Ace? Oh, right, Ace.

I'm not sure what you're advocating as the solution. Surely raising the speed limits will NOT change this. Does it make sense to raise the speed limit and THEN enforce it? Why not just enforce it now? It's not like people have some predetermined speed they feel they need to be driving, it's just that the people that go 5-10 miles over the speed limit simply will. It's allowed, they'll do it. It's not a matter of what the actual limit is.

Uh, every time you raise the speed limits, people drive faster, how's that going to help any?

Faith, Chris--

Actually, yes, that's exactly what I am advocating.

You see, out in the real world, most drivers don't drive faster than the speed limit because of some need to break the rules-- they drive faster because there is a flow of traffic to maintain, and a "comfort level" of driving.

For example, out on the Autobahn, not everyone goes 200 kph just because they can. They drive as fast as they feel comfortable doing.

On any American highway, the same dynamic is at work-- some people go 60 mph, some go 65, others go 75, and very few go 90+. All of them are breaking the law, but for a variety of reasons (fear of a ticket, or fear of controlling their vehicle at speed) they choose the speed most comfortable for them.

Given that the modern motor vehicle is safe and easy to drive at 65-70 mph, and American highways are built for those speeds (and higher), the prohibition for 55 mph is based solely on bad science and bad politics, and does not reflect reality.

So, yes, my solution is to raise the speed limits to 65, or even 75. And then enforce *that* speed with the full force of the law, instead of allowing the "speed cushion", which BTW is there precisely because even the cops know it's stupid to go 55 mph.

And, at the same time, I'd increase driving test standards to include more driver safety instruction, teaching real-world driving skills out on a skid & speed track, instead of just teaching how to park on a hill.

And then I'd increase the penalties for reckless driving-- illegal merging, failure to use turn signals, tailgating, etc., which all cause many more accidents than mere speed.

As the man says, bad drivers = unsafe at any speed.

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

The idea that speed = death is a myth

I don't speed, but then, I don't live in any state that still uses 55 mph limits. The limits around here on the interstates are 65-70 mph...

...BUT, lots of people do not obey those limits and drive even faster. I don't mind that; it's their choice and I stay in the right lane when I can to keep out of the way. However, if you raise the limit to 80, or 90, or 100, you're going to get drivers "fudging" the set limit with this belief that the cops will give them a pass if they stay within this 10 mph factor. So, if you want most people to actually drive 70 mph, the set limit on the road should be 60...which mainly just ends up penalizing the people (like me) who have a little more respect for driving laws. In other words, if you're going to HAVE a limit, it should be duly enforced. If you're not going to enforce it, then don't have it.

What really bothers me though, is when the speed limit lowers to around 50-60 in the more crowded, curvy highway areas and these bozos continue on their way at over 70. That is both dangerous and stupid. If someone wants to off themselves in a car wreck I couldn't care less, but when traffic is heavier you're required to consider the safety of everyone you're sharing the road with.

If the police are honestly concerned about drivers' safety, they'd be concentrating their efforts on urban areas where the potential for injury increases exponentially and not worry so much about the long stretches of interstate where it's much harder to wreck at any speed.

Later,
bbeck

On the interstate near me, the center-right lane has virtually become the new 'left' lane, or passing lane.

Frequently it is the fastest lane of traffic because of the jerks doing the speed limit in the left lane. Yes, I know what they are doing is legal. But it is also assholery.

I drive a smaller highway on my daily commute too, a two-laner, and if you do less than 75, you get over to the right or the traffic behind you will practically try to push you off the road.

Speed doesn't bother me; what ticks me off is the compulsive lane-switchers.

Back, forth, dart, zip, take chances with other people's lives. To gain two positions in fast traffic. Stupid.

"Authorities patrolling U.S. highways tend to give motorists a cushion of up to 10 miles per hour above the speed limit before pulling them over, says a survey by a group of state traffic safety officials."

And this is news to them? My dad told me this in the Fifties, later confirmed (70's-90's) by some cops and troopers I met in social circumstances. They know the more rational speed limits (which actually are the norm, believe it or not!) are meant to be top safe speed in average weather (around here, muggy to soggy), lighting (overcast: sun just rising or setting during commuting) and so on, for the average 70-year-old (I'm 60...) driver.

And no, changing the limit is not the answer. The double-nickel was always foolish to apply to, say, rural Kansas Interstate and, for quite different reasons, to Route 3 in metropolitan Boston. But changing the limit "to what people actually do" would lose that buffer of letting the cop to decide if the thirty-five-year-old driving straight as an arrow in flight can be let go but maybe the sixteen-year-old weaving from lane to lane should be at least warned.