5 ms·

A law that prevents any FWD vehicle from going over 90 MPH, or offering significant insurance discounts, would go a long way towards reducing fatalities. There

A law that prevents any FWD vehicle from going over 90 MPH, or offering significant insurance discounts, would go a long way towards reducing fatalities. There is no reason for any casual motorist to be going 91+MPH on surface streets or highways.

nemomarx 2y ago
Isn't the car already very dangerous at 70 or so? I can't think of a lot of streets where you'd be able to get up to 90 even.
- kayodelycaon 2y ago
  It’s pretty easy to do a sustained 120 mph in a Honda Accord for several hours on I-71 through Kentucky. (Not personal experience.) A Toyota Prius can maintain ~90 mph on I-294 around Chicago. Anything above 95 mph degraded the tire traction to an unsafe level. (Personal experience.) I don’t do that much anymore now that my manic episodes are under control and I’m better able to recognize my judgement is impaired.
- lakis 2y ago
  I actually have to set up a car alert for when I go above 90, because the car is so quiet and powerful that I can easily go above 90 without realizing (obviously on the highway) . New cars have improved tremendously.
huhuhu111 2y ago
there are a few reasons though, like life threatening emergencies when the road is basically empty
- parl_match 2y ago
  Most vehicles on the road can't really be safely operated at 90mph, especially by the layperson, no matter the need.
  - kayodelycaon 2y ago
    If you have a turbocharged v4 I a light vehicle it’s pretty dang easy to drive 100+ mph. If you’re paying attention, the road conditions are good, and you’re not aggressively tailgating or passing people, it’s relatively safe. The problem is it doesn’t take much to become unsafe and physics is not very forgiving of bad judgement.
    - parl_match 2y ago
      > The problem is it doesn’t take much to become unsafe and physics is not very forgiving of bad judgement. This is pretty much it. All it takes is a pothole (you'll barely see it coming at that speed) or something else, like a deer or small animal. And oops, it's over. Lots of people over-estimate their ability.
    - huhuhu111 2y ago
      tailgating at 100mph? I don't think that's what it's called... probably "reckless driving" or "aggressive driving" if you need to pass cars dangerously
- acdha 2y ago
  How many situations are there where going over 90mph is make or break? Unless you’re Keanu Reeves driving a bus improbably, that seems like a freakishly rare situation compared to the number of crashes caused by people incorrectly thinking they could safely drive that speed – and with so much energy involved, those are usually fatal.
  - huhuhu111 2y ago
    on many highways, it doesn't feel that fast in at least parts of America because the lanes are so wide... specially in a car (I went much faster on motorcycles)
    - acdha 2y ago
      I know, but specifically what is this emergency situation where being able to go 120 is enough but 90 is not? I’ve spent plenty of time on fast freeways and even the ambulance drivers are rarely going that fast because it’s unsafe.
      - huhuhu111 2y ago
        it's pretty rare, so hopefully you should not get a speeding ticket for it because you would go to jail and that emergency would not matter.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
dogman144 2y ago
… empty and well paved country roads are a thing
- parl_match 2y ago
  Most vehicles (and most drivers) aren't capable of safely driving at 90mph, no matter how "empty" the road is.
  - cityofdelusion 2y ago
    I’m not sure where you are getting your talking point, but here in Texas, there are stretches of highway where people safely pass at 90-100 mph with no issue. We have a lot of gigantic, straight, barren countryside.
    - dogman144 2y ago
      Yes exactly
  - fragmede 2y ago
    it does matter how empty the road is. 90, in a modern car, on an actually empty road, is totally fine.
  - seoulmetro 2y ago
    No, most vehicles are more than capable of this. The drivers are not.
blincoln 2y ago
There are freeways in Texas with speed limits of 85 MPH. 5 MPH of wiggle room for emergencies seems like a bad idea IMO.
- gpm 2y ago
  Speed limits of 85 MPH sounds like the bad idea to me.
  - basil-rash 2y ago
    Clearly the experienced highway engineers in charge balancing a ton of different variables to make the Texas road network function in accordance with its design goals should have sought your advice.
  - nanidin 2y ago
    I believe low speed limits were raised in Texas due to the number of drowsy driver accidents that were occurring due to the amount of time it took to transit the state at the lower speed limits. Everything is a trade-off.
  - shepherdjerred 2y ago
    You haven't driven through Texas. The stretch between El Paso and Dallas is 9 hours and there's almost nothing in-between.
    - gpm 2y ago
      Indeed, I haven't. I'm from rather farther north. I have driven reasonably long distances at reasonably high speeds though. If you ask me whether I'd have rather save 30 minutes on a 9 hour drive or have the speed limit top out at 85* I'm definitely picking the latter. If you ask me if I'd rather have people driving through a community I'm living in at 90 mph or 85 mph I'm definitely picking the latter. * El Paso to Dallas is 635 miles, driving the whole way at 85 mph would take 25 more minutes than driving the whole way at 90mph. The reality is even further in 85 mph's favor because you aren't able to sustain 90mph the whole way and we're only going slower when we would be able to.
brian-armstrong 2y ago
There have been cars that can do this and even provide geofenced exceptions for motorsport, e.g. the Nissan GT-R https://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/22/nissan-gt-r-recognizes-tracks-via-gps-removes-speed-limiter/ https://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/22/nissan-gt-r-recognizes-t...
dheera 2y ago
Also prevent tailgating (have a minimum follow distance to car ahead based on speed, and auto-brake to match that minimum distance) and prevent going faster than the lane to your left while they are at it. The minimum follow distance alone would prevent a LOT of crashes.
- hobotime 2y ago
  You need to be able to pass left-lane campers on the right now and then.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
chrismcb 2y ago
How many fatalities are caused by cars traveling in excess of 90 mph? I don't know the number. I am sure it is greater than zero, but I would guess it isn't much larger than that (percentage wise) I'm not sure why you picked 90 mph. But I think any arbitrary number is going to have an issue. The speed isn't the issue. It is the difference in speed between the vehicles on the road at the same time as well as other factors. Consider than the fatality rate on the autobahn is about half of the rate as US.

