Speed Limits - Do We Need Them? Posted: 01-06-08 14:52pm
I'm just wondering if speed limits are
really necessary - do they really help
save lives? Do they help do anything
beneficial, really? Or are they just there
so the donut dunkers can catch drunk
drivers more easily? Are they there to
allow people more time in the event there
is a crash? As in, more time between the
moment the crash occurs and the moment
their vehicle makes contact.
Personally, I feel speed limits are rather
pointless because people will always
speed, whether it's 2 miles over the limit
or 30. Most people are smart enough to
slow down when they see a police criuser
or one of those speed strips, so most
speeders do not get punished to begin
with. Why make speeding illegal?
Some European countries have no speed
limit - Germany comes to mind. Germany
does not have little signs every few yards
reminding drivers how fast they are
allowed to drive...and yet, Germany has
far fewer automobile-related fatalities
annually than the United states.
An international statistic I read (will
provide the link if anyone wishes to see
it) stated that, in 1997, Germany recorded
7,792 car-related fatalities. In that same
year, the United States recorded 41,967
car-related deaths...yet, we are the ones
who shove the speed limit down everyone's
throats. Other things may factor into
Germany's number (minimum legal driving
age, number of drunk drivers involved in
the fatal cases, etc.), but
regardless...how is it that a country with
no speed limit has almost 80 percent fewer
cases of automobile-related fatalities
than a country where people can be fined
and arrested for going too fast?
Do you think there would be more or fewer
fatalities on the road if America were to
throw speed limits to the wind? Thoughts?
|
Tmddyan
Supporter
Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Posts: 4346 Location: post falls, id usa
Thanks: 93
Thanked:63
Posted: 01-06-08 16:23pm
i think that speedlimits are good and
necessary---they are there for our
saftey--I could ask ---do we really need
stop lights and signs? heck do we really
need driving rules at all--why bother
having a liscense to drive?
|
mominashoe
Supporter
Joined: 04 Dec 2007 Posts: 1687 Location: , KS USA
Thanks: 31
Thanked:15
Posted: 01-06-08 16:54pm
I went to Germany about 10 years ago. The
roads are narrower than they are here and
I was afraid for my life the way the
cabbies drove. And yet, my husband and I
noticed that there was hardly a dent on
any car anywhere. Everyone had nice,
unbattered cars.
Imagine if you tried to cross a street
where the speed limit used to be 20 and
some fool is late and there is no longer a
speed limit and he's going 80? How'd you
feel after that thing hit you?
You can't make a stereotype of officers
and call them "donut dunkers". If there
was no law enforcement, people wouldn't
slow down when they were going to fast and
there would be more wrecks. What's wrong
with a cop sitting on the side of the road
(eating his lunch because he's human) and
watching his radar for a drunken driver
who is putting other people's lives in
danger? So what if he has a donut while
he watches for druggies and marked cars?
He's not driving like an fool with a
cellphone in his hand and his coffee in
the other while he speeds 10 miles over
the limit so he can get to work on time
because he wasn't responsible.
I don't think that a speed limit is the
problem. I think it helps!! It's the
people who are disobeying that cause the
crashes, just because they are going
faster. Most people actually do the speed
limit or less than 5 above. You can get
into trouble for going below the minimum
too. It causes road rage because people
need to get where they are going and if
you are heading around a bend, you can hit
someone who is going 15 in a 50 mph zone.
Can you imagine the situation if people
did whatever they wanted? People weaving
in and out of other cars going 60 mph at
90 mph?? The faster you go, the faster
you die.....the further you get flung out
the windshield.
People in Europe are not like Americans.
We have illegal immigrants with no
license, people who are too young to drive
with no license, we eat in the car, use
the cellphone in the car, are always in a
rushed state and prone to a bunch or road
rage, (Europeans are MUCH more laid back),
drunk drivers, drug addicts, etc.
Americans are well too focused on
entertainment to be as responsible as they
should be and taking away some rules can
have drastic effects.
The problem is with the people, not with
the laws.
|
sillyakchick
Moderator
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2690
Thanks: 5
Thanked:0
Posted: 01-06-08 16:55pm
You know what irks me the most? I don't
know if they do this a lot where you all
live, but the speed cameras make me so
mad. Thay park near school zones every
day and photograph people who go 7 miles
over the limit. I think they would better
be served with a real patrol car. What's
the camera going to do if soembody runs
over a kid? Nothing. All they do is
generate money for the PD and do nothing
to stop real problems. IMO
|
Tmddyan
Supporter
Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Posts: 4346 Location: post falls, id usa
Thanks: 93
Thanked:63
Posted: 01-06-08 16:58pm
yeah but how would you feel if your kid
got hit by someone going 37? i think that
you would be thankful that he was there
|
sillyakchick
Moderator
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2690
Thanks: 5
Thanked:0
Posted: 01-06-08 17:04pm
That's what I'm saying. They just have a
van with a camera-no cop to see if
soemthing is really happening. that's
what bugs me. A speed camera is not going
to chase after someone who hits and runs a
child walking home from school. they are
just there to take photos.
