Is speeding really all that bad?

[Fingolfin269]

Too many variables. Speeding in a straight line isn't the problem. It's the idiots who cannot believe that everyone else should be doing 90 on the interstate so they zig zag across lanes cutting other people off so they are never forced to dip below 90mph.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Car going 66 hits a deer. Car going 65 hits a deer. Speed limit is 65. Conditions are the same except for the 1mph difference. Will you see a difference?

wtf???????? we're talking about people who are going 75 in a 55 zone or similar, not 1 mph over the limit...

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: pontifex
as ****** stupid and crazy as people are in cars, i'm surprised there aren't more accidents. people talking on cell phones and not paying attention, braking for no reason, not using turning signals, etc...

its not really the cell phone that is causing them to act that way, its their inability to pay attention to the road instead of the call they are taking. their level of depth into the conversation is what causes them to lose focus on the road. hands free sets do nothing to fix that either. i agree that a lot of those cell phone accidents could be prevented by keeping those boneheads from talking on their phone, but i dont see a blanket "you all suck" law as the answer.


that said, i pull into a side street or a parking lot if my phone rings and i need to take the call. the only people that call me are my kids and customers. if a customer calls me on my cell phone, that means it was enough of an emergency to get funding to pay for my help, and that means it was serious enough for a city council to approve funds. ill pull over and take it, i cant give good enough answers while trying to worry about some dickwad in front of me reading the paper at 70.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: mariok2006
My friend just got a ticket for doing 85 in a 70 this weekend for being forced to pass on the right because d!ckheads are talking on their cellphone in the left lane.

that has got to be one of the dumbest statements ive ever read. your friend was FORCED to pass on the right because someone else was doing the speed limit. they call it a limit because its how fast they LIMIT you to driving. is that person on the cell phone supposed to speed up over the speed limit because your friend wants to go illegally faster? no one forced your friend to do 15 over, that was his/her own personal choice and they are going to pay the price for it. cant do the time, dont do the crime.

No, they are supposed to pull to the right lane. Most states have some variation of the "use left lane only for passing" law, too bad it is almost never enforced and most drivers are unaware of it. Depending on the state, even if the car coming from behind is speeding, you have a legal obligation to pull to the right lane.

wow, where do you people come from? so your friend is speeding illegally and comes to a guy who is driving in the right lane but yet that guy is supposed to obey the law and your friend isn't??? wtf????

 

[Mermaidman]

Speeding is not bad if you don't get in an accident. It's terribly bad if you do have an accident. So . . . It's your choice whether or not to increase the risk of causing more damage/injuries.

 

[manowar821]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Car going 66 hits a deer. Car going 65 hits a deer. Speed limit is 65. Conditions are the same except for the 1mph difference. Will you see a difference?

wtf???????? we're talking about people who are going 75 in a 55 zone or similar, not 1 mph over the limit...

And you need to look up the damage factors for specific speeds.

There have been independent studies that prove speeding is not a killer. Instead it's the arrogance, ignorance, and inattentiveness of drivers that kills.

This is leaving out the variable of alcohol, which is plenty more dangerous than speeding.

 

[flexy]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
Speed doesn't kill, driving like an idiot does. Speeding on an empty stretch of highway hurts nobody.

i am always amazed by such "logic".

NOONE *knowingly* would drive in a way *knowing* he will have an accident. ALL accidents happen unexpectedly.

With most of the people for sure claiming they're safe drivers, can afford to speed...etc..etc...

Accidents always happens because something unexpected happens and its too late to react, speeds too high, reaction times etc..etc...

Go "ask" any of the dead who had accidents whether they thought its "ok" to speed...like 20 seconds before impact. They would very well say "yeah of course, i didnt think something would happen". ("so i drank...or i sped...or whatever...")

ADD: And...ok..ask ANYONE if he thinks that he is driving like an idiot 😉

Do you seriously think there is ONE person out there saying "yes, i am driving like an idiot !" 😉

Even the "idiot drivers" will asure you that they can handle their own driving.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: mariok2006
My friend just got a ticket for doing 85 in a 70 this weekend for being forced to pass on the right because d!ckheads are talking on their cellphone in the left lane.

that has got to be one of the dumbest statements ive ever read. your friend was FORCED to pass on the right because someone else was doing the speed limit. they call it a limit because its how fast they LIMIT you to driving. is that person on the cell phone supposed to speed up over the speed limit because your friend wants to go illegally faster? no one forced your friend to do 15 over, that was his/her own personal choice and they are going to pay the price for it. cant do the time, dont do the crime.

