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This would be trading one set of problems for another. I routinely drive around 80 mph (15 over the speed limit) on the freeway here in San Diego, just like vi

This would be trading one set of problems for another. I routinely drive around 80 mph (15 over the speed limit) on the freeway here in San Diego, just like virtually everyone else (when there isn't traffic). Cops here don't even blink when it comes to this sort of speed on the freeways. But drones would, presumably, issue tickets at any technical infraction regardless of the "situation on the ground". To be honest, I'm not sure which situation I'd dislike worse, the occasionally arbitrary power-tripping cop or the completely clinical and technical rule following of the drone, both are pretty bad, IMO.

philwebster 13y ago
I'm not saying this is a good thing, but what if the drone gave out more warnings than tickets (ignoring the issue of delayed feedback) and based infractions on average speeds. If the tickets were reserved for seriously reckless offenders, I'm guessing the public backlash would be reduced.
- barrkel 13y ago
  I ride a motorcycle, and may or may not do 3 figure speeds when the roads are clear and safe. Would that count as reckless?
  - DanBC 13y ago
    Yes. People routinely overestimate their driving abilities and underestimate the risk.
    - barrkel 13y ago
      People also routinely do much faster than low triple digits on the track, with exactly the same machine that they ride on the street. And when the road is clear, the risk is all mine.
- gambiting 13y ago
  I guess they could just fire a few rounds in front of your car as a warning, that would make you slow down. </joke>
saraid216 13y ago
And what do you expect would happen if 90+% of the people driving on that freeway got a ticket?
- barrkel 13y ago
  The local government (or whoever collects fines) would make a lot of money, behaviour would change, and possibly, just possibly, speed limits would rise. But the increase in revenue raised would make it too tempting not to use, IMO.
  - freehunter 13y ago
    The speed of drivers would go down and normalize at maximum 65mph. This falls in line with the idea of a speed limit (not a speed suggestion). I fail to see how this is a bad thing.
    - barrkel 13y ago
      You have a failure of imagination, then. Many times an ill-advised overtake started out below the speed limit but needs to go a bit over to be made safe, and that's not just my opinion, but that of many traffic police officers over here in the UK. And think about what a low speed limit like 65mph would do to the economy.
      - freehunter 13y ago
        Then businesses would clamor to have the speed limit raised, huh? Here in Michigan, we were taught in drivers training that passing another car can only be done legally at a speed differential greater than 5mph and only if you stay within the speed limit. Such as, if the car in front of you was driving 50 and the speed limit was 55. You could pass at 55. A lot of the discussions I hear on this fall down to "it's inconvenient to drive the speed limit". Man that sucks, but the speed limit is kind of a legal limit.
- DanBC 13y ago
  California would have some money to spend on their lousy roads?
tptacek 13y ago
You (and I) shouldn't be driving 80mph on 65mph streets. This is one of those laws we all routinely break that we've all become expert at rationalizing, but unlike the laws we break by, say, trading bottles of Dark Lord for Pliny The Younger across state lines --- laws which have no victims --- we're probably wrong about the speed limit situation. The faster we drive, the less time we have to react to a fast changing situation on the road, and the more dangerous collisions become. I'd be really unhappy if speed limits were rigorously enforced too; I'm pretty routinely 5-10mph over them too. But I'd adjust my habits eventually, and so would you.
- gambiting 13y ago
  A much better situation would be to increase the speed limit where the road is good enough for that. That way, you are not getting annoyed that you are limited to 65mph on a straight road, and yes, while it increases reaction time it also makes you more focused on the road. I live in a country where the legal speed on motorways is 90mph, and frequently drive through Germany where I regularly go 120-130mph for long stretches of the Autobahn. And from my own experience(YMMV) driving 90-100mph makes you very aware of road waaaay ahead of you, a thought of looking anywhere else(phone, radio) but the road does not even cross my mind,because of how fast I am going and how much more intense of an experience that is. And then when I drive in the UK where the speed limit is only 70mph long drives get incredibly tiring and it's hard to remain focused, I have to stop regularly. Obviously, each system has its advantages and disadvantages, but none of them is ideal.
  - dsl 13y ago
    I'm not concerned about you or I, but the woman who just barely passed her drivers test on the third try and is trying to corral 2 kids in the back seat, drink her mocha frapuchino, and talk to her sister on the phone.
    - tptacek 13y ago
      There is also the fact that the unrestricted portions of the German Autobahn were designed deliberately to accommodate 80mph traffic, unlike much of the urban US interstate system. Of the 11-12 figure transportation projects the US could undertake in 2013, making it easier for people to achieve dramatically lower fuel efficiency by driving 10-20mph faster seems like a poor investment.

