20 ms·
> 1. The speed limit should be tied to average driver reaction times, not the engine or safety of the car. Hence why distance to the car in front matters, prop
by lloeki 10y ago
> 1. The speed limit should be tied to average driver reaction times, not the engine or safety of the car.
Hence why distance to the car in front matters, proportionally to speed, not speed itself as an absolute metric. 180kph is not a definitive tailgating trigger when people behave. Case in point, in France people regularly tailgate you too even at 130kph, even more so because they feel safer due to the comparatively reduced speed.
> The speed difference also causes backpropagating traffic jams. [...] It was simply created by people driving too fast compared to the car in front of them, having to brake
It was created by people either braking too late and having too much of a tendency to tailgate you, or jumping out of their lane and sitting there, and it happens just as much in France. It's a property of reaction time and distance WRT speed, not speed itself.
> They tailgate you, sometimes flash lights or use their left blinker
I've mostly seen this behaviour when the car either cruises at a reduced speed on the left lane or irresponsibly takes over when it should have no business in doing so WRT current traffic: it's just as disrespectful to others to tailgate someone as it is to take over and block a lane when you're driving at a locked 140kph to overtake someone at 138kph and there's constant faster traffic on the left. I've also witnessed people playing vigilante and do this voluntarily precisely because of the existing speed limit.
My experience is that most issues on the road are a byproduct of terrible individualistic human behaviour, and setting limits on arbitrary metrics do not solve that.