 50MPH when the sign said 25MPH? By the time you realize what happened, you'll be seeing the ground a few feet in front of you and it'll be coming at you fast.

Some speed limit signs are dubious at best, but most are there for a good reason.

 

[pne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sduibek /img/forum/go_quote.gif /EDIT: Oh, forgot to mention... accelerration is another huge peeve of mine. I have a 1985 Nissan Sentra with 223,000 miles on it (4cylinder of course). Without putting undue strain upon my car, I accelerate from a dead stop faster than ~75% of the cars out there when (for example) pulling away from a stop sign. If I pulled out from a stop as fast as I think is fitting, i would be hitting the people in front of me - almost every time. Are people afraid of accelerating or something? I just don't understand it. If you're going somewhere, might as well get there faster. Plus driving fast is fun If you don't like driving fast, get off the road and buy a bicycle. The worst is when I see a car with 4x the power of mine made by BMW or Jaguar and they are accelerating away from stop signs like a grandma and consistently driving 5-10mph under the speed limit. It happens more often that you think.

very glad you mentioned this cause I have to comment on it. I drive 4 vehicles.

First is my motocycle. When I'm in that I hit the gas and I'm gone. I love accelerating in that. Each stop sign or red light is a treat.

Second up is a honda civic. It's pretty slow but gets good gas milage so I will hit the gas about halfway down when I accelerate, and pull away at a pretty standard rate compared to people around me.

Third is my oldsmobile aurora. V8, 250hp and it weighs nearly 4000lbs. Will go 0-60 in 7 seconds which is pretty good for an old car that weight. I accelerate pretty slowly in this, slower than the average car. The V8 gets around 17mpg in town if I'm lucky, and gas here is $1.09/liter, or $4.12/gallon.

Last is my 1991 toyota 4 runner. People behind me get PISSED. I can't help it. When I accelerate in this truck, I feather the gas pedal and keep the rpm's at about 2000-2500. Takes me around 15-20 seconds to get to 35mph. I don't do this cause I am a slow poke, I don't do it to piss people off. I do it because this crappy 3.0L V6 which only makes 150hp on a good day, gets around 10mpg in the city. If I accelerate like a normal family sedan does, I would be lucky to get 7 or 8 mpg. Somehow this brilliant piece of engineering gets worse gas milage than some engines twice the displacement, and double the horsepower.

So you see, how I accelerate is based on what kind of milage the car I'm in gets.

 

[SR-71Panorama]

Everyone who drives slower than me is a moron. Everyone who drives faster than me is a maniac.

 

[Quaddy]

i guess this thread separates the little boys from the men who have been there and done that, learnt the hard lessons, lost loved ones.....

grow up!