Bernard Farquart
That, coming from someone who can't even spell "increased" correctly, and twice in one sentence? You're no scholar and that article tells us little about speed limits' effect on actual speeds, especially hyper speeds.
Truly rational people understand that physics matters and laws have been ignored all along.
Why is it that people who brag about DISobeying the law are the first to cite it as a measure of actual driving speeds? Year after year, the NHTSA has documented that speeding causes 30% of serious crashes. It has little to do with prevailing speed limit laws. It just shows that stupid people will always take stupid risks in cars at high speeds.
Notice a key quote in that brief article.
"But the long-term decreases continued even when speed limits stayed the same."
When limits stayed the SAME, decreases still continued. It's mainly because cars have gotten safer, and possibly in part because traffic congestion is slowing speeds regardless of posted limits (people don't get hurt as badly in lower speed crashes). There was a story on that awhile back.
So, speed LIMITS per se have little to do with the existence of EXTREME speeding, which has gone on since cars were invented. These are the people who are always tailgating, weaving and jockeying for position just to get ahead of everyone else. Their interactions with other traffic lead to all sorts of pointless crashes and rests. Here's the latest news on these idiots:
All other factors being equal, a car moving at a high rate of speed (especially upwards of 80 or 90 mph where mechanical and tire-grip thresholds are reached) will have less ability to brake and steer when the unexpected happens. These drivers do a lot more tailgating, weaving and other impatient things that cause crashes. Again, here's the latest news on their preventable carnage:
Denial that the unexpected ever happens is the most common argument against the realities of physics, and it's ridiculous. Nothing can be 100% anticipated on the road and one of the most important things you can do is drive at moderate speeds to maintain more control when *bleep* happens.
My emphasis all along has been speeding on a case by case basis, citing physics as the reason people lose control at higher speeds. Nobody involved in the investigation of crashes disputes the role of physics. If we could get r.a.d. posters to ride with paramedics for a month we'd see their whole tone change, I'm sure.
Raising speed limits may reduce the dangers of speed-differentials by making relatively slower drivers speed up, but not by much. That article notes that improvements in car safety are the main factor. People will drive at more or less the same speeds regardless of laws. The real point is that hyper speed-freaks are doing what they've ALWAYS done and people will keep dying because of it. They don't care whether the limit is 55 or 75; they'll still drive as fast as they think they can get away with.
C.T.
