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Someone who can't handle going 5 km/h under the speed limit (aka maximum) shouldn't be trusted to operate a motor vehicle. Sadly, that describes all too many d

by wffurr 6y ago

Someone who can't handle going 5 km/h under the speed limit (aka maximum) shouldn't be trusted to operate a motor vehicle. Sadly, that describes all too many drivers. Enforcement and normalization of slower speeds through a critical mass of slower vehicles could change things. Ultimately, people have shown that the need to be "tamed" while driving cars.

romanoderoma 6y ago
> Someone who can't handle going 5 km/h under the speed limit shouldn't be trusted to operate a motor vehicle Neither should someone who can't handle going at 5km/h faster than the speed limit. It will happen one day that they'll need to and maybe that day it will rain and that will be the day they cause an accident, possibly involving others. Limits are not there because that's the maximum speed you should be _able_ to drive, they are there for pedestrian safety and to reduce the noise. > . Enforcement and normalization of slower speeds through a critical mass of slower vehicles could change things. On the contrary, I hope there will be way faster vehicles, underground, only for those trained to drive them or machine operated. Everyone else should just ride a bike or walk or catch a bus or a (slow) cab. The need for speed won't go back, we need to move faster and faster, the more our lives go faster. p.s. before someone says it, I live in a very expensive neighborhood just to be at walking distance from my office. Even though I love driving and are a semi professional trained pilot, I usually don't drive in the city, unless I have to. But I can understand why people forced to use a car want to drive them as fast as the limit permits.
- boudin 6y ago
  The truth is that 50km/h is already way to fast in a city. A good driver who actually takes into account everything that can happen in a city would never drive at 50 km/h as it is already way to fast to keep pedestrian safe, at least in most European cities. Nobody needs to drive at higher speed than the limits. If you can't wait behind a slow vehicle, unless you have a dying person on your side, maybe you should not drive in the first place...
  - romanoderoma 6y ago
    > The truth is that 50km/h is already way to fast in a city. The average speed in Rome is 8.3 km/h So yeah, speeding is almost never the problem. But people doing something else while driving is. > If you can't wait behind a slow vehicle, unless you have a dying person on your side, maybe you should not drive in the first place... If you are driving a car to go really slowly, driving in the middle of the streets, because you are too scared to drive too close to the side of the streets, why are you even driving in the first place? It's like driving a motorbike with the training wheels because you have no equilibrium. Would you find that acceptable? And why not? People can have many reasons to speed, they are not your concern, if you feel to drive slowly, just get out of the way, as experts of road safety suggest to do (that's exactly what I do on highways all the time) > If someone behind you clearly wants to go faster, remember that it’s not your job to prevent them from doing so. Staying in front of a driver like this when you have space to move over could lead to even more aggressive driving, so it’s best to steer aside and let them drive the speed they’re going to drive (it’s their problem if they get pulled over, not yours!). If you’re genuinely concerned for the safety of yourself or others on the roadway, pull over and call local authorities to report an erratic or unsafe driver. EDIT: Some stats regarding Rome (the city where I was born and live) - Rome has the highest number of accidents per capita, but the lowest mortality per capita in the whole Lazio region - 75% of the accidents in the region happen in the cities, 25% outside them - 52% of the accidents on urban roads and 62% of those on extra-urban roads happen on the straights - most of them caused by distraction - 45% of the accidents of the year in Rome happen between June and September due to the higher mobility of holiday season - the two age groups where mortality is raising are 15-19 and over 70. Younger people number one cause of death is speeding (sometimes under the influence), due to inexperience (and the eventual alteration) they can't handle it. For older people is misjudgement: slower reaction times and impaired senses (vision, hearing) lead to deadly crashes. - 80% of the accidents happen between 8-20, but most of the deadly one happen between 2 and 7 o'clock. Again, most probable causes are: distractions, sleepiness, driver fatigue, DUI. Driving is a very complex operation, that requires skills and focus, and engage all the body, especially when using manual gears, it is very similar to playing drums. If people don't give full attention on what they are doing it is very easy to make mistakes that could lead to very bad consequences or even death. Hoping that other drivers will compensate for my own lack of focus, it's not the safest of the bets. So, in my opinion, being a driver concerned of the safety yourself and others, means focusing on what you are doing and preventing potentially dangerous situations. Blaming other drivers will not help you if you don't look twice before crossing a large street late at night or if you speed up to catch the yellow at the traffic-light.

