You can't drive 55!

It's funny because my friends always told me it's always to slow drivers that cause the accidents.

Originally posted by Unit541

Originally posted by greeneyedleo
reply to post by AutOmatIc

 

I live in Colorado. We have a provably of everyone driving UNDER the speed limit. It drives me INSANE!! Its a PITA and its a hazard for those of us who do drive the speed limit...or over.

I admit...I have a need for speed. I should have been a race car driver. lol
We also have 75mph roads and they are really fun to drive on. lol
But im also a very safe and in control driver.....

I grew up around fast cars....it is in my blood :/

edit on April 6th 2012 by greeneyedleo because: (no reason given)

I'm in Colorado also, and can vouch for this! The Interstate is a different story, where 80 is "cruising speed", but elsewhere nobody is in a hurry to get anywhere. Sorry, but I'm one of them. I usually stick to 2-3mph below the limit. Even this close to the legal limit, I do get batty drivers zooming around me honking and flailing about as they screech by using the shoulder as a passing lane... only to end up right behind them at the next red light, that's always worth a chuckle. Plus, sometimes I think I'm the only driver on the road in Colorado who's not drunk... that's not distance I keep between me and the guy in front of me, it's surplus reaction time. Hell, I prep for the frakkin' zombie apocalypse, might as well be ready for a sudden stop...

What a lot of habitual speeders fail to consider, is that while doing 10 over exponentially increases both the likelihood and measurable severity of any potential mishaps, you don't really get there much faster, if any at all. Even if you remove any traffic management from the scenario (lights, stop signs, etc.), do the math and you'll see speeding is nothing but a pointless risk to the speeder and anyone else near them.

ah ha!!! so you are one of "them" kidding
but the "only driver not drunk" seems to be an issue too...seems drivers here cannot stay in a lane....drifting and slow driving = colorado!

i promise im not one of those drivers trying to drive you off the road and my speeding is mostly highway, i admit. on off roads, i tend to mind those limits due to traffic and pedestrians....

i will say though...my fav place to drive is 470 in my GTi..... *shrug*

Originally posted by EmperorXyn
It's funny because my friends always told me it's always to slow drivers that cause the accidents.

Well, I can understand how people say that it's safer if everyone "goes with the flow" if you will. And I have often found myself getting a bit impatient with slower drivers from time to time....but no, I do not believe that it is the slower drivers that cause all the accidents. Certainly some instances for sure where slower drivers make traffic tedious and at times can be frustrating, especially when they are impeding the flow of traffic. And as far as I know you CAN get a ticket for going too slow.

reply to post by GuidedKill


I did meet a guy on a scooter that was fast as hell. He was riding a 600cc Honda scooter. I met him at the Snake. He challenged me to try and keep up. I knew a flat lander like myself couldn't do what those kooky mountain folks could do so I passed. I think I did pretty good for a flat lander. I love how polite the people are down in the mountains. Every time they saw a bike coming up from behind they would pull over and allow them to pass. It would be nice if it was like that every where. Michigan when you pass someone they flip you off or swerve at you. Often if the person behind me wants to go faster I'll pull over and let them go. I don't take it personal.

reply to post by chefc14


Yea there is no way you or I can hang with the locals. There are some real talented riders up there. It was always a pleasure hanging out with the locals. Real nice place with real nice people.

I would love to read the statistics of Autobahn causalities verses American causalities.

We've only been driving a little over a 100 years. I don't think speed itself is dangerous as I do the distraction or ability of the motorists!

Keep a safe distance from all cars and for the love of gawd, stay off your damn cell phones.


55 MPH on a highway is way too slow when living in this fast paced world!

Originally posted by Human_Alien
I would love to read the statistics of Autobahn causalities verses American causalities.

We've only been driving a little over a 100 years. I don't think speed itself is dangerous as I do the distraction or ability of the motorists!

Keep a safe distance from all cars and for the love of gawd, stay off your damn cell phones.


55 MPH on a highway is way too slow when living in this fast paced world!

The annual fatality rate (2.7 per billion km in 2009) is consistently lower than that of most other superhighway systems, including the US Interstates (4.5 in 2009). Furthermore, a 2005 study by the German government found that Autobahn sections without speed limits had the same accident rate as those with speed limits.

www.gettingaroundgermany.info...

Colorado here as well and yeah if you aren't driving at least 80 on the interstate, you're going to cause problems. I would submit that those who drive at or below the speed limit are more likely to cause an accident than speeders.

Now cell phones are another story. That crap will kill ya.

Originally posted by DelMar
Colorado here as well and yeah if you aren't driving at least 80 on the interstate, you're going to cause problems. I would submit that those who drive at or below the speed limit are more likely to cause an accident than speeders.

Now cell phones are another story. That crap will kill ya.

Indeed...don't get me started on cell phones and driving I wish there was an electromagnetic pulse gun that you could just point to other people who are driving while texting or talking on the phone and it will shut off their phone

Originally posted by AutOmatIc

Originally posted by DelMar
Colorado here as well and yeah if you aren't driving at least 80 on the interstate, you're going to cause problems. I would submit that those who drive at or below the speed limit are more likely to cause an accident than speeders.

Now cell phones are another story. That crap will kill ya.

Indeed...don't get me started on cell phones and driving

I wish there was an electromagnetic pulse gun that you could just point to other people who are driving while texting or talking on the phone and it will shut off their phone

YES, I've often wished for an EMP gun to shut down slow cars, cops and cell phones. Well, not necessarily cops but definitely their radar/laser guns and computers.

I had to chime in after watching the second video.

I can agree speeding is an issue and it can create unnecessary risk, many things can happen as a result of speeding. That being said, that second video in the OP is a bunch of nonsense.