No, they are supposed to pull to the right lane. Most states have some variation of the "use left lane only for passing" law, too bad it is almost never enforced and most drivers are unaware of it. Depending on the state, even if the car coming from behind is speeding, you have a legal obligation to pull to the right lane.

wow, where do you people come from? so your friend is speeding illegally and comes to a guy who is driving in the right lane but yet that guy is supposed to obey the law and your friend isn't??? wtf????

Plus I doubt the law is intended to allow people who are speeding to continue speeding. The law is to keep people out of the left lane who are going 5-10mph under the speed limit so that those who are going faster, while still at or below the limit, can continue unimpeded.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: manowar821

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Car going 66 hits a deer. Car going 65 hits a deer. Speed limit is 65. Conditions are the same except for the 1mph difference. Will you see a difference?

wtf???????? we're talking about people who are going 75 in a 55 zone or similar, not 1 mph over the limit...

And you need to look up the damage factors for specific speeds.

There have been independent studies that prove speeding is not a killer. Instead it's the arrogance, ignorance, and inattentiveness of drivers that kills.

This is leaving out the variable of alcohol, which is plenty more dangerous than speeding.

huh? the force of impact is going to be lower at lower speed and higher at higher speeds. speed is a major factor in how much damage will be done.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Car going 66 hits a deer. Car going 65 hits a deer. Speed limit is 65. Conditions are the same except for the 1mph difference. Will you see a difference?

wtf???????? we're talking about people who are going 75 in a 55 zone or similar, not 1 mph over the limit...

Even 75 in a 55 is no big deal, as long as you're paying attention to driving. You just need to drive like you're going 75, giving more space to the cars in front of you, looking ahead more, etc.

On the other hand, if you're technically obeying the law by parking yourself in the fast lane going 55 mph while blabbering with someone on the phone, you're a real danger to those around you.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Car going 66 hits a deer. Car going 65 hits a deer. Speed limit is 65. Conditions are the same except for the 1mph difference. Will you see a difference?

wtf???????? we're talking about people who are going 75 in a 55 zone or similar, not 1 mph over the limit...

Even 75 in a 55 is no big deal, as long as you're paying attention to driving. You just need to drive like you're going 75, giving more space to the cars in front of you, looking ahead more, etc.

On the other hand, if you're technically obeying the law by parking yourself in the fast lane going 55 mph while blabbering with someone on the phone, you're a real danger to those around you.

i don't care if you're paying attention or not. if you hit someone or something at higher speeds, it will cause more damage. i think its pretty obvious that if you don't pay attention, bad things are going to happen and i don't see why this has any affect on how much damage you're going to do.

so you're saying that a guy who is paying attention will do less damage to the car he hits than someone who isn't paying attention? how does this work?

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: flexy

i am always amazed by such "logic".

NOONE *knowingly* would drive in a way *knowing* he will have an accident. ALL accidents happen unexpectedly.

With most of the people for sure claiming they're safe drivers, can afford to speed...etc..etc...

Accidents always happens because something unexpected happens and its too late to react, speeds too high, reaction times etc..etc...

Go "ask" any of the dead who had accidents whether they thought its "ok" to speed...like 20 seconds before impact. They would very well say "yeah of course, i didnt think something would happen". ("so i drank...or i sped...or whatever...")

ADD: And...ok..ask ANYONE if he thinks that he is driving like an idiot 😉

Do you seriously think there is ONE person out there saying "yes, i am driving like an idiot !" 😉

Even the "idiot drivers" will asure you that they can handle their own driving.

