I enjoyed reading this study. People are concerned about speeding and accidents that result from it. I especially find table 4-2 interesting when it asks what the speed limit should be. If you allowed people to rechoose what the speed limits were, they wouldn't be much higher than they are now. Just because people feel comfortable speeding doesn't mean they believe it's the right thing to do. They simply place their personal desires over the public good.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/aggressive/unsafe/att-beh/Chapt4.html
If we believe that breaking traffic laws were as serious as murders, then we would put more emphasis in stopping it entirely. We don't prosecute speeders because they did harm, but because of their potential for harm. That's not the same situation as any murder/robbery/violent crime... where we feel a duty to wipe out the crime if possible because every time it happens, someone is hurt. It's more of a regulatory thing where we expect some transgression of the laws, but simply want to keep the transgressions in check. To do that, random checking and ticketing serves it's purpose.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/aggressive/unsafe/att-beh/Chapt4.html
If we believe that breaking traffic laws were as serious as murders, then we would put more emphasis in stopping it entirely. We don't prosecute speeders because they did harm, but because of their potential for harm. That's not the same situation as any murder/robbery/violent crime... where we feel a duty to wipe out the crime if possible because every time it happens, someone is hurt. It's more of a regulatory thing where we expect some transgression of the laws, but simply want to keep the transgressions in check. To do that, random checking and ticketing serves it's purpose.
