I agree with Clarkson. It really doesn’t matter how fast you’re going if you know what you’re doing. Traffic accidents are often blamed on excessive speed, but usually accidents happen because people aren’t paying attention, are lousy drivers, or both.

I agree. I don’t feel that speed is necessarily the problem. I’ve seen plenty of people driving slowly doing things that are jaw-droppingly stupid or dangerous.

I agree 100%. I tend to drive “fast” often, but I always drive safe. I’ve seen enough stupid moves on the road to question how some of these drivers even passed the exam. Driving is a privilage, not a right, and its everyones responsibility to drive safe at all speeds.

James
http://www.CarTV.com

people need to take it on the track….or just leave 15 minutes early.

I read a great article somewhere, maybe msn.uk, but it is speeding that kills. But going 100mph can be safe. Accidents happen when you go too fast for conditions. I can safely go 100-120mph on a highway that is strait for miles when there is no traffic. It is not a problem and should be allowed. But doing the same in a snowstorm or in heavy traffic is unsafe and stupid. That is when accidents occur, when people go too fast for road conditions or skill level. To me, someone going 120mph on a vacant highway should not be penalize, but someone weaving in traffic at 45mph should.

Unfortunately, in the US getting a drivers license is so easy that the road has to be dumbed down. Write your government representatives and demand a change (fat chance). Until then follow the posted limit or risk paying the man.

I dont understand why a 4 lane highway still has a speed limit. People also tend to forget that the left lane is a passing lane and drive very slowly. I drive “fast” but drive safe for the conditions. If its a 4 lane highway and empty then going fast really doesnt matter.

American drivers are some of the worst in the world. They dont pay attention, small women drive gigantic SUVs, they talk on the cellphone more than pay attention to the road, and dont obey speed limits(i cant believe anyone would go SLOWER than the speed limit). In the US we have the biggest engines in the world, but we cant use them because some fatass, doughnut eating lazy monkey of a cop is there to bust you. Maybe instead of pulling over granny for driving 5 over they should instead go down to Detroit and solve the crime problem? No, thats too hard, its just so easy to pull over granny.

Cops should pull over the dangerous drivers. People that drive slow in the passing lane are a hazard. People behind then get angry. Its not like these people are even passing anybody. I would understand if they passed a car and then moved over to the right lane, but they dont.

I try to drive like they would in Germany(where i believe is the best driving having been there). I go fast, move over for someone going faster, and dont go fast if the conditions dont allow it.

I agree with Clarkson 100%. I hate slow driving, and i love speed. We shouldnt be fighting speeders, we should be fighting bad drivers.

I remember for a while Montana had a ‘No Daytime Speed Limit’ law for automobiles (not trucks or combination of vehicles). It was eventually ended because, if memory serves, the Feds threattened to take away highway funding.
I also remember reading that as the speed limits where I live have increased slightly over the last few years that traffic fatalities have actually decreased.
We have what is call the ‘basic rule’ which is to ‘drive in a manner and at at speed which is safe and prudent at all times.’ funny how the ’safe and prudent is always less than the posted speed and never higher.
Gotta pay Johnny Laws benefits ya know.

this is one article in LLN that has everyone on the same page i suppose..
but basically it’s what fatstrat has said.. money is what it’s about.

When I sarted my driving “career” I remember my older brother telling me, “Drive smart”. Still works today.

exactly. rules should also change for newer cars or different types. if you have a sports car, you should be able to glide past 80 no problem without repercussions. if you have an explorer on the other hand, your rules should be much stricter than those of others. ive seen TWO lotus elise’s pulled over in the last few months for what im sure was speeding. but what were the odds that the guy behind the wheel of an enthusiasts car was going to crash for going too fast? pretty slim. the speed limits here are 65 and i, or most people with a newer car for that matter, are able to take the onramps alone at that speed. Understand your car’s understeer, oversteer, power numbers, etc. if youre old, or one of most women, ****ty for you – learn how to drive. and good luck REDUCING the speed limits anytime soon.. drivers will revolt. Im just glad we arent in england, and hopefully never will be. its all about the money. raise my taxes 100 dollars a year and get rid of the speed limits. its worth the 100 bucks. certainly cheaper than a couple days at the track.

Well AuDub,
If the greenies are being consistant they will be for lower speed limits as it is typically more fuel efficient.
I suppose in the US I would be for unlimited speeds on special fee based roads. Right now there is so much badly driven slow and unpredictable junk out there that higher speeds would probably result in carnage. I suppose better educated and more frequently tested drivers might be the answer to this.

i wouldnt mind paying a couple bucks to use a limitless freeway.

65mph on a highway is ridiculous- it worked back in the 60s when cars were the size of boats, but nowadays any Camry/Accord can pull 85mph easy. Our government needs to adjust their laws because it gives room for cops to abuse authority and that in itself should be illegal. Lets face it, when was the last time you took a I-95 or the likes and did 65mph? People should follow traffic, in fact it’s MORE dangerous to drive slow when everyone is doing 85.

Just raise the limit to 85 and lets get it with the program. It would help the traffic flow and prevent people from breaking everytime they think they see a cop, which can also cause accidents.

^bingo bango

In holland recently they introduced an 80km/h (used to be 100) speedlimit around some cites. the government said it did this in order to reduce emisions. After six months they tested the air quality and it was worse than when the speedlimit was a 100. But they still havent changes it back.

rat,
The Montana law got struck down in court because “reasonable and prudent” was too subjective to be considered a legal term.
Funny that in Germany, on the unrestricted sections of Autobahn, the death rates are actually lower than in the US.
The whole speed thing is a real pet peeve with me. What causes accidents is
a. tailgating,
b. running lights,
c. going too fast for conditions (NOT the same as speeding) and, the biggest,
d. idiots just not paying attention and having lousy skills.