I'm willing to bet that people who blabber on their cell phones while driving or turn around to yell at their kids are more of a danger than the guy paying attention while doing 75 in a 55.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: mariok2006
My friend just got a ticket for doing 85 in a 70 this weekend for being forced to pass on the right because d!ckheads are talking on their cellphone in the left lane.

that has got to be one of the dumbest statements ive ever read. your friend was FORCED to pass on the right because someone else was doing the speed limit. they call it a limit because its how fast they LIMIT you to driving. is that person on the cell phone supposed to speed up over the speed limit because your friend wants to go illegally faster? no one forced your friend to do 15 over, that was his/her own personal choice and they are going to pay the price for it. cant do the time, dont do the crime.

No, they are supposed to pull to the right lane. Most states have some variation of the "use left lane only for passing" law, too bad it is almost never enforced and most drivers are unaware of it. Depending on the state, even if the car coming from behind is speeding, you have a legal obligation to pull to the right lane.

when i was in traffic school (yes, for a speeding ticket camera, 54 in a 40, major intersection that has 6 lanes) the retired judge told us that speeding was a necessary evil that you may have to do to keep up with traffic so as to not make yourself a target for an accident. he also said that staying to the right for other people that were wanting to go faster wasnt necessarily a NEED to do thing. im not going to move just so some single asshat can go 15 mph faster than the rest of traffic when im already matching traffic flow at 10 or 12 over the limit. he said in that type of case you shouldnt have to move, because he was the hazard not you. i also told him i would give any cop that gave me a ticket for speeding to keep with the flow of traffic his name, and he said he was cool with that. ive taken traffic school 3 times in my 20 or so years of driving, and all three instructors said the same thing on the subject. the keep right applies to highways out of town here as far as i can tell, i havent seen any specification otherwise. so no, unless that cell phone user is going slower than the flow, i dont think he should have to move for your asshat friend that wants to speed.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: mariok2006
My friend just got a ticket for doing 85 in a 70 this weekend for being forced to pass on the right because d!ckheads are talking on their cellphone in the left lane.

that has got to be one of the dumbest statements ive ever read. your friend was FORCED to pass on the right because someone else was doing the speed limit. they call it a limit because its how fast they LIMIT you to driving. is that person on the cell phone supposed to speed up over the speed limit because your friend wants to go illegally faster? no one forced your friend to do 15 over, that was his/her own personal choice and they are going to pay the price for it. cant do the time, dont do the crime.

No, they are supposed to pull to the right lane. Most states have some variation of the "use left lane only for passing" law, too bad it is almost never enforced and most drivers are unaware of it. Depending on the state, even if the car coming from behind is speeding, you have a legal obligation to pull to the right lane.

wow, where do you people come from? so your friend is speeding illegally and comes to a guy who is driving in the right lane but yet that guy is supposed to obey the law and your friend isn't??? wtf????

Two wrongs do not make a right. It is not the job of the car in front to enforce the laws, it is the police's job. Make a call to the highway police and report them if you are that concerned.

<edit> Like I said, depends on the state but at least in Virginia this holds true. link

Sgt. F.L. Tyler, a public information officer with the state police office in Culpeper, said the following section of state code applies to left-lane hangers:

"It shall be unlawful to fail to give way to overtaking traffic when driving a motor vehicle to the left and abreast of another motor vehicle on a divided highway."

Specifically, he said, if you're in that situation and a vehicle behind you signals its intention to pass, by either honking a horn or flashing its lights, you are required to move to the right as soon as it's safe, and allow the signaling vehicle to pass.

Failure to do so is a violation of the law, he said.

Tyler said that applies even if the vehicle trying to pass is speeding, following too closely or operating in any other reckless manner.

"Leave it up to police officers to deal with any violations they might be committing. We'll handle that," he said. "But the law still requires you to move to the right and let them pass."

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Without a speed limit, I probably wouldn't go any faster than 85-90 on divided freeways anyways...

You're right on the money there.

Most people wouldn't go any faster than that, and when I was driving in Germany with no speed limit, people did about 80-85 on average. It's only the movies where everyone has Ferrari's and Porsches and goes 150 mph. With gas over $6 a gallon there and most cars being small econoboxes, it's not realistic to go those speeds.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: mariok2006
My friend just got a ticket for doing 85 in a 70 this weekend for being forced to pass on the right because d!ckheads are talking on their cellphone in the left lane.

that has got to be one of the dumbest statements ive ever read. your friend was FORCED to pass on the right because someone else was doing the speed limit. they call it a limit because its how fast they LIMIT you to driving. is that person on the cell phone supposed to speed up over the speed limit because your friend wants to go illegally faster? no one forced your friend to do 15 over, that was his/her own personal choice and they are going to pay the price for it. cant do the time, dont do the crime.

