are speed limits really necessary?

[Brian 1LE SS]

I have said this for a long time. Part of drivers education should be a few autox days. They would have fun and learn a lot.

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by Brian 1LE SS

I have said this for a long time. Part of drivers education should be a few autox days. They would have fun and learn a lot.

and driver's ed needs to be mandatory everywhere

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by firedrop

no amount of training will help someone that naturally sucks at driving.. it'd help the newbies that are unfamiliar to driving. i regularly drive 100+mph on the highway when it is safe to do so. (no other cars in-front of me, good road conditions) in fact, i feel safer driving at 70-85 when everyone else is going 55-70. not sure why, i just do. i make sure to not impede on anyone else while i'm driving. im courteous of others on the road while speeding(again, when it's safe to do so) been driving this way for many years now and never caused a collision.

And then consider how a country like Germany is conceptually different than the USA

Each State in the USA has a DOT. And they do their roads their way when they can get away with it, even if Fed money is used. And in the USA, you could drive over 3K miles just going east or west. You're driving through 10 or 12 different states with their own laws, their own road systems, their own maintenance or lack of it, etc

Look at SoCal. They crash in the rain. Partly becasue of oil rising to the road surface. Take a new England driver that doesn't have that worry back home and stick him in a San Diego rainstorm

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by Truck Norris

Did you members really watch my video before replying?

I cant believe that this is more about a city/township making revenue then keeping citizens safe. THAT'S ALL IT IS..WAKE UP

SERIOUSLY JUST WATCH IT and if you don't agree THEN respond.

You're taking a black and white approach. It's either all bad or all good. I wish it were that easy.

[camaro-dreamer]

Originally Posted by Aequitas & Veritas

Sure higher speed limits would be nice but wont happen anytime soon if at all here. More money for slower limits and the whole US licensing process is a joke.

I've been to Germany and their drivers test is super hard. The written/bubble in US test is like 30 minutes compared to the German test that is almost 2 hours. You have to know more and if you fail there is a longer period before you can retake it, compared to the US where you can fail and then take it again over and over. And in Germany your license doesn't get renewed by itself, you have to take the test again and prove you can still drive and know how to.

If we focused on driver training here first I could see higher limits on highways but technology has been the downfall to us. And it's not just kids texting and driving, I've seen old grandma's do it too. Also saw one lady cutting her hair while driving. People here don't see driving as anything important or life and death and will never treat it as such unless our training gets better.

But back to the higher limits, yeah those would be nice

To add to your statement, not only is getting a license in Germany harder, it is also substantially more expensive (potentially 1-2000 Euros). For most people, Fahrschule is required. The whole process can take months. Driving in Germany really is considered to be something earned and not just a privilege for turning 16.

Where I lived in Germany, unless I left the town, the speed limits were all under 80 kph and most were around 30 kph. When someone suggests that the vast majority of Germany has no speed limit, I think that he/she hasn't actually lived there.

[Rock36]

Originally Posted by camaro-dreamer

To add to your statement, not only is getting a license in Germany harder, it is also substantially more expensive (potentially 1-2000 Euros). For most people, Fahrschule is required. The whole process can take months. Driving in Germany really is considered to be something earned and not just a privilege for turning 16.

Where I lived in Germany, unless I left the town, the speed limits were all under 80 kph and most were around 30 kph. When someone suggests that the vast majority of Germany has no speed limit, I think that he/she hasn't actually lived there.

And driving age is also 18 here

Sometimes I think it was crazy that I had a permit at 15 which is completely unheard of here.

[The_Blur]

No, speed limits are not necessary.

Better enforcement of safe driving rules, not minor traffic violations, is necessary.

[CamaroSkooter]

Originally Posted by Truck Norris

Good watch

This video is so freaking awesome!!

For anyone that's wondering, the report/study mentioned in this video is put together by two PE's (Professional Engineers) and one EIT (Engineer-In-Training, which is what I currently am in Texas until I take the PE exam in April). We (engineers) are tested and reviewed extensively to prove that we are competent at our jobs PRIOR to being given a license to practice on our own. We don't give recommendations based on political opinions. We are ethically bound NOT TO.

So, Professional Engineers literally did all of the manual calculations to determine the "safe" speed for every road in that report, and the government COMPLETELY ignored the recommendations.

This is the NUMBER ONE reason that so many engineers leave roadway engineering jobs. Their recommendations fall completely on deaf government ears purely because it would adversely impact their revenue stream.

What's the point of all that testing and licensing if the government is going to turn around and ignore our results?!

[derklug]

My town was slapped with a suit because the speed limits didn't conform with the Michigan guidelines. Since then, all of the speed limits have been raised, traffic flow is better, and people don't speed as they are going at what feels like the "right" speed. You still get the speeders, but the speed differential is now much lower so accidents are easier to avoid.

[2010-1SS-IBM]

I'm glad someone made this thread, as I was just thinking about this the other day. The most dangerous situations you see any more are people driving well below the flow of traffic and causing an obstruction.

Also the ridiculously low speed limits, along with traffic lights at every intersection, are adding massive amounts of time to every commute. I wish city and state governments would review their policies and update their road systems to allow better traffic flow, because better flow of traffic is better road safety.

[Angrybird 12]

People are in too much of a hurry, you remove speed limits then you open up a whole new set of problems. Hell people can't even use good judgement when merging or changing lanes you expect them to drive a a reasonable and safe speed then your living in a dream world.

[Spartan01]

Anybody remember those old Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 commercial?
Where the cop is sitting at the side of the road, a Lamborghini pulls up at the speed limit sign, which says 65MPH. The passenger jumps out and spray paints a "1' in front of the 65, then hops back in the Lamborghini which then takes off?
Pure Awesomeness!

[Spartan01]

A critical factor in determining speed limits is the relatively safe speed at which tractor trailers can operate and corner. These are cumbersome, multi-axle, 40 ton behemoths.
As a student of physics, I have often noticed that while going through a turn/curve, a decent sports car with a skilled driver can easily (theoretically, I would never actually do anything illegal) negotiate the curve/turn at roughly twice the posted limit. Thsi si of course dependent on outside factors, such as surface composition, temperatur, superelevation, suspension, entering speed, front or rear whell drive, and front/rear/mid engine.

So, yes, to answer the question, we do in fact need speed limits, but they should only apply to dumb people, people with the reflexes of a tree sloth, and tractor trailers.

[CamaroSkooter]

Originally Posted by Angrybird 12

People are in too much of a hurry, you remove speed limits then you open up a whole new set of problems. Hell people can't even use good judgement when merging or changing lanes you expect them to drive a a reasonable and safe speed then your living in a dream world.

And that's exactly the reason I believe the United States should make driver's education a little more comprehensive as well as making the driving tests required to obtain a driver's license a little more difficult. I also think testing should be required periodically (say, every 4 years) to prove that you have still retained the required knowledge to operate a motor vehicle safely on a public roadway.

You simply cannot design a roadway for the stupidity of people. Because no matter how idiot-proof you make something, an even bigger idiot will come along and prove you wrong.

Roadways should continue to be designed for the expected intelligence of a competent driver, and let natural selection take care of the idiots.