3 ms·

> not likely But it is an edge case.

Johnny555 8y ago
There are lots of highly unlikley edge cases that one could come up with... like seeing a crashing aircraft approaching you from behind and if you could only go 5 mph faster you could stay ahead of it before it strikes the ground, while if you go slower, you'll be hit by it or its debris trail or slam into the debris.
dmitriid 8y ago
These are not edge cases. - In a forest fire or in a storm visibility is low, so you wouldn’t be able to drive at speeds over 112mph anyway (see any footage of people driving through forest fires). - A tsunami’s speed doesn’t exceed 20-30 mph on land - a pyroclastic flow moves at 100kmh (62 mph) In any case these edge cases do not outweigh the lives (potentially) saved by capping a car’s speed.
- tropo 8y ago
  Suppose the road leading you to safety is not direct. It is at an angle, for example 70 degrees away from the desired direction. You'll need to exceed 112 MPH to outrun that pyroclastic flow. To escape the tsunami, you first have to drive down a road that runs along the beach. After doing that for a while, you may then turn onto a road that takes you away from the ocean. Visibility is usually fine in a storm. Hurricanes have intermittent periods of severe rain and insignificant drizzle. Forrest fire visibility all depends on the wind direction, and is often fine if you aren't already surrounded.
  - dmitriid 8y ago
    Too many “suppose”s. At speeds over 100kmh (62 mph) you gain only 36 seconds or less per 10 kmh (6.2 mph) of speed increase per 10 km (6.2 miles) of distance. So, you need to be in a dire situation, already traveling at top speed, on a road that doesn’t lead away from danger, where ~30 seconds of time would make a difference. That’s a lot of ifs and edge cases. When reality usually looks like this: https://youtu.be/coPW6unxeY8 https://youtu.be/coPW6unxeY8 (a three-point turn before tsunami) or this: https://youtu.be/7J6O4HkKxlo https://youtu.be/7J6O4HkKxlo (driving through a forest fire)

There are lots of highly unlikley edge cases that one could come up with... like seeing a crashing aircraft approaching you from behind and if you could only go 5 mph faster you could stay ahead of it before it strikes the ground, while if you go slower, you'll be hit by it or its debris trail or slam into the debris.

dmitriid 8y ago

These are not edge cases. - In a forest fire or in a storm visibility is low, so you wouldn’t be able to drive at speeds over 112mph anyway (see any footage of people driving through forest fires). - A tsunami’s speed doesn’t exceed 20-30 mph on land - a pyroclastic flow moves at 100kmh (62 mph) In any case these edge cases do not outweigh the lives (potentially) saved by capping a car’s speed.

tropo 8y ago
Suppose the road leading you to safety is not direct. It is at an angle, for example 70 degrees away from the desired direction. You'll need to exceed 112 MPH to outrun that pyroclastic flow. To escape the tsunami, you first have to drive down a road that runs along the beach. After doing that for a while, you may then turn onto a road that takes you away from the ocean. Visibility is usually fine in a storm. Hurricanes have intermittent periods of severe rain and insignificant drizzle. Forrest fire visibility all depends on the wind direction, and is often fine if you aren't already surrounded.
- dmitriid 8y ago
  Too many “suppose”s. At speeds over 100kmh (62 mph) you gain only 36 seconds or less per 10 kmh (6.2 mph) of speed increase per 10 km (6.2 miles) of distance. So, you need to be in a dire situation, already traveling at top speed, on a road that doesn’t lead away from danger, where ~30 seconds of time would make a difference. That’s a lot of ifs and edge cases. When reality usually looks like this: https://youtu.be/coPW6unxeY8 https://youtu.be/coPW6unxeY8 (a three-point turn before tsunami) or this: https://youtu.be/7J6O4HkKxlo https://youtu.be/7J6O4HkKxlo (driving through a forest fire)