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Why the cynical take? Do you really think that in a country with extensive rail and a bicycle culture as a national identity that the reason for reduced speed

by Teever 3y ago

Why the cynical take? Do you really think that in a country with extensive rail and a bicycle culture as a national identity that the reason for reduced speed limits is a cash grab? Is it so alien to you to consider that perhaps the country is implementing these kinds of laws to reduce the harmful effects of automobiles with the ultimate end game being the extinction of car culture?

ls612 3y ago
Because I see technology as a being used as a means to social control and authoritarian rule. Most HN commenters are perfectly willing to see this as well when it comes to DRM, remote attestation, secure boot, etc, but magically forget that when discussion of traffic and cars comes up.
- piva00 3y ago
  It's not authoritarian rule and social control to limit the speed of death machines inside a dense city. I don't want fast cars in my city, I don't want the noise, the fatalities or injuries, nor the pollution. Cars are a privilege, you need a licence from the government to drive them, are you going to advocate for removing driver licencing as well? Because that's pretty much full government control over who can drive or not. Pretty authoritarian, no?
Kim_Bruning 3y ago
The end goal is not the extinction of car culture. The end goal is to get everyone from A to B safely and swiftly, regardless of transport mode. Basically if you put Germans and Dutch people together, they'll argue which country has the best car infrastructure. The grass is greener on the other side. Dutch people say you can go faster on German roads, while Germans say that the dutch speed limits make traffic more smooth and logical. Either way, once you drive out to the highway you can theoretically lock the cruise control to 100 km/h [1] (including on intersections) until ~5-10 min from your destination.[2] That's not a bad country for cars! [1] Except eg. Amsterdam ring-road which is 80 km/h. Exception that proves the rule. [2] I did say theoretically. Roads ARE busy and you may need to tap the brakes sometimes. Though... in practice I'm willing to bet that on any given day some number of people actually manage to achieve this by accident. (outside rush hour and with a little luck)
bryanlarsen 3y ago
Cars not bikes makes a compelling case that the Netherlands is the best place in the world to drive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8RRE2rDw4k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8RRE2rDw4k

by Teever 3y ago

ls612 3y ago

Because I see technology as a being used as a means to social control and authoritarian rule. Most HN commenters are perfectly willing to see this as well when it comes to DRM, remote attestation, secure boot, etc, but magically forget that when discussion of traffic and cars comes up.

piva00 3y ago
It's not authoritarian rule and social control to limit the speed of death machines inside a dense city. I don't want fast cars in my city, I don't want the noise, the fatalities or injuries, nor the pollution. Cars are a privilege, you need a licence from the government to drive them, are you going to advocate for removing driver licencing as well? Because that's pretty much full government control over who can drive or not. Pretty authoritarian, no?

Kim_Bruning 3y ago

The end goal is not the extinction of car culture. The end goal is to get everyone from A to B safely and swiftly, regardless of transport mode. Basically if you put Germans and Dutch people together, they'll argue which country has the best car infrastructure. The grass is greener on the other side. Dutch people say you can go faster on German roads, while Germans say that the dutch speed limits make traffic more smooth and logical. Either way, once you drive out to the highway you can theoretically lock the cruise control to 100 km/h [1] (including on intersections) until ~5-10 min from your destination.[2] That's not a bad country for cars! [1] Except eg. Amsterdam ring-road which is 80 km/h. Exception that proves the rule. [2] I did say theoretically. Roads ARE busy and you may need to tap the brakes sometimes. Though... in practice I'm willing to bet that on any given day some number of people actually manage to achieve this by accident. (outside rush hour and with a little luck)

bryanlarsen 3y ago

Cars not bikes makes a compelling case that the Netherlands is the best place in the world to drive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8RRE2rDw4k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8RRE2rDw4k