No, they are supposed to pull to the right lane. Most states have some variation of the "use left lane only for passing" law, too bad it is almost never enforced and most drivers are unaware of it. Depending on the state, even if the car coming from behind is speeding, you have a legal obligation to pull to the right lane.

wow, where do you people come from? so your friend is speeding illegally and comes to a guy who is driving in the right lane but yet that guy is supposed to obey the law and your friend isn't??? wtf????

Two wrongs do not make a right. It is not the job of the car in front to enforce the laws, it is the police's job.

not based on what you said.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: pontifex


so you're saying that a guy who is paying attention will do less damage to the car he hits than someone who isn't paying attention? how does this work?

You're playing stupid.

I'm saying that the guy who is not paying attention is more likely to hit someone in the first place than the guy who is paying attention.

Look around you when you drive and notice how many people are doing other things while driving. Talking on their cell phone, playing with their iPod, eating, etc. They simply are not paying full attention to driving.

Look at the Autobahn and examine its fatality rate compared to ours.

 

[mb]

Originally posted by: XZeroII

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding is the second highest cause of fatal car accidents in the U.S. and accounted for 13,189, or 30.4 percent, of the 43,443 traffic-related deaths in 2005. Only drunk driving kills more people on the road, taking 16,885 lives in 2005, according to the most recent NHTSA data. Together drunk driving and speeding account for nearly 70 percent of the total number of fatal crashes in 2005.

"There are three types of lies - lies, damn lies, and statistics"

 

[dullard]

Some examples:
[*]I commonly see people going 35 in a 25 MPH zone. Doing that little change will double the destructive energy that your car (and possibly you) will have to absorb and gives you 30% less reaction time.

[*]Going 50 in a 35 MPH zone doubles the destructive energy and gives you 30% less reaction time.

[*]If both cars in the collision are speeding in those examples, the destructive kinetic energy is quadrupled. And these are common speeding examples. I see people doing this nearly every time I drive.

On the highway, the numbers aren't quite as bad. Going 80 in a 65 only makes the destructive energy 50% higher.

 

[Number1]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Car going 66 hits a deer. Car going 65 hits a deer. Speed limit is 65. Conditions are the same except for the 1mph difference. Will you see a difference?

wtf???????? we're talking about people who are going 75 in a 55 zone or similar, not 1 mph over the limit...

Even 75 in a 55 is no big deal, as long as you're paying attention to driving. You just need to drive like you're going 75, giving more space to the cars in front of you, looking ahead more, etc.

On the other hand, if you're technically obeying the law by parking yourself in the fast lane going 55 mph while blabbering with someone on the phone, you're a real danger to those around you.

Acording to your "logic" the drivers that are going 75 should be attentive and driving like they are doing 75 and looking ahead more so they should have no problems deaing with the guys doing 55 in the left lane. Right? So whats the problem?

Both drivers are at fault here, the slow poke and the speeder and that is why accidents occur.

Now would a speeder on the phone be more dangerous then a non speeder on the phone? Show us the researsh.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: mariok2006
My friend just got a ticket for doing 85 in a 70 this weekend for being forced to pass on the right because d!ckheads are talking on their cellphone in the left lane.

that has got to be one of the dumbest statements ive ever read. your friend was FORCED to pass on the right because someone else was doing the speed limit. they call it a limit because its how fast they LIMIT you to driving. is that person on the cell phone supposed to speed up over the speed limit because your friend wants to go illegally faster? no one forced your friend to do 15 over, that was his/her own personal choice and they are going to pay the price for it. cant do the time, dont do the crime.

No, they are supposed to pull to the right lane. Most states have some variation of the "use left lane only for passing" law, too bad it is almost never enforced and most drivers are unaware of it. Depending on the state, even if the car coming from behind is speeding, you have a legal obligation to pull to the right lane.

wow, where do you people come from? so your friend is speeding illegally and comes to a guy who is driving in the right lane but yet that guy is supposed to obey the law and your friend isn't??? wtf????

