Speed Limits: Yay or Nay?

[Hoofbite]

Yeah it would be so much better to allow all those crappy drivers out there to drive as fast as they want to. That's exactly what I want going on while I'm driving or more importantly my daughter.

People cry about the dumbest things.

You know how I'd deal with those crappy drivers? Outrun them.

Driver faster =/= driving completely dangerous and recklessly.

I feel infinitely more comfortable on the highway than I do in the cities. There's nobody out there on the highway which brings me back to my initial post.

Drive through any of the areas I suggested and try to say that the limits out in the middle of nowhere couldn't be raised.

 

[CowboyDan]

Yeah it would be so much better to allow all those crappy drivers out there to drive as fast as they want to. That's exactly what I want going on while I'm driving or more importantly my daughter.

People cry about the dumbest things.

You're missing the point completely. Speed isn't the issue.....crappy drivers are. If cops were able to focus entirely on poor/reckless driving habits instead of pulling people over for going 12mph over the posted speed limit on an interstate, you and your daughter would be safer everytime you drive.

 

[silverbear]

I absolutely hate speed limits. They were established as a response to the oil crisis in the 70's and have since been transformed into a necessary safety feature, despite data that shows speed has no relation to annual fatalities. I think it's a money maker, and that's why it's stuck. What are your thoughts?

Where did you get the idea that speed limits started in the 70s??

 

[silverbear]

The way the autobahn functions is nice. Basically the maximum speed is whatever general traffic is flowing at. If you are going excessively faster than traffic, (in traffic) you WILL get a ticket or arrested.

Yeah, there's nothing better than the 100 car pileups on foggy mornings that the Autobahns are famous for...

 

[CF74]

School zones and residential areas need em. highways not so much maybe except around curves, construction, and things of that nature..

 

[Kevinicus]

Speed limits are okay, they just need to be raised. Most interstates should be at least 85, and there are some areas where 90-100 should be okay as well (Kansas!).

 

[Jenky]

You're missing the point completely. Speed isn't the issue.....crappy drivers are. If cops were able to focus entirely on poor/reckless driving habits instead of pulling people over for going 12mph over the posted speed limit on an interstate, you and your daughter would be safer everytime you drive.

You might be right if that was the only variable.

 

[Hoofbite]

You might be right if that was the only variable.

It's the most important variable.

 

[CowboyDan]

Where did you get the idea that speed limits started in the 70s??

I semi-corrected myself earlier by saying that they were left to the states to decide on and control until the oil crisis, and that in the 90's they were given back to the states to control.

 

[CowboyDan]

Yeah, there's nothing better than the 100 car pileups on foggy mornings that the Autobahns are famous for...

Again, the product of poor driving habits, not speed.

 

[Concord]

They just need to be raised...75mph would be fine.

 

[vta]

They just need to be raised...75mph would be fine.

They're 75 in Denver. I also like that they had cameras for tolls, even though tolls suck, I like that I didn't have to stop.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I fail to see, and I guess I'm just dumb (it happens), how raising the speed limits is going to decrease the crappy drivers.

It's not. In fact I'm willing to bet it would make it even worse cause then the crappy drivers would be either...

A) More nervous cause of the people driving way fast around them and it would cause them to screw up.

B) You'd have those same morons, who already suck at driving and speed, and act like morons with a free license to drive as fast as they want to and they'd cause even more wrecks.


I know people pointed to the Autobon (however you spell it) as if it's the beacon of light on this subject but check out some of the huge piled up wrecks they have. Now instead of wrecks involving 1-3 cars, most of the time, you'd have dozens of cars in these wrecks.

Going to no speed limit is quite simply one of the dumbest things that they could do.

 

[big dog cowboy]

No crap. We used to drive from Texas to North Dakota every summer when I was a kid. If I have to pay $6 to drive through that wretched state, known as Kansas, I better be able to drive as fast as I want.

No offense taken.

 

[VietCowboy]

speed limits - yes should exist, residential and school zones are essential!

interstate - no, unless on ramps or curves, construction, and blind spots. I would be fine with speed limits at night and during inclement weather.

 

[CowboyWay]

Still need speed limits. No doubt about it. There are some very rural places that could raise them drastically though.

 

[Vtwin]

A few years ago we rode out to Sturgis. Got off the slab and crossed Iowa and South Dakota on Rt 6 and Rt 20 if I remember right.

90mph from gas stop to gas stop the entire way. Not even sure what the speed limit was but if it was 50mph like it is around here it would have been brutal on those long straight roads.

Some places need limits and some places don't.

 

[silverbear]

Again, the product of poor driving habits, not speed.

Wrong... it's a product of poor driving habits AND speed...

Driving 100 MPH gives you less time to react than driving at 70-75 MPH does...

But let's say you're right, that "poor driving habits" are the problem on interstates, not speeding per se... even if you are right about that, you're still wrong, because "poor driving habits" are a fact of life... and as noted above, when "poor driving habits" manifest themselves, the higher the speed, the greater the danger...

I've lived in Germany, and I've seen first hand the down side of what you apparently think is utopia (the lack of speed limits)... that downside is when there is an accident, it tends to be a chain reaction that involves many vehicles, rather than just one or two...

No sir, having no speed limits on the interstates would not be the utopia some of you think it would... to the contrary, it would be a freakin' nightmare, with highway body counts the likes of which we've never seen... because you see, the ones most likely to be pushing the safety envelope by driving 100 MPH or more would be those schooks with the "poor driving habits"...

 

[CowboyDan]

Wrong... it's a product of poor driving habits AND speed...

Driving 100 MPH gives you less time to react than driving at 70-75 MPH does...

But let's say you're right, that "poor driving habits" are the problem on interstates, not speeding per se... even if you are right about that, you're still wrong, because "poor driving habits" are a fact of life... and as noted above, when "poor driving habits" manifest themselves, the higher the speed, the greater the danger...

I've lived in Germany, and I've seen first hand the down side of what you apparently think is utopia (the lack of speed limits)... that downside is when there is an accident, it tends to be a chain reaction that involves many vehicles, rather than just one or two...

No sir, having no speed limits on the interstates would not be the utopia some of you think it would... to the contrary, it would be a freakin' nightmare, with highway body counts the likes of which we've never seen... because you see, the ones most likely to be pushing the safety envelope by driving 100 MPH or more would be those schooks with the "poor driving habits"...

I appreciate your certainty, but speed is not the problem, poor driving habits are. And they are rampant on the roads, at every speed. However, we keep our cops on the side of the road in one particular spot and have them track everyone's speed, fining those who go too fast. I suggest that it would be more effective if they were spending their time patrolling and watching for hazardous drivers at all speeds.
The problems you reference with the autobohn is related to driving too fast for conditions. If it's foggy then you shouldn't be outdriving your vision...simple as that. If you think I'm wrong, then show me a study that proves higher speed = more accidents.