by wffurr 6y ago

romanoderoma 6y ago

> Someone who can't handle going 5 km/h under the speed limit shouldn't be trusted to operate a motor vehicle Neither should someone who can't handle going at 5km/h faster than the speed limit. It will happen one day that they'll need to and maybe that day it will rain and that will be the day they cause an accident, possibly involving others. Limits are not there because that's the maximum speed you should be _able_ to drive, they are there for pedestrian safety and to reduce the noise. > . Enforcement and normalization of slower speeds through a critical mass of slower vehicles could change things. On the contrary, I hope there will be way faster vehicles, underground, only for those trained to drive them or machine operated. Everyone else should just ride a bike or walk or catch a bus or a (slow) cab. The need for speed won't go back, we need to move faster and faster, the more our lives go faster. p.s. before someone says it, I live in a very expensive neighborhood just to be at walking distance from my office. Even though I love driving and are a semi professional trained pilot, I usually don't drive in the city, unless I have to. But I can understand why people forced to use a car want to drive them as fast as the limit permits.

boudin 6y ago
The truth is that 50km/h is already way to fast in a city. A good driver who actually takes into account everything that can happen in a city would never drive at 50 km/h as it is already way to fast to keep pedestrian safe, at least in most European cities. Nobody needs to drive at higher speed than the limits. If you can't wait behind a slow vehicle, unless you have a dying person on your side, maybe you should not drive in the first place...
- romanoderoma 6y ago
  > The truth is that 50km/h is already way to fast in a city. The average speed in Rome is 8.3 km/h So yeah, speeding is almost never the problem. But people doing something else while driving is. > If you can't wait behind a slow vehicle, unless you have a dying person on your side, maybe you should not drive in the first place... If you are driving a car to go really slowly, driving in the middle of the streets, because you are too scared to drive too close to the side of the streets, why are you even driving in the first place? It's like driving a motorbike with the training wheels because you have no equilibrium. Would you find that acceptable? And why not? People can have many reasons to speed, they are not your concern, if you feel to drive slowly, just get out of the way, as experts of road safety suggest to do (that's exactly what I do on highways all the time) > If someone behind you clearly wants to go faster, remember that it’s not your job to prevent them from doing so. Staying in front of a driver like this when you have space to move over could lead to even more aggressive driving, so it’s best to steer aside and let them drive the speed they’re going to drive (it’s their problem if they get pulled over, not yours!). If you’re genuinely concerned for the safety of yourself or others on the roadway, pull over and call local authorities to report an erratic or unsafe driver. EDIT: Some stats regarding Rome (the city where I was born and live) - Rome has the highest number of accidents per capita, but the lowest mortality per capita in the whole Lazio region - 75% of the accidents in the region happen in the cities, 25% outside them - 52% of the accidents on urban roads and 62% of those on extra-urban roads happen on the straights - most of them caused by distraction - 45% of the accidents of the year in Rome happen between June and September due to the higher mobility of holiday season - the two age groups where mortality is raising are 15-19 and over 70. Younger people number one cause of death is speeding (sometimes under the influence), due to inexperience (and the eventual alteration) they can't handle it. For older people is misjudgement: slower reaction times and impaired senses (vision, hearing) lead to deadly crashes. - 80% of the accidents happen between 8-20, but most of the deadly one happen between 2 and 7 o'clock. Again, most probable causes are: distractions, sleepiness, driver fatigue, DUI. Driving is a very complex operation, that requires skills and focus, and engage all the body, especially when using manual gears, it is very similar to playing drums. If people don't give full attention on what they are doing it is very easy to make mistakes that could lead to very bad consequences or even death. Hoping that other drivers will compensate for my own lack of focus, it's not the safest of the bets. So, in my opinion, being a driver concerned of the safety yourself and others, means focusing on what you are doing and preventing potentially dangerous situations. Blaming other drivers will not help you if you don't look twice before crossing a large street late at night or if you speed up to catch the yellow at the traffic-light.