Two wrongs do not make a right. It is not the job of the car in front to enforce the laws, it is the police's job.

not based on what you said.

Your reading comprehension skills are poor.

He clearly stated that his friend was driving in the left lane and was forced to pass on the right because of an idiot driving slow in the left lane.

You replied "wow, where do you people come from? so your friend is speeding illegally and comes to a guy who is driving in the right lane but yet that guy is supposed to obey the law and your friend isn't??? wtf????"

He didn't say that the guy was driving in the right lane and is supposed to speed up.

And yes, the guy must yield to faster moving traffic, even if the speeder is breaking the law. It is each driver's responsibility to obey the laws pertaining to him, he can't enforce the laws. After all, it is the police's job to enforce the laws; other drivers are prohibited from enforcing laws. The most they are allowed to do is call the police.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: Number1


Now would a speeder on the phone be more dangerous then a non speeder on the phone? Show us the researsh.

No, the speeder on the phone is more dangerous than a non-speeder on the phone.

The phone use while driving is the main problem, which leads to inattentiveness. The speeding just compounds the problem.


My point is that phone use is worse than speeding. I never said that speeding in itself makes you drive more safely.

 

[Abel007]

It is a simple fact that lower speeds equals more time to react to something ahead of you.

A 55 MPH zone is there for other motorists and pedestrians alike. Generally 55 MPH zones have side roads galore and/or the occasional pedestrian crossing. Other speed limit zones are there for reason as well, possibly heavier pedestrian traffic or less therefore the speeds increase. Speeding has a huge factor in accidents if anyone wants to admit it or not. We all speed. We all take a risk. Such is life.

That is all.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: mariok2006
My friend just got a ticket for doing 85 in a 70 this weekend for being forced to pass on the right because d!ckheads are talking on their cellphone in the left lane.

that has got to be one of the dumbest statements ive ever read. your friend was FORCED to pass on the right because someone else was doing the speed limit. they call it a limit because its how fast they LIMIT you to driving. is that person on the cell phone supposed to speed up over the speed limit because your friend wants to go illegally faster? no one forced your friend to do 15 over, that was his/her own personal choice and they are going to pay the price for it. cant do the time, dont do the crime.

No, they are supposed to pull to the right lane. Most states have some variation of the "use left lane only for passing" law, too bad it is almost never enforced and most drivers are unaware of it. Depending on the state, even if the car coming from behind is speeding, you have a legal obligation to pull to the right lane.

when i was in traffic school (yes, for a speeding ticket camera, 54 in a 40, major intersection that has 6 lanes) the retired judge told us that speeding was a necessary evil that you may have to do to keep up with traffic so as to not make yourself a target for an accident. he also said that staying to the right for other people that were wanting to go faster wasnt necessarily a NEED to do thing. im not going to move just so some single asshat can go 15 mph faster than the rest of traffic when im already matching traffic flow at 10 or 12 over the limit. he said in that type of case you shouldnt have to move, because he was the hazard not you. i also told him i would give any cop that gave me a ticket for speeding to keep with the flow of traffic his name, and he said he was cool with that. ive taken traffic school 3 times in my 20 or so years of driving, and all three instructors said the same thing on the subject. the keep right applies to highways out of town here as far as i can tell, i havent seen any specification otherwise. so no, unless that cell phone user is going slower than the flow, i dont think he should have to move for your asshat friend that wants to speed.

Dude, where do you live that has an non-interstate with a 70mph speed limit?

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: Abel007
It is a simple fact that lower speeds equals more time to react to something ahead of you.

A 55 MPH zone is there for other motorists and pedestrians alike. Generally 55 MPH zones have side roads galore and/or the occasional pedestrian crossing. Other speed limit zones are there for reason as well, possibly heavier pedestrian traffic or less therefore the speeds increase. Speeding has a huge factor in accidents if anyone wants to admit it or not. We all speed. We all take a risk. Such is life.

That is all.

The 55 mph rule was enacted for fuel savings during the fuel crisis in the mid 70's. It did not begin as a safety issue. It morphed into a "safety" issue when they needed to justify keeping a 55 mph speed limit after the fuel crisis ended.