philwebster 13y ago

I'm not saying this is a good thing, but what if the drone gave out more warnings than tickets (ignoring the issue of delayed feedback) and based infractions on average speeds. If the tickets were reserved for seriously reckless offenders, I'm guessing the public backlash would be reduced.

barrkel 13y ago
I ride a motorcycle, and may or may not do 3 figure speeds when the roads are clear and safe. Would that count as reckless?
- DanBC 13y ago
  Yes. People routinely overestimate their driving abilities and underestimate the risk.
  - barrkel 13y ago
    People also routinely do much faster than low triple digits on the track, with exactly the same machine that they ride on the street. And when the road is clear, the risk is all mine.
gambiting 13y ago
I guess they could just fire a few rounds in front of your car as a warning, that would make you slow down. </joke>

saraid216 13y ago

And what do you expect would happen if 90+% of the people driving on that freeway got a ticket?

barrkel 13y ago
The local government (or whoever collects fines) would make a lot of money, behaviour would change, and possibly, just possibly, speed limits would rise. But the increase in revenue raised would make it too tempting not to use, IMO.
- freehunter 13y ago
  The speed of drivers would go down and normalize at maximum 65mph. This falls in line with the idea of a speed limit (not a speed suggestion). I fail to see how this is a bad thing.
  - barrkel 13y ago
    You have a failure of imagination, then. Many times an ill-advised overtake started out below the speed limit but needs to go a bit over to be made safe, and that's not just my opinion, but that of many traffic police officers over here in the UK. And think about what a low speed limit like 65mph would do to the economy.
    - freehunter 13y ago
      Then businesses would clamor to have the speed limit raised, huh? Here in Michigan, we were taught in drivers training that passing another car can only be done legally at a speed differential greater than 5mph and only if you stay within the speed limit. Such as, if the car in front of you was driving 50 and the speed limit was 55. You could pass at 55. A lot of the discussions I hear on this fall down to "it's inconvenient to drive the speed limit". Man that sucks, but the speed limit is kind of a legal limit.
DanBC 13y ago
California would have some money to spend on their lousy roads?

tptacek 13y ago

You (and I) shouldn't be driving 80mph on 65mph streets. This is one of those laws we all routinely break that we've all become expert at rationalizing, but unlike the laws we break by, say, trading bottles of Dark Lord for Pliny The Younger across state lines --- laws which have no victims --- we're probably wrong about the speed limit situation. The faster we drive, the less time we have to react to a fast changing situation on the road, and the more dangerous collisions become. I'd be really unhappy if speed limits were rigorously enforced too; I'm pretty routinely 5-10mph over them too. But I'd adjust my habits eventually, and so would you.

gambiting 13y ago
A much better situation would be to increase the speed limit where the road is good enough for that. That way, you are not getting annoyed that you are limited to 65mph on a straight road, and yes, while it increases reaction time it also makes you more focused on the road. I live in a country where the legal speed on motorways is 90mph, and frequently drive through Germany where I regularly go 120-130mph for long stretches of the Autobahn. And from my own experience(YMMV) driving 90-100mph makes you very aware of road waaaay ahead of you, a thought of looking anywhere else(phone, radio) but the road does not even cross my mind,because of how fast I am going and how much more intense of an experience that is. And then when I drive in the UK where the speed limit is only 70mph long drives get incredibly tiring and it's hard to remain focused, I have to stop regularly. Obviously, each system has its advantages and disadvantages, but none of them is ideal.
- dsl 13y ago
  I'm not concerned about you or I, but the woman who just barely passed her drivers test on the third try and is trying to corral 2 kids in the back seat, drink her mocha frapuchino, and talk to her sister on the phone.
  - tptacek 13y ago
    There is also the fact that the unrestricted portions of the German Autobahn were designed deliberately to accommodate 80mph traffic, unlike much of the urban US interstate system. Of the 11-12 figure transportation projects the US could undertake in 2013, making it easier for people to achieve dramatically lower fuel efficiency by driving 10-20mph faster seems like a poor investment.