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Acceleration != speed. Acceleration increases the degree of control you have over your vehicle. That control could be the difference between life and death in

by Youden 4y ago

Acceleration != speed. Acceleration increases the degree of control you have over your vehicle. That control could be the difference between life and death in an emergency. For example if you see a car driving towards you from the side (e.g. they're running a red light), increased acceleration could allow you to get out of the way in time. More conventionally, increased acceleration allows you to complete an overtaking manoeuvre in a reduced time. Reduced overtaking distance is fairly universally regarded as also reducing the risk of an accident.

dahart 4y ago
> Acceleration != speed That’s true, good point. (But we’re talking about a sport feature of a Mercedes car with unnecessary amounts of acceleration.) > Acceleration increases the degree of control you have over your vehicle That’s not true. You’re exercising control by accelerating, but not increasing control. Braking and steering are also exercising control. Accelerating too fast in wet or dusty conditions reduces control. Accelerating too quickly when people around you don’t expect it increases the risk of accident. > Reduced overtaking distance is fairly universally regarded as also reducing the risk of an accident. I’ve never heard this before, can you back this claim up with some evidence? The NHTSA report I posted is quite thorough and does not mention passing time as a risk factor. I’m sure you’re right and it is true when overtaking into oncoming traffic, if you cross the median. I doubt this is true for separated freeways like most of the urban US interstates inside city boundaries. I’m sure your claim here is not true when people exceed the speed limit in order to overtake, which is a very common occurrence where I live. Much of the passing that goes on happens when someone overtakes another person who’s already traveling at or above the speed limit, by further exceeding the speed limit. This is not made safer by doing it faster.

by Youden 4y ago

dahart 4y ago

> Acceleration != speed That’s true, good point. (But we’re talking about a sport feature of a Mercedes car with unnecessary amounts of acceleration.) > Acceleration increases the degree of control you have over your vehicle That’s not true. You’re exercising control by accelerating, but not increasing control. Braking and steering are also exercising control. Accelerating too fast in wet or dusty conditions reduces control. Accelerating too quickly when people around you don’t expect it increases the risk of accident. > Reduced overtaking distance is fairly universally regarded as also reducing the risk of an accident. I’ve never heard this before, can you back this claim up with some evidence? The NHTSA report I posted is quite thorough and does not mention passing time as a risk factor. I’m sure you’re right and it is true when overtaking into oncoming traffic, if you cross the median. I doubt this is true for separated freeways like most of the urban US interstates inside city boundaries. I’m sure your claim here is not true when people exceed the speed limit in order to overtake, which is a very common occurrence where I live. Much of the passing that goes on happens when someone overtakes another person who’s already traveling at or above the speed limit, by further exceeding the speed limit. This is not made safer by doing it faster.