Agree or Disagree

[dinanm3atl]

Was having a discussion on another forum and also have had this opinion for awhile now.

What do you think?

Posted Speed Limits in the US is for revenue. Nothing else. It has been tested and proven over and over that speed does not kill. Driving at speed if you are unable to drive at that speed kills however.

Why don't we raise the speed limit to 65 or 70 everywhere? Why? Then you could not write as many tickets and in turn get less cash coming in. Government will tell you there will be more accidents, more deaths and more dangerous road conditions. In reality a test was done where the posted speed limit was 55mph. Average speed was around 64mph. They RAISED the PSL to 60 mph and the average speed was 65mph.

Why?

People drive the speed they are comfortable at and they feel they have control. My dad for instance drives 65mph everywhere on the highways. He drives like an old person. If the speed limit is 70mph he drives 65. If it is 55 he drives 65. This is how MOST people are. If we made GA400(highway here in GA that is referred to as the GA400 Autobahn) to an 80mph speed zone then a few select people(me included) would then use that as an opportunity to drive 90mph and only be 10 over. Most citizens would still drive the standard 75 or 80 that most people are driving.

Any stretch of the autobahn has less accidents and less fatal accidents then anywhere here in the states. They don't seem to have any real problem with the speeds. Maybe it is because they take real driving test. It doesn't cost 3 dollars to get a license.


The real cause of our traffic conditions/accidents is caused by the following.

1. Inadequate Driving Instruction

2. Ease at which you can get a license(A bill with your address OR a damn letter from company that says you live there? Is that a joke?)

2b. It is 20 dollars and a really crappy written and "driving test". Why don't we make it 1,000 dollars and a real test? You have to drive in the rain. You have to drive in other adverse conditions. Maybe demonstrate some real car control. 80% of the people in my high school did not even have to parallel park for their test. Here was my test.

Test Horn - Test Blinkers - Back out of spot. Drive through parking lot. Turn left at a light with a turn lane. Drive on a 45 mph street. Make a u-turn at the FIRST light. Turn back into the parking lot and park the car, nose first. No backing in. JOKE.

3. Poor Lane discipline and total non-enforcement of the laws that control this

4. Enforcement of serious driving crimes is weak. DUI you get to spend the night in jail and then go home? How about lose your license for life?

5. You don't have to speak or read english to drive in this country.



I don't care what anyone says. Speeding and most traffic tickets are for generating revenues and nothing more. It is not for OUR safety. Look at when I got pulled over for an expired tag. Supposedly the officer that pulled me over patrols this area. What about all the illegals and dudes with warrants for their arrest driving cars with no headlights and a cardboard "Tag Applied For"? Why are these people not pulled over and ticketed? Why? Because THEY WON'T PAY THE FINE ANYWAYS. So pull over the people that will. Generate revenue.

Then we have our Governor here "cracking down on speeders". Why don't we also crack down on the improper lane usage? Or the driver going 50 in the far left lane? Why are "speeders" always the enemy to society? If I am in the left lane going 80mph on a 2 lane highway and its it 11pm and I can't see anyone in front of me for a mile in either direction I am looking at the following.

25 over and Wreckless Driving if the cops choose to cite me for that. These kind of things really piss me off!

Someone had to pay for the huge firework display in Roswell. I bet Roswell wrote a lot of tickets to pay for that.

[JasonC]

The cops around here like to pull people over that is out of state. But when they do they usally find drugs in the car. And the last time i checked it is the same speed limit in both lanes of the hi-way. I usally go 65mph in my e30 and 70-80mph in my firebird. That is because i feel comfortable at those speeds in those cars. And as long as i stay under 75mph in my firebird it gets wonderfull gas mileage. But around here mostly in MD the cops go 100+mph anywhere they go. The thing that makes me mad is when someone gets behind me and flashes their lights. Now i'm going the speed limit or usally above it. But when i see them do that i usally slow down and take my time to where i'm going. Usally it's some dumbass with DC tags or a young kid.

Edit: although i was just rambling on about what bothered me, i'm a fence sitter on this. Cause i see the speed limit posted at 65mph and some jackass bloews by me at 90 in his/hers SUV full of kids and the driver talking on the phone looking at the newspaper with the pass. asleep with their feet on the dash. Them are the ones the cops need to go after.

