3 ms·

More speed equals less stopping power and control and more injury and death. Period. I agree speed should not be our only focus regarding road safety and speed

• zionic 5y ago
  >less stopping power True, but I think it’s better said as longer stopping distance. This is fine though. The speed limit should be the speed that no reasonable person would exceed, but what we have in the US is in fact the speed no reasonable person would drive. Again, the cops don’t even enforce the posted limits until +10 because they’re so low. That’s not ok. >more death Not really. Death clips the risk function. You can’t go above 1.0. An airliner nose diving into the ground (like that one recent case) is equally fatal at 300, 400, and 500MPH. No one is suggesting slowing planes to save lives. Similarly, a concrete wall teleporting to 150ft in front of you is going to kill you on a highway at 60, 70, and 90 MPH. The goal therefore is to prevent spontaneous debris from entering the roadway, and of course keep relative speeds among motorists as low as possible. Impacts with stationary objects should always be sloped, for example a guard rail and not a bridge support column. That’s how you actually save lives, not something ridiculous like capping all transit to 25mph.