4 ms·

Not all speeding is created equal. I agree that 10 miles over a 30 mph zone is probably deadly, if it was properly zoned and not a money-grabbing move (it looks

Not all speeding is created equal. I agree that 10 miles over a 30 mph zone is probably deadly, if it was properly zoned and not a money-grabbing move (it looks from the article that it was a correct limit, maybe even too high). However, many speeding tickets (at least in my country and others) are due to low maximum speeds on roads intended as main thoroughfares. I read here in HN that plenty of U.S. towns live off speeding tickets, see http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2011/10/19/town-that-lived-off-speeding-tickets.html http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2011/10/19/town-that-liv... http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/investigations/2015/05/01/citation-nation-tickets/26590321/ http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/investigations/2015/05... In my country they have some similar systems, and made even worse because they specifically target tourists and foreigners (especially Argentineans) for the ticketing revenue. I work for an insurance company, and I've read some research that suggests that speed limits are improperly sent more often than not (a few times too high, but most often too low). Interestingly, accidents are going steadily down due to better cars. Other factors are much bigger influences than just speed (alcohol, stress, etc.), and insurance companies are introducing monitors for that. Hopefully self-driving cars will continue the downward trend :) . IMO, dynamic speed limits, based on weather and road conditions and other stuff (lower on school days?), should be the default in the 21st century :) . Germany already does it. Another problem was improperly planned roads, as in the article (another comment mentions that the road in question is a "feeder" road).

upofadown 11y ago
The safety here is not on or off. Each increment of speed causes a corresponding increase of risk. That increase might be small, but that misses the point. The speed limits are a social contract. If someone feels they should increase the risk to others above and beyond that agreement then they can at least fund some civic infrastructure to balance things out.
- michaelt 11y ago
  I don't drive and I don't have a car - but if 85% of cars are exceeding the speed limit, it sounds like that law doesn't have the moral legitimacy that comes from the consent of the governed.
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    Speed limits might not fit that 'moral legitimacy' model very well. We don't even think much about speed limits. We just drive. So morals don't enter into it. I'd say the street must not be posted right, or maybe its got an unusual speed limit for the type of road. That fools people. We have a local road on the West side that should be a thoroughfare. But its zoned residential, so 30MPH. Everybody speeds - there are no driveways, no slow traffic, no pedestrian traffic, no risk. I'd argue they just got the signs wrong.
mdip 11y ago
In a residential subdivision like I live in, speeding is much more dangerous than it would be on a county/city/township road. There are various things that play against safety in residential roads marked for 25 MPH speeds. In the winter, they're rarely cleared of snow and ice, making them a hazard to travel even at the speed limit. Cars are parked on both sides of the roads much like a typical city street, reducing visibility of pedestrians as they emerge from between cars unexpectedly. And then there's the children playing in the yard who are preoccupied with their activity and not always paying attention to their own safety. My daughter is hard of hearing (she requires hearing aids to hear and even with them she doesn't have normal hearing) and very ADD. We've continually lectured her about "not running into the street" without making absolutely certain there are no cars, but on one occasion she was nearly hit chasing a ball despite my wife and I being out front screaming and running after her as she bolted into the road. The ball was destroyed by a speeding car who almost also hit the neighbors mailbox when he swerved to avoid killing her. He missed, thank God, but even afterward continued at his breakneck speed down the rest of the street. Since that incident, we rarely allow her to play in the front yard and never allow it between 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM due to the rush hour traffic using my subdivision as a bypass for a poorly timed intersection's traffic light.

upofadown 11y ago

The safety here is not on or off. Each increment of speed causes a corresponding increase of risk. That increase might be small, but that misses the point. The speed limits are a social contract. If someone feels they should increase the risk to others above and beyond that agreement then they can at least fund some civic infrastructure to balance things out.

michaelt 11y ago
I don't drive and I don't have a car - but if 85% of cars are exceeding the speed limit, it sounds like that law doesn't have the moral legitimacy that comes from the consent of the governed.
- JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  Speed limits might not fit that 'moral legitimacy' model very well. We don't even think much about speed limits. We just drive. So morals don't enter into it. I'd say the street must not be posted right, or maybe its got an unusual speed limit for the type of road. That fools people. We have a local road on the West side that should be a thoroughfare. But its zoned residential, so 30MPH. Everybody speeds - there are no driveways, no slow traffic, no pedestrian traffic, no risk. I'd argue they just got the signs wrong.

mdip 11y ago

In a residential subdivision like I live in, speeding is much more dangerous than it would be on a county/city/township road. There are various things that play against safety in residential roads marked for 25 MPH speeds. In the winter, they're rarely cleared of snow and ice, making them a hazard to travel even at the speed limit. Cars are parked on both sides of the roads much like a typical city street, reducing visibility of pedestrians as they emerge from between cars unexpectedly. And then there's the children playing in the yard who are preoccupied with their activity and not always paying attention to their own safety. My daughter is hard of hearing (she requires hearing aids to hear and even with them she doesn't have normal hearing) and very ADD. We've continually lectured her about "not running into the street" without making absolutely certain there are no cars, but on one occasion she was nearly hit chasing a ball despite my wife and I being out front screaming and running after her as she bolted into the road. The ball was destroyed by a speeding car who almost also hit the neighbors mailbox when he swerved to avoid killing her. He missed, thank God, but even afterward continued at his breakneck speed down the rest of the street. Since that incident, we rarely allow her to play in the front yard and never allow it between 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM due to the rush hour traffic using my subdivision as a bypass for a poorly timed intersection's traffic light.