I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I ABSOLUTELY think the speed limit should be set for the least capable. If you raise the limits to the levels of the most capable, you're basically saying: "I know lots of people won't actually be safe driving that fast, but let em crash and cause mayhem if they're not smart enough to slow down. We want to best drivers to be able to go as fast as they can."
There should be a minimum requirement for getting a license, and the speed limit and all the driving rules should be set so those minimally-qualified people can drive safely without posing a danger to everyone else. It may be inconvenient for some, but so are accidents, injuries and rests. I don't know where a lot of folks here drive, but where I drive (Connecticut and Long Island) I see lots of people barely making it the way things are now. I bet raising the speed limit on LI's Southern State Parkway from 55 to 85 would have catastrophic consequences. From what I see, I think most drivers are terrible drivers. And the idea that we should let them go as fast as they want so we can accommodate good drivers is just scary.
But the issue is not what I think. My question is the fact that many people drive fast evidence in and of itself that there is public support for raising the speed limit, as has been suggested here. In other words, I'm not sure it's correct to conclude that the public votes for higher speed limits every day by breaking current limits. I mean it MAY be the case. But it may equally be the case that the public would say "I want to drive this fast, but I don't want a lot other people driving this fast." I really would be interested in seeing any surveys on this (not that I think speed limits should be set by popular vote.)
-- Regards, Anthony Giorgianni
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