Around 1-17-2006 9:04 PM, jaybird
Literally decades of research on just this very topic has established it as being true, and (un)common(ly good) sense reaffirms it as being true.
butthole of the day 3544I've mentioned it before on occasion. I've given examples of many stops I make for LLB's and the like. I'll keep on relating some of the stories, because many are quite...
"As they please," you're absolutely right. That's how we get left-lane blockers, tailgaters, weavers, MFFYs in general, and Judies in particular.
"As fast as they please" - OF COURSE most people are comfortable with that. Perhaps they won't openly admit it, but how else would we get roads with speed limits that see less than 50% compliance (as little as 1% in some areas), despite people (who are most likely speeders themselves) decrying those "evil speeders". That's why a "flow" exists in the first place: People feel safe, people see other people driving safely, and 50-99% of them are not obeying the limit.
Stands to reason that, if everyone is safe and most are breaking the limit, the limit has nothing to do with safety. People, even if they say otherwise, somewhere deep down understand this concept and act accordingly on a daily basis. If that weren't the case, your speeding ticket "performance standard" would fall miserably short each month. ;)
Believe it or not, personal skill is reflected rather well in an individual's comfort level. Taken as a group, the research has shown that 85% of all individual's combined comfort levels are indeed the safest method by which to set a speed limit.
Sure, there are an unknown (but presumed tiny) percentage of drivers who are downright insane, with no regard for their own safety (let alone the safety of those around them - Judy, Taylor, and Weiser all come to mind...), but, again believe it or not, most people have at least some sense of self-preservation which turns out to be a large factor in their choice of speed.
For example, if a driver is feeling that they aren't comfortable much over 70-73 (like me when I'm driving either of my own vehicles), changing the sign from 70 to 80 MPH won't suddenly make them comfortable doing 85.
butthole of the day 3545I didn't expect him to do anything but be awake in case the guy had followed me. With his ignoring me if...
Yeah, it's a surprisingly catchy acronym. I've even got my manager saying it now: Driving from site to site, "Would you look at that miffy!" :)
-- ~-Garth "I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. Almgren I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. ******* And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant."
