3 ms·
How would you enforce per-driver speed limits? As it stands, car insurance sort-of does this: German policies usually reserve the right to refuse payment if you
by MandieD 4y ago
How would you enforce per-driver speed limits? As it stands, car insurance sort-of does this: German policies usually reserve the right to refuse payment if you’re at fault and were going more than 130.
How could this be managed for all the non-German vehicles that pass through? How invasive would this be?
As a sibling comment said, the difference in speed is what makes for the danger, and the driver who stays well under 130 because he feels that’s safer for him and everyone around might be less-prepared to deal with you popping up at 200 as he’s trying to pass a truck lumbering along at 80.
- rad_gruchalski 4y ago> and the driver who stays well under 130 because he feels that’s safer for him and everyone around That’s the other extreme that is a part of the problem. Both, the speedster and the slouch think their speed is safer for them. Driving too slow for the traffic around is as dangerous as driving too fast.
- Retric 4y agoIt isn’t symmetric. Being X kph faster than traffic is significantly more risky than being X kph slower than traffic. It’s that damn Velocity squared term that always fucks things up.
- rad_gruchalski 4y agoYeah, being too fast can be bad for you. Being too slow can be bad for many around you. A guess. An average, don’t take it literally.
- Retric 4y agoBeing too fast is much worse for the people you get into an accident with because it’s simply a more energetic collision. Being to fast is therefore much worse for the people around you. Slow drivers annoy other drivers, speeders tend to kill other drivers.
- rad_gruchalski 4y agoSlow drivers not paying attention kill other drivers. As proven by all fatalities in countries without such speed differences. Yes, I get the kinetic energy argument. Lack of attention while driving is the real killer. Speed can be a factor.
- Retric 4y agoFast drivers not paying attention are again much more dangerous because they over take other drivers and need to respond accordingly. Slow drivers on the other hand are being overtaken and so their inattention is rarely an issue for others on a freeway.
- rad_gruchalski 4y agoThere are fast drivers and reckless drivers. The latter ones are indeed dangerous, the former ones are usually more alert. Of course, from an outsider perspective it is difficult to distinguish.
- Retric 4y agoBeing alert doesn’t change the laws of physics. You are putting others at risk by driving faster because for example the increased forces on your tire dramatically increase the risks of a blowout. They are less able to deal with avoiding obstacles not only from reaction time issues but because their increased momentum makes turning slower. And it keeps going, excess speed doesn’t seem like a big deal but there’s a reason it kills so many people in other vehicles.
- rad_gruchalski 4y agoWe can continue this discussion. > You are putting others at risk by driving faster because for example the increased forces on your tire dramatically increase the risks of a blowout. They are less able to deal with avoiding obstacles not only from reaction time issues but because their increased momentum makes turning slower. The tires have a speed rating. Have a look at the tire wall. The letter on the tire tells you what speed they are rated for. If you don’t look after your tires, it doesn’t matter how fast you are going to be travelling. A friend of mine was killed in an accident at 20kph. You need to know what you are driving and don’t be reckless.
- dghughes 4y agoI recall on the local news a police officer urged people to "go with the flow". Don't speed but also don't doddle since the difference between speeders vs slow pokes is dangerous. If the speed is 100km/h and everyone is going 110km/h or 90km/h do what everyone else is doing.
- wolrah 4y ago> It isn’t symmetric. Being X kph faster than traffic is significantly more risky than being X kph slower than traffic. You're neglecting one very important fact: A driver who is correctly taking advantages of the freedom of a derestricted section, following all the rules and driving fast "the right way" doesn't interfere with other traffic at all. Likewise for a driver who is driving in the same manner on equivalent roads in other parts of the world that don't respect their drivers in the same way. If you're driving fast the right way, you don't interfere with anyone else. Compare that to a driver going significantly slower than the normal flow of traffic. That driver is always interfering with other traffic. Everyone wanting to drive the normal speed has to maneuver around them which creates problems for the next lane or two over. Depending on how easy it is to get around the slow driver they may also create road rage. Now, obviously if you screw up while driving fast the consequences are generally going to be substantially more severe, but slow drivers cause problems of their own just by being there, no matter how well they're driving otherwise. There's a reason most controlled-access highways require that your vehicle have a minimum level of power and some even have minimum speed limits. When the flow of traffic is X, a vehicle moving X-20 is a dangerous obstruction.
- Retric 4y agoThere’s an apples to oranges argument here. Someone driving slow can force other drivers to deal with them. Someone driving fast avoids problems when they slow down to avoid traffic. If they don’t slow down when all lanes have someone in them …