For instance, the very first accident in the video is not a result of speeding. It is a result of not paying attention. The driver is clearly staring at an attractive women and not watching teh road. This accident could have occurred at 60 mph or even 5mph.

The second accident is another type of accident that can happen as the result of any combination of things from not paying attention to speeding to mechanical malfunction.

The third accident could have probably been avoided by not speeding, however it may have been unavoidable even at 50-60mph as well. Here we have a car parked near the shoulder, not on the shoulder but near it with part of the disabled car still being on the roadway, around a blind curve.

Accident #4... a kid who is texting walks out into the street in front of a car. Even if this car was doing the speed limit, this accident was probably completely unavoidable and is actually caused by the Student walking out into the street without looking. This is a type of accident that happens every day in the US, speed limits have very little to do with it.

Accident #5 is not only due to speeding, it is due to a car attempting to swerve around a dog that runs into the road. Again, even if passing at the speed limit and a dog runs out into the road, the driver may have still swerved to avoid it thus causing the exact same accident.

The end of the video is my favorite. All women waving a little finger at the speeding men. What is the implication here? That all Men who speed have small weenies? That only men speed? This is video is simply laughable on so many levels which is actually a shame. Speeding is risky, speeding can be a contributing factor to any number of accident scenarios, but this video does a very poor job of showing examples.

Originally posted by chefc14

Originally posted by AutOmatIc

Originally posted by DelMar
Colorado here as well and yeah if you aren't driving at least 80 on the interstate, you're going to cause problems. I would submit that those who drive at or below the speed limit are more likely to cause an accident than speeders.

Now cell phones are another story. That crap will kill ya.

Indeed...don't get me started on cell phones and driving

I wish there was an electromagnetic pulse gun that you could just point to other people who are driving while texting or talking on the phone and it will shut off their phone

YES, I've often wished for an EMP gun to shut down slow cars, cops and cell phones. Well, not necessarily cops but definitely their radar/laser guns and computers.

edit on 6-4-2012 by chefc14 because: (no reason given)

Well here's this patent if you'd like to invest in having this made!

Location-based intelligent remote vehicle function control

The present invention provides vehicle owners, fleet operators, and law enforcement agencies the ability to selectively and remotely control certain vehicle functions based upon the location of the vehicle, its speed and direction, and time. Implementation of control actions may be deferred or scheduled, and may be coupled with conditional requirements to allow for gradual and safe operation of the vehicle. Control actions may be specified via a Web-based interface (e.g. web site or webpage), cellular interface (e.g. voice or text response unit), or a remote function configurator.

Or this:

VEHICLE DISABLING WEAPON

A means of directly injecting radio-frequency electrical current into the electronic circuits of vehicles is described. The disabling current is transmitted through two channels of highly ionized air. The channels are created by the multi-photon ionization of the air within two beams of far-ultraviolet laser radiation directed to the vehicle. The current flows in a circuit from an electrode near the origin of one beam through the channel of ionized air within it, then through the target vehicle and back along the conductive channel within the second beam. The current frequency is 100 megahertz and the pulse width is 300 microseconds. The wavelength of the ultraviolet laser radiation is between 180 and 250 nanometers. At the wavelengths and fluence employed, there is little or no ocular hazard. The calculated theoretical range is two kilometers

Posted speed limit here is 110 km per hour or about 70 miles an hour. That's on the main highways.When I go to Maine, it drives me crazy that the speed limit is 55. It feels like I am walking. I routinely speed, sometimes I go 10 over the posted limit, sometimes I go well passed the limit. It depends on the road conditions, time of day and my mood. I was late for an appointment last Tuesday and I live about a half an hour from where I had to be, at the normal posted limits but I made the appointment with five minutes to spare. I only had 20 minutes to be there. My Civic SI is a dream to drive.

If I am in town, I drive the posted limit. There are too many people and cars on the roads in the town.

What I've always wondered is, since the top speed limits in the US is 70 to 75 mph, why are cars designed to do 100+ mph?

I understand these same cars are sold in countries that might not have a limit on how fast you can go, but the US does have a limit. Why aren't cars sold in the US limited on how fast they can go?

Originally posted by N3k9Ni
What I've always wondered is, since the top speed limits in the US is 70 to 75 mph, why are cars designed to do 100+ mph?

I understand these same cars are sold in countries that might not have a limit on how fast you can go, but the US does have a limit. Why aren't cars sold in the US limited on how fast they can go?

You need excess power for passing, climbing hills, etc. But, with today's mostly electronic controls, it would be extremely easy to "govern" cars at a specific speed. In fact, most new cars in the US do have "rev limiters" at around 115 mph, and when cars are imported from overseas, they sometimes have to be electronically tuned down to meet US requirements.

So, your question is a valid one. If the top speed limits in the US are 75 or so, why govern cars at 115?

Originally posted by satron

Originally posted by Titen-Sxull


60 miles per hour is A MILE PER MINUTE, I don't know about the rest of you but that seems pretty damn fast to me.

How did you figure that out? Did you cut it in half?

edit on 6-4-2012 by satron because: (no reason given)

That might have SPEEDED right over a lot of heads............so.....how fast is sixty miles per hour...

www.youtube.com...

Driving slower than the flow of traffic is in my opinion more dangerous than driving a bit over the speed limit. Then you're just an impediment to traffic.

If you want any more proof, just go drive on I-95 in South Florida.

I find myself going faster than most and in most cases I am not even in a hurry to get somewhere. I have no idea what compels me to propel myself down the freeway at 80mph. With these new cars its like a glider. You don't really feel the speed and it just doesn't feel normal to do 55 or 65mph on the freeway.

I do agree I have to slow down though. It is food for thought. Nice original thread...

35 MPH roads that should be 45 MPH roads kill me. 35 is too slow for some long country road because it has some houses sprinkled upon it. No one is walking those roads.