|
Tmddyan
Supporter
Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Posts: 4346 Location: post falls, id usa
Thanks: 93
Thanked:63
Posted: 01-06-08 17:07pm
oh i see---i thought you meant the cop
himself. yeah i dont think that they
should do that in a school zone--at a stop
light perhaps but not when the saftey of
children is concerned
|
Tylanas
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Posts: 12985
Thanks: 3
Thanked:0
Posted: 01-06-08 20:01pm
Yes, speed limits are necessary. I would
refuse to live in a country with no speed
limits. You children would not be safe in
your neighborhoods; they'd never be able
to cross a street on their own. I wouldn't
allow them to, anyway - knowing that at
any moment someone could come down the
street so fast my child wouldn't have time
to react.
Speed limits are fundamental aspects of
safety in residential and commercial
areas. A highway? No, they aren't
necessary.
I lived in Germany too, and yes I've been
on the autoban. It is a fantastic highway;
but the driving rules in Germany are far
stricter than they are here. And guess
what? Sections of the autoban DO HAVE
SPEED LIMITS. Any time the highway goes
through a town or city, guess what? You're
down to 30-50 mph. Even they understand
that you cannot have drivers barreling
through populated areas.
Do people speed? Yes. But MOST people
don't speed beyond 10-20 miles over the
speed limit, so their speed is STILL being
controlled. If it's a 30 mph zone, they
may be going 40 or even 50. That's better
than 80, don't you think?
|
Roberta777
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 07 Jun 2007 Posts: 746 Location: ,
Thanks: 108
Thanked:240
I Live And Drive In California Posted: 01-06-08 20:59pm
And, as such, speed limits help protect me
and others who are travelling on our
roads. We all know you can push it up a
little bit. Just don't get carried away.
Or, you are bound to get caught one way or
another.
It is called civilization. We live by the
rules. Like it or not. We don't make up
the rules, but rules are made so that we
can somehow co-exist with them. If we all
could just decide that speed limits do not
exist for us, then we would have mayhem.
|
Birch
Supporter
Joined: 07 Nov 2005 Posts: 3962 Location: Bliss,
Thanks: 126
Thanked:12
Posted: 01-06-08 22:21pm
sillyakchick
wrote:
You know what irks me the
most? I don't know if they do this a lot
where you all live, but the speed cameras
make me so mad. Thay park near school
zones every day and photograph people who
go 7 miles over the limit. I think they
would better be served with a real patrol
car. What's the camera going to do if
soembody runs over a kid? Nothing. All
they do is generate money for the PD and
do nothing to stop real problems.
IMO
There is a special spray you can purchase
that makes your plates reflective and
unable to be photographed. It's a
little too big brother to me.
Cambion, I think speed limits exist
because people cannot be counted on to use
common sense and intelligence. Look at
people. Morons are out there, operating
two ton vehicles going sixty miles an
hour.
Germany may have less accidents per year
because there are less drivers/cars on the
road. Just a guess.
Roberta777
wrote:
We don't make up the rules,
but rules are made so that we can somehow
co-exist with
them.
We do make up the rules,
Roberta. It's not like some higher power
lifts a finger and decides you can only go
10 in a school zone.
|
Tylanas
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Posts: 12985
Thanks: 3
Thanked:0
Posted: 01-06-08 22:22pm
Germany has fewer crashes per year because
their drivers are taught better and you
don't get a license if you suck.
|
kaerbear
Most Diplomatic Poster
Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: ,
Posted: 01-06-08 22:34pm
Eiri
wrote:
Germany has fewer crashes
per year because their drivers are taught
better and you don't get a license if you
suck.
also, they have a recommended speed of 130
kph and are working on having a speed
limit. the autobahns in austria and
switzerland already have limits. they may
not have more accidents because the rules
for licensing and insurance are way more
strict and the roads are very well kept;
but the accidents that do happen are
pretty much the end of anyone involved.
they aren't just fender benders, more like
12 car pile ups. there are actually
sculptures on the sides of the highway
made out of car wrecks to memorialize them
and remind people to slow down.
i like speed limits. i need some
protection from the morons who think they
are stronger than a 3000 lb hunk of steel.
a car doesn't care if you are innocent or
guilty or have any respect for the fact
that your bones go inside your skin, not
out. a car doesn't care that my baby is
riding in my back seat. that's why people
have to care and that's why we have speed
limits.
|
Sandbox Party
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 7276
Posted: 01-07-08 00:46am
i think if the laws here were more zero
tolerance in cases like DUI and wreckless
driving there would be fewer fatalities..
as well as bumping the drinking age up to
25 and the driving age to 18 or 21.
|
Cambion
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 748
Thanks: 3
Thanked:0
Posted: 01-07-08 05:11am
Clearly a whole bunch of people must have
been driving like hellspawn on crack since
America raised highway/interstate speed
limits by 10 miles (went from 55mph to 65
mph a few years back).
