4 ms·

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

by 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.
gambiting 13y ago
But that woman should not be driving in the first place. So if your training/testing system allows irresponsible people like that to get behind the wheel, then that's where the problem is,and not with the speeds on freeways. Most EU countries have massive fines for eating/drinking/talking on the phone while driving so most people don't do it - that's one problem solved.
- tptacek 13y ago
  This is a kind of "New True Scotsman" argument where, presumably, any example of an unsafe driving situation will be countered with with some failure of driver certification. Be specific. How many people do you think we should try to get off the road, in order to increase the speed limit (implicitly, by not enforcing the one we have now)? How should we select those people?
  - gambiting 13y ago
    By looking at how other countries do it. In Germany you actually have to drive on the motorway at high speeds as part of your training . I have a friend who was told to drive at 120mph during his training, and the instructors argument was "the road is empty, the weather conditions are appropriate, and there is no speed limit on this stretch of the road,so you should know how to handle the car at those speeds". Yet in my own country I know people who have never driver faster than 40mph during their training, yet the legal motorway speed is 90mph. Are they ready for driving at those speeds? No, they are not. And the argument "what about woman driving while talking on the phone, eating and tending to children??" is completely pointless, just like "what about drunk people driving??" - both of these groups of people should be banned from driving, as both pose a danger to safety on the road.
    - tptacek 13y ago
      Sounds great. Tell me again how we ban the kinds of drivers who are likely to talk on the phone, eat, and tend to their children?
      - gambiting 13y ago
        We don't ban them when they are likely, we ban them when we catch them doing it. Psychological tests complimenting the practical driving test would also be a good idea.

by dsl 13y ago

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.

gambiting 13y ago

But that woman should not be driving in the first place. So if your training/testing system allows irresponsible people like that to get behind the wheel, then that's where the problem is,and not with the speeds on freeways. Most EU countries have massive fines for eating/drinking/talking on the phone while driving so most people don't do it - that's one problem solved.

tptacek 13y ago
This is a kind of "New True Scotsman" argument where, presumably, any example of an unsafe driving situation will be countered with with some failure of driver certification. Be specific. How many people do you think we should try to get off the road, in order to increase the speed limit (implicitly, by not enforcing the one we have now)? How should we select those people?
- gambiting 13y ago
  By looking at how other countries do it. In Germany you actually have to drive on the motorway at high speeds as part of your training . I have a friend who was told to drive at 120mph during his training, and the instructors argument was "the road is empty, the weather conditions are appropriate, and there is no speed limit on this stretch of the road,so you should know how to handle the car at those speeds". Yet in my own country I know people who have never driver faster than 40mph during their training, yet the legal motorway speed is 90mph. Are they ready for driving at those speeds? No, they are not. And the argument "what about woman driving while talking on the phone, eating and tending to children??" is completely pointless, just like "what about drunk people driving??" - both of these groups of people should be banned from driving, as both pose a danger to safety on the road.
  - tptacek 13y ago
    Sounds great. Tell me again how we ban the kinds of drivers who are likely to talk on the phone, eat, and tend to their children?
    - gambiting 13y ago
      We don't ban them when they are likely, we ban them when we catch them doing it. Psychological tests complimenting the practical driving test would also be a good idea.