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Objectively speaking, driving is the most dangerous thing most of us will ever do in our lives. Though it is debatable which behaviors cause more injury and dea

Objectively speaking, driving is the most dangerous thing most of us will ever do in our lives. Though it is debatable which behaviors cause more injury and death, I would argue that any behavior that surprises other drivers is something we should work to deter. And we all know that the higher the speed, the greater risk of injury an death.

WalterBright 5y ago
> And we all know that the higher the speed, the greater risk of injury an death. It's not that simple. Driving on city streets, at lower speeds, has higher accident and fatality rates. Increasing the speed limit on highways actually reduced fatalities because more people would eschew the city streets for the freeways. Personally, driving 55 was always lulling me to sleep. I was always stopping at McD's for coffee, or the rest stops so I could run a lap or so. Driving faster keeps me awake and alert. BTW, I'm not proposing legalizing reckless driving.
- standardUser 5y ago
  "Increasing the speed limit on highways actually reduced fatalities because more people would eschew the city streets for the freeways." That sounds wildly speculative and very much influenced by the specific metro. Most of the time in busy metros where those types of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities occur, traffic determines which route people take, not speed limit. One thing we all seem to agree on is that most freeway speed limits are too low.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    > That sounds wildly speculative Not at all. This was discovered when the speed limits were finally raised from 55. All the predictions were for a big rise in fatalities. Fatalities declined. Looking at traffic data explained it, with the drop in city street driving transferred to the freeways.
- listenallyall 5y ago
  > city streets, at lower speeds, has higher accident and fatality rates > people would eschew the city streets for the freeways. This is also the argument against HOV lanes or paid left lanes. Adding more congestion to highways (by restricting lanes) pushes more people towards surface streets, which, as you state, are less safe. Highways have lots of non-fatal accidents, while surface streets with lights and 4-ways tend to cause t-bones, head-ons, and have pedestrians and bikers around.

WalterBright 5y ago

> And we all know that the higher the speed, the greater risk of injury an death. It's not that simple. Driving on city streets, at lower speeds, has higher accident and fatality rates. Increasing the speed limit on highways actually reduced fatalities because more people would eschew the city streets for the freeways. Personally, driving 55 was always lulling me to sleep. I was always stopping at McD's for coffee, or the rest stops so I could run a lap or so. Driving faster keeps me awake and alert. BTW, I'm not proposing legalizing reckless driving.

standardUser 5y ago
"Increasing the speed limit on highways actually reduced fatalities because more people would eschew the city streets for the freeways." That sounds wildly speculative and very much influenced by the specific metro. Most of the time in busy metros where those types of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities occur, traffic determines which route people take, not speed limit. One thing we all seem to agree on is that most freeway speed limits are too low.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  > That sounds wildly speculative Not at all. This was discovered when the speed limits were finally raised from 55. All the predictions were for a big rise in fatalities. Fatalities declined. Looking at traffic data explained it, with the drop in city street driving transferred to the freeways.
listenallyall 5y ago
> city streets, at lower speeds, has higher accident and fatality rates > people would eschew the city streets for the freeways. This is also the argument against HOV lanes or paid left lanes. Adding more congestion to highways (by restricting lanes) pushes more people towards surface streets, which, as you state, are less safe. Highways have lots of non-fatal accidents, while surface streets with lights and 4-ways tend to cause t-bones, head-ons, and have pedestrians and bikers around.