Zero tolerance may work...but considering
how many people get
cited/fined/arrested/jailed annually for
reckless driving and DUIs, it might get to
a point where more people are in prison
than not. This would mean a raise in taxes
and no raise in income to support the
people who are serving time in prison
(complete with a gym, cable television and
game rooms) for being reckless - so I
tihnk more people may be hurt than may
benefit from zero tolerance laws on DUIs.
If speeding is such a bloody issue, why
not start designing vehicles that don't go
faster than the speed limit? And that's
another thing I never understood - if, in
America, people can't drive faster than 65
miles per hour legally, then why the hell
do we make cars that can go as fast as 140
miles per hour? Why not make it so the
fastest a car can go is 70 mph? Perhaps
the reason this is not done is because it
would take too much money and effort to
recall the cars that have the ability to
go super fast, and the pigs - I mean
officers wouldn't have as much to do with
their time if they didn't have to be
bothered pulling people over for going 0.5
mph over the speed limit.
So, next question: What problem would
there be in fixing the cars to only go
about 65-70 mph? That way, the speed limit
would be the limit of all vehicles by
design, we could do away with speed limits
and people could have the joy of knowing
they've got the gas pedal to the floor
without actually driving like a bat out of
hell.
|
kaerbear
Most Diplomatic Poster
Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: ,
Posted: 01-07-08 06:10am
So, next question: What problem would
there be in fixing the cars to only go
about 65-70 mph?
ask the car industry lobbyists. they have
a lot more money to throw around
washington than you do i suspect. it's a
good idea. it's better for the
envinronment. but it doesn't look as well
on a car commercial for the 20 year old
boy or the 40 year old midlife crisis
looking for a penis extension.
"zoomzoomzoom!!"
|
sillyakchick
Moderator
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2690
Thanks: 5
Thanked:0
Posted: 01-07-08 08:57am
Birch
wrote:
There is a special spray you can purchase
that makes your plates reflective and
unable to be photographed. It's a
little too big brother to me.
A friend of mine got a license plate cover
that does that. She got pulled over and
they demanded she surrender it to them.
She said "No, I'm going to take it back to
the store and get my money back". They
threatened to arrest her, brought in
back-up, etc. because of a license plate
cover.
Meanwhile my neighbors down the street are
cooking meth in their house and I can't
get the police to do anything about it.
|
Tmddyan
Supporter
Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Posts: 4346 Location: post falls, id usa
Thanks: 93
Thanked:63
Posted: 01-07-08 15:51pm
at least pain isnt detectable to the
eye--id go that way
|
Roberta777
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 07 Jun 2007 Posts: 746 Location: ,
Thanks: 108
Thanked:240
Birch Posted: 01-07-08 16:21pm
Actually, you can drive 25 miles an hour
in a school zone here in California. Just
better be sure that the pedestrians are
completely onto the other side of the road
before you proceed.
In saying "we" don't make up the rules, I
am speaking metaphorically. Obviously,
there are people in Congress, the Senate,
people who decide the rules of the road
and how fast we can travel on them. I am
not one of them.
There are things beside speed to be
concerned with. The drunk driver who ran
over my son who was on his bicycle,
breaking his back and putting him in a
body cast for two years, was only
travelling at 50 mph. Still, he blamed my
son for being there in the first place.
That guy had 7 prior convictions but was
driving anyway. He went to prison for
three years. Now my son lives with pain
in his back every day of his life.
|
Lilly Ivy
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 1527 Location: Moorefield, WV
Thanks: 46
Thanked:80
online
Posted: 01-07-08 17:53pm
In my opinion, they are there so people
can push there luck and try to beat the
system. If we have no limit, then we
really can't make anyone nervous/mad so
there's no need to shield us.
One thing I REALLY hate about speed limit
is the freeways where there are 20
different speed limits; one for cars, one
for trucks, one for nighttime, one for
cars with more than 2 people in them.
There is NO sense in reducing the speed
limit for truckers because people like to
cut them off, because face it, you don't
want to be stuck behind one because they
go to slow... oh wait, the CAN"T go
faster, it's against the law!!! Although
most big rig accidents are on turns, it
still makes no sense to have different
speed limits on the same road. If there
was no speed limit and 4 lanes on each
side, people wouldn't be so stressed about
someone going too slow or too fast because
there would be no such thing!
|
AyaMiyaki
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 8242 Location: Floating on a cloud, United States
Thanks: 168
Thanked:14
Posted: 01-07-08 18:17pm
I don't think the problem is the speed
limits, but rather the lack of enforcement
OF the limits. I can count on one hand the
number of police I've seen monitoring
streets and highways in the last 6
months... and three of those were all at
street corners checking inspection
stickers.
It's a
little too big brother to me.
Meanwhile my neighbors down the street are
cooking meth in their house and I can't
get the police to do anything about it.