nemomarx 2y ago

Isn't the car already very dangerous at 70 or so? I can't think of a lot of streets where you'd be able to get up to 90 even.

kayodelycaon 2y ago
It’s pretty easy to do a sustained 120 mph in a Honda Accord for several hours on I-71 through Kentucky. (Not personal experience.) A Toyota Prius can maintain ~90 mph on I-294 around Chicago. Anything above 95 mph degraded the tire traction to an unsafe level. (Personal experience.) I don’t do that much anymore now that my manic episodes are under control and I’m better able to recognize my judgement is impaired.
lakis 2y ago
I actually have to set up a car alert for when I go above 90, because the car is so quiet and powerful that I can easily go above 90 without realizing (obviously on the highway) . New cars have improved tremendously.

huhuhu111 2y ago

there are a few reasons though, like life threatening emergencies when the road is basically empty

parl_match 2y ago
Most vehicles on the road can't really be safely operated at 90mph, especially by the layperson, no matter the need.
- kayodelycaon 2y ago
  If you have a turbocharged v4 I a light vehicle it’s pretty dang easy to drive 100+ mph. If you’re paying attention, the road conditions are good, and you’re not aggressively tailgating or passing people, it’s relatively safe. The problem is it doesn’t take much to become unsafe and physics is not very forgiving of bad judgement.
  - parl_match 2y ago
    > The problem is it doesn’t take much to become unsafe and physics is not very forgiving of bad judgement. This is pretty much it. All it takes is a pothole (you'll barely see it coming at that speed) or something else, like a deer or small animal. And oops, it's over. Lots of people over-estimate their ability.
  - huhuhu111 2y ago
    tailgating at 100mph? I don't think that's what it's called... probably "reckless driving" or "aggressive driving" if you need to pass cars dangerously
acdha 2y ago
How many situations are there where going over 90mph is make or break? Unless you’re Keanu Reeves driving a bus improbably, that seems like a freakishly rare situation compared to the number of crashes caused by people incorrectly thinking they could safely drive that speed – and with so much energy involved, those are usually fatal.
- huhuhu111 2y ago
  on many highways, it doesn't feel that fast in at least parts of America because the lanes are so wide... specially in a car (I went much faster on motorcycles)
  - acdha 2y ago
    I know, but specifically what is this emergency situation where being able to go 120 is enough but 90 is not? I’ve spent plenty of time on fast freeways and even the ambulance drivers are rarely going that fast because it’s unsafe.
    - huhuhu111 2y ago
      it's pretty rare, so hopefully you should not get a speeding ticket for it because you would go to jail and that emergency would not matter.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

