Speed by itself does not kill.

It all starts with an educated driver 18+ of age who passed some serious driving theory & practice tests; who drives safe ( keep safe distance, obey traffic rules, slow traffic keeps always right, only pass on the left, use turn signals to change lanes, slows down & keeps a longer distance in inclement weather, … ) and a safe vehicle (well maintained + inspected, with good lights in front, good lights in the back + rear fog light for inclement weather).

If you notice one thing about driving on the autobahn in Germany it is discipline! There is zero tolerance for aggressive and unsafe driving. When there is a speed limit on the autobahn, even the richest with the most expensive cars obey. Because driving is a privilege. And the only way the autobahn stays the autobahn with a good safety record is by driving safe and disciplined.

In contrast, in the US driver’s licenses are almost handed out like candy. Kids 16y old who cannot vote or have a even a light alcohol beverage; get behind the wheel without proper education & testing. Everybody drives where they want, without even a quarter of safe distance, passing others left and right through whichever lane suits them, forget turn signals, etc. Because they think they have the right to drive faster and do as they please. What they forget is that this attitude causes most of the accidents and keeps the speed limits locked in where they are at. They can’t raise it because there are too many accidents already. Only when everybody drives safer the public can be trusted with a raised speed limit.

Unfortunately enough. I drive often cross country in the US and I really would love to move along on a few open stretches as allowed on the autobahn. You fall asleep behind the wheel at 65 mph when you’re in for 1500 – 2500 miles. In many areas it would be very safe to drive 100 mph and make some good time … if everybody else were to practice safe driving.

Except something concerning gas mileage and higher speeds. True, you will burn more gas if you engine has to rotate at a higher rpm. Compare the 3-speed and four-speeds of the 70′s and the 5-speeds of the 80′s to today’s modern six-speed transmissions and 5-6-7 speed automatics. 7-speed manuals may show up soon in a few cars. How about CVT transmissions?

We are probably reaching the limit of how many useful gears you can have in a car’s transmission (excluding CVTs), but it is possible to make a car have acceptable gas mileage and passing power at 80-90 mph.

Anyone still use a car with an antiquated 3-speed automatic? If you do, you are in an acute minority.

But in all fairness, I honestly didn’t look at the chart and simply read both the leftlanenews article and the Wall Street Journal piece it quoted from. NEITHER ONE of the articles said anything about basic “accidents”. Both focused pretty exclusively on the fatality statistic.

Sorry, I tend to read the text, not the pictures.

But to your point, #25 pointed out, safety features also help us PREVENT accidents. Better brakes, better suspension, more power, better warning systems all help us get out of harm’s way faster and easier than ever.

There is also the little bit about where the statistics come from and how they are calculated. The government is notorious (and so is many others) for simply changing the definition of something to make it go away. Is the definition of “accident” the same as it was then?

CharlesJR

unless there are statistics to show the causation…

http://www.motorists.org/pressreleases/montana.html

montana saw the exact same thing when a daytime speed limit was put in place…fatalities increased…and that was in one year which rules out the thought that new safety features are the main reason for the national drop.

Needless to say, news articles tend to digest the thousands of pages of information that’s collected and generated each year on traffic and safety down to one or two meaningless numbers. Yes, overall, fatalities have decreased even though speed limits have increased, but that proves nothing as far as causation.

Therefore, make the speed limit infinite (no speed limit) => No Fatalities.

Clearly, this makes sense.

Agreed.

Airbags, Cell phones to report accidents, crumple zones, navagation systems so you don’t get lost, better tires on Ford Explorers…etc

I wouldn’t rule out road rage or the fact that you spend less time on the road by driving faster (ie you won’t fall asleep as often)

What would be more interesting would be to see the actual ACCIDENT rate. Not the fatality rate.

During the same time period as increased speed limits, we have also seen mandatory airbags, better braking systems, better safety systems, and generally significantly safer cars. We’ve also seen a significant rise in the number of very large vehicals (ie: SUV’s) on the road with all the major automotive players selling record numbers of trucks.

So, I’m inclined to think that this really has nothing to do with speed and everything to do with safety.

And personally, I’m a big fan of the 80/20 rule: 80% of the drivers on the road will be driving the safe speed for the road conditions at any given time … no matter WHAT the posted speed limit is.

CharlesJR

I am amazed tat noone brought that up.

I am also amazed that people think that when average speeds rise death rate lowers.

This is statistics at its worst.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/11/1148.asp

“Where people will accept it” is halarious! Look like your pro-environment, but don’t acutally do anything!

Seriously though, eliminating people who sit in the left lane, and passing on the right will reduce accidents ALONE.

Not paying attention, crappy equipment, improperly adjusted mirrors, and impairment kill.

The speed limit is supposed to be a limit. Since we all drive over the limit, it should be raised.