woodrrow
Registered
S4L, your right about the speeding and killing article. If you stop and think about it, they have signs posted in a 55mph zone, which is highway/interstate that say "speed kills, obey the sign or pay the fine!" in big orange letters. So speeding over 55mph kills...
Another spot might be a 45mph speed limit with same sign, speed kills!
Another spot might have a 65mph speed limit with, again, speed kills!
So, speeding in a 45mph kills, so going 55mph is speeding. But going 55mph doesnt kill in other places. Same with 65mph and 75mph.
I realize that going 65 in a 45 residential or commercial area is dangerous, and for that reason the speed limit should be obeyed in these places. My biggest gripe is interstate and highways, where the surrounding circumstances don't really change, but the speed limits do. This is what most people call "speed traps" because it is just that. A trap.
Wiki national speed law
The National Maximum Speed Law in the United States was a provision of the 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act that prohibited speed limits higher than 55 mph (90 km/h). This law was modified in 1987 to allow 65 mph (105 km/h) limits on certain roads.
The law was widely disregarded by motorists. Most states subversively opposed the law, ranging from proposing deals for exemption from it to minimizing speeding penalties.
This cap was intended to reduce gasoline consumption by 2.2% in response to the 1973 oil crisis. However, net fuel savings were calculated by the United States Department of Transportation at 1%, and independent studies found savings as low as half of one percent.
In 1995, the law was repealed, returning the power of setting speed limits to the states.
Based on money & oil, not safety..
Another point to make is if low speed limits are for the safety of the people, then why is it left up to state and local governments to decide how fast/slow is safe in their state? If you break it down to a much smaller scale it is men & women deciding how fast they think is safe for their taxpayers. Where is the constant?
I might be painting it a little black and white with no gray area, but I think you get the idea.
Again, I'm not a speed demon that pisses people off on the road. I've had a lot of people tell me, even when I've been going 15-20-30mph over the speed limit on highways and interstate, that they're glad I'm not one of those 'a-hole' riders getting on everyones ass and splitting lanes. When I come up on cars I slow it down a little and then hit it again when the coast is clear.
One more important thing to point out about zooming past slow pokers and grannies on the road:
Them reacting scared and accidentally jerking into you is not the only thing to look out for. What if they jerk the other way and hit a pole at at 55mph? Or off into a ditch? Or into another car? Or into a runner or cyclist on the side of the road that you didnt see? I know people my age, mid 20's to mid 30's, who always go 5-10 over, but still don't know how to react to motorcycles. When one flies past you at triple digit speeds and you're going 60 it can be scary to some people because they don't realize what's happened. A friend of mine had a group of bikes come up behind him on interstate and one of them got right on his ass where the bike was about 2 feet from his bumper. My friend didn't know what to do except start easing over into the emergency lane where there was a lot of trash from a previous wreck. The left lane was clear. He thought the bike was going to hit him. Point of story is that some people don't know how to react to fast bikes. So speed SAFELY !
Another spot might be a 45mph speed limit with same sign, speed kills!
Another spot might have a 65mph speed limit with, again, speed kills!
So, speeding in a 45mph kills, so going 55mph is speeding. But going 55mph doesnt kill in other places. Same with 65mph and 75mph.
I realize that going 65 in a 45 residential or commercial area is dangerous, and for that reason the speed limit should be obeyed in these places. My biggest gripe is interstate and highways, where the surrounding circumstances don't really change, but the speed limits do. This is what most people call "speed traps" because it is just that. A trap.
Wiki national speed law
The National Maximum Speed Law in the United States was a provision of the 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act that prohibited speed limits higher than 55 mph (90 km/h). This law was modified in 1987 to allow 65 mph (105 km/h) limits on certain roads.
The law was widely disregarded by motorists. Most states subversively opposed the law, ranging from proposing deals for exemption from it to minimizing speeding penalties.
This cap was intended to reduce gasoline consumption by 2.2% in response to the 1973 oil crisis. However, net fuel savings were calculated by the United States Department of Transportation at 1%, and independent studies found savings as low as half of one percent.
In 1995, the law was repealed, returning the power of setting speed limits to the states.
Based on money & oil, not safety..
Another point to make is if low speed limits are for the safety of the people, then why is it left up to state and local governments to decide how fast/slow is safe in their state? If you break it down to a much smaller scale it is men & women deciding how fast they think is safe for their taxpayers. Where is the constant?
I might be painting it a little black and white with no gray area, but I think you get the idea.
Again, I'm not a speed demon that pisses people off on the road. I've had a lot of people tell me, even when I've been going 15-20-30mph over the speed limit on highways and interstate, that they're glad I'm not one of those 'a-hole' riders getting on everyones ass and splitting lanes. When I come up on cars I slow it down a little and then hit it again when the coast is clear.
One more important thing to point out about zooming past slow pokers and grannies on the road:
Them reacting scared and accidentally jerking into you is not the only thing to look out for. What if they jerk the other way and hit a pole at at 55mph? Or off into a ditch? Or into another car? Or into a runner or cyclist on the side of the road that you didnt see? I know people my age, mid 20's to mid 30's, who always go 5-10 over, but still don't know how to react to motorcycles. When one flies past you at triple digit speeds and you're going 60 it can be scary to some people because they don't realize what's happened. A friend of mine had a group of bikes come up behind him on interstate and one of them got right on his ass where the bike was about 2 feet from his bumper. My friend didn't know what to do except start easing over into the emergency lane where there was a lot of trash from a previous wreck. The left lane was clear. He thought the bike was going to hit him. Point of story is that some people don't know how to react to fast bikes. So speed SAFELY !
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