I’d like to take an informal poll here. Has ANYONE ever gotten, or know anyone that has gotten a ticket for Tailgating?

I know 1 person who got a ticket for following too close… and it was in Clemson, SC where the cops get real bored. Furthermore, the guy he was following was his friend, and there was nobody else on the road, so even that one was b.s.

Let me just say the whole “lower speed limit = efficiency” argument is complete bunk. I once went, let’s say, well over the speed limit in the southern states for a good stretch during a road trip, and I didn’t have to fill up more often. My car also has a MPG-o-meter needle and it was steady at about 25, which is only three MPG lower than my cars highway EPA rating. Sometimes it went up to 30 or 35. Why? Not because of slowing down. Because of throttle input. You can be flying down a highway and barely giving a car any gas because with momentum it doesn’t take much to keep the car moving. That way the revs stay lower and you burn less. I think I got about 28 MPG on that trip from my trip computer even though I did 90 most of the way (oops, I said it). Tailgating, however, is actually a waste of fuel. People ride the brakes and then speed up full throttle when the gap opens. Maybe these idiots think they are drafting like in NASCAR and are riding in the slipstream. Who knows. All I know is these three words: drive the conditions.

Also I would be all for limitless TOLL ROADS or maybe “delimited” roads that are limited, meaning that you have to acquire a special license in order to use them. Most of the drivers in the US are too dumb to deserve an “American Autobahn.”

Oh, the roadtrip in the south above was on roads with barely any traffic, definitely not during rushhour. I just wanted to clarify that so as not to sound terribly unsafe and reckless.

And I signaled every time I changed lanes. (I’m feeling quite guilty now; I must explain myself.)

Cops here are currently testing a new laser/radar made specially to measure and record/ticket tailgators.
Norby, I am sure that was an important aspect of the reason, but I am also pretty sure federal funding was part of the consideration.

I concur.

once again, i must state:
it’s all about the money.. they won’t up the speed limit or change other things, EVEN THOUGH it’s for the better in every perspective, because that’d most likely mean less revenue from giving out tickets and etc.

AuDub-

You’re right in most cases, but if that attitude prevailed, we would still have a 55 mph nationwide speed limit here in the United States. Fortunately, a small group of motorists got together and organized a movement almost 25 years ago that eventually got the 55 mph national maximum speed limit repealed in 1995. The group didn’t believe the the downbeat assessment of the situtaiton coming from even the enthusiast press.

The group is the National Motorists Association, and without them, 55 mph would undoubtedly have remained the law of the land. Instead, 31 states have 70 mph or better speed limits on their interstates. Twelve states are posting 75 mph limits and Texas has posted an 80 mph speed limit on about 500 miles of its interstate highways.

Motorists are going to face challenges from many different directions, however, we should work to ensure that the driving environment doesn’t get significantly worse.

Repeal of the 55 mph speed limit and the occasional defeat of photo enforcement in a state legislature is an indication that we should fight, not give up.

In the meantime, the NMA needs your help. Contact http://www.motorists.org for more information.

Here in Canada the speed limit is even lower than in the U.S. a non-primary highway is 100 km/h or (62 mph) and a primary highway is 110 Km/h (68 mph) on the roads marked 110 (reffering to the trans canada) the average family car is doing 145 km/h in the right hand lane, even the semi’s do at least 130, the fast moving cars travel at about 160 km/h (100 mph) you won’t get a ticket until about 145 or over. I believe that this consumes less gas not more, accelerating is the hardest on fuel consumption, so if you can keep a constant speed and not have to overtake anyone because they are all travelling at the speed the limit ought to be. I know people who have done top speed testing of about 160 mph and no one has a real problem with it. roads in the city is where the accidents happen and that is because of inattentive drivers clogging the roads driving while eating, talking on the phone, putting on make-up etc. that is what tickets should be given out for. not speeding.

Oz is the same. 100kph on highways, 110 on some open highways and freeways (depends on what state you’re in as well). And yes, the semi’s never stick to it, even though speed limiting devices are supposed to be fitted to them.

I heard years ago about a principle called the 85th percentile rule. Basically If you monitor a stretch of road – regardless of speed limit – 85 percent of all cars will drive by at a similar speed. Say for example a highway with a 100kph limit. You would probably find that without fear of being penalised, 85 percent of drivers would travel at between 120 and 140kph. It could be said, then, that since the majority of ‘reasonable’ people felt safe to travel at that speed, and if there was no increase in traffic incidents, that 120 or 140 would be a legitimate speed limit on that road.

Where I do support lower speed limits is in residential areas. Wherever there are pedestrians, we need to look out for them (because half the time they don’t look out for themselves!)

well of course.. i never said anything about GIVING up anything like that.. (although i don’t know what we’re GIVING UP) but leaving comments here in anger sure won’t solve much…

About what Jeremy said regarding the necessity to speed. My friend was being chased by 5 cops as he was blasting down roads at upto 170mph. If he hadn’t, the friend in his car with stab wounds would have died, according to the doctor at the hospital… He drove less like a lunatic and more like a desperate friend.

He saved his friend’s life. The cops let him go.

Why? Because he was in a European country not named for legal reasons, and not in the UK where he would have been obliterated legally.

Remember the ambulance driver fined and given points on his license for exceeding 30mph when delivering emergency organs? The UK sucks like that.

a special license would be sweet for limitless roads. How about we change all the US limits to KPH and confuse all the bonehead cops?