[whiltebeitel]

Agree. eleventy-billion times.

[KenC]

It has been tested and proven over and over that speed does not kill.

Physics begs to differ. KE=m(v^2)

[whiltebeitel]

"Speed within means" is the phrase of the thread.

[Teaguer]

Physics begs to differ. KE=m(v^2)

Speed does not kill . Its the abrupt stop that kills .

[JasonC]

I'm going to jump off the fence and say keep the speed limit. Most people can't drive a slippery dick up a goats ass, let alone a car/truck/suv at high speeds.

[craig4ie]

North Americans suck at driving in general. I agree that a more stringent and expensive test is required, also penalties should be steeper for DUIs and other purely reckless driving.

The main problem is there are several generations of shitty drivers already on the roads. Do we make them take a test again at their expense? Would they be happy to do that? Probably not. Old habits die hard, until the idiots that do 10 under the limit in the left lane get too old to drive, the properly trained drivers will be stuck behind them. That could take 30-40 years.

And me, I just wanna drive safely within my abilities, my car's abilities, and the surrounding conditions...which is about 40km/hr faster than the bogus 80-90km/hr limits on the highways in Vancouver.

[sticksdaman]

wow this guy had some good points but 1,000 dollars for a drivers license? wtf? seriously how many 16 year olds can swing that?

but i do agree that most drivers (women) cant fucking drive for shit (some men too) i think the test should be standardized across the country i mean in nyc its easy but i do feel that driving in the city for extended periods of time heightens your awareness and makes you a better driver. always gotta look out for kids playing in the streets and taxi cabs cutting over w/o signaling. shit like that makes you a better driver no matter where you go.
as far as highways are concerned i definately agree that in certain areas speed limits should be raised to maybe 80 but then i think about the soccer mom that was mentioned above and say nah keep it the same. and if they do raise it they should make everyone retake their license test with a harder test to ensure they can handle a car at those speeds.

[Teaguer]

wow this guy had some good points but 1,000 dollars for a drivers license? wtf? seriously how many 16 year olds can swing that?

Thats the point Slappy .

[Bimmerboy91]

i can see that this is going to turn into teens are killed more often, cause accidents, and speed.

[LivingLegend06]

For the most part the speed limits are fine as they are now. I would say raise them but there are already enough dumb-asses who cant drive as it is and I would like cops to have a good reason to pull them over. Now speed limits outside of town and on the freeways late at night should be raised. I hate driving on an open freeway at 1 in the morning with 3 lanes to my self and not a single car insight. In those situations I almost always speed and I feel that it would be safe to go even faster.

The best solution is just to get better cops. Have them pull everyone over, have them just drive around and make a note of anyone who does something stupid and collect a massive database. Then we can just start picking off the retarded drivers. Hell we could even have more advanced license tests that give you a higher speed limit, just get issued a different color license plate or something.

[TopOfTheLine89]

$1000 for a license is ridiculous, that would just mean, Rich kids get a license and poor kids like me don't, and i bet us poor kids who work for their cars and pay for everything are a bit more careful then the kids that have been handed everything their entire lives.

as for the speed limit part, Agree! the speed limit needs to change with technology, think how much better our brakes and vehicle in general are now compared to 40 years ago yet the speed limit is only 15-20 mph higher.

I think by the time my generation is 40 limits will have increased significantly.

[PiercedE30]

Here in LA, there is a proposed (what I have heard and read about it) for "street racing". This bill says that: first offense 1) go to jail for a mandatory of 12 months, 2) lose license for 12 months following jail time, 3) pay a hefty fine, 4) your vehicle is now state property no matter what even if you have a loan out on it, 5) (here's the kicker) it's a felony (on your first offense). Also, what is the definition of a race? A dick ass cop could pull up behind you at a red light and, say you are in a hurry and late for something, you leave the light with a car sitting at said light next to you. Can the cop pull you over (both cars or just you) and cite you for "street racing?"
That's all said and fine, but look at the other traffic violations that carry much lesser of a penalty, but are far worse: DUI - doesn't become a felony until your third offense. I mean c'mon three strikes and you FINALLY have a felony?! WTF!

/rant on corrupt LA police officers

[LivingLegend06]

I think by the time my generation is 40 limits will have increased significantly.

I wouldn't count on that.