dogman144 2y ago

… empty and well paved country roads are a thing

parl_match 2y ago
Most vehicles (and most drivers) aren't capable of safely driving at 90mph, no matter how "empty" the road is.
- cityofdelusion 2y ago
  I’m not sure where you are getting your talking point, but here in Texas, there are stretches of highway where people safely pass at 90-100 mph with no issue. We have a lot of gigantic, straight, barren countryside.
  - dogman144 2y ago
    Yes exactly
- fragmede 2y ago
  it does matter how empty the road is. 90, in a modern car, on an actually empty road, is totally fine.
- seoulmetro 2y ago
  No, most vehicles are more than capable of this. The drivers are not.

blincoln 2y ago

There are freeways in Texas with speed limits of 85 MPH. 5 MPH of wiggle room for emergencies seems like a bad idea IMO.

gpm 2y ago
Speed limits of 85 MPH sounds like the bad idea to me.
- basil-rash 2y ago
  Clearly the experienced highway engineers in charge balancing a ton of different variables to make the Texas road network function in accordance with its design goals should have sought your advice.
- nanidin 2y ago
  I believe low speed limits were raised in Texas due to the number of drowsy driver accidents that were occurring due to the amount of time it took to transit the state at the lower speed limits. Everything is a trade-off.
- shepherdjerred 2y ago
  You haven't driven through Texas. The stretch between El Paso and Dallas is 9 hours and there's almost nothing in-between.
  - gpm 2y ago
    Indeed, I haven't. I'm from rather farther north. I have driven reasonably long distances at reasonably high speeds though. If you ask me whether I'd have rather save 30 minutes on a 9 hour drive or have the speed limit top out at 85* I'm definitely picking the latter. If you ask me if I'd rather have people driving through a community I'm living in at 90 mph or 85 mph I'm definitely picking the latter. * El Paso to Dallas is 635 miles, driving the whole way at 85 mph would take 25 more minutes than driving the whole way at 90mph. The reality is even further in 85 mph's favor because you aren't able to sustain 90mph the whole way and we're only going slower when we would be able to.

brian-armstrong 2y ago

There have been cars that can do this and even provide geofenced exceptions for motorsport, e.g. the Nissan GT-R https://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/22/nissan-gt-r-recognizes-tracks-via-gps-removes-speed-limiter/ https://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/22/nissan-gt-r-recognizes-t...

dheera 2y ago

Also prevent tailgating (have a minimum follow distance to car ahead based on speed, and auto-brake to match that minimum distance) and prevent going faster than the lane to your left while they are at it. The minimum follow distance alone would prevent a LOT of crashes.

hobotime 2y ago
You need to be able to pass left-lane campers on the right now and then.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

chrismcb 2y ago

How many fatalities are caused by cars traveling in excess of 90 mph? I don't know the number. I am sure it is greater than zero, but I would guess it isn't much larger than that (percentage wise) I'm not sure why you picked 90 mph. But I think any arbitrary number is going to have an issue. The speed isn't the issue. It is the difference in speed between the vehicles on the road at the same time as well as other factors. Consider than the fatality rate on the autobahn is about half of the rate as US.