Define \”stupid and slow drivers.\” Would that mean going below the speed limit? The speed limit is a law not a suggestion.
I\’d say a stupid driver is a person that tailgates and goes far over the speed limit and changes lanes without signaling and zig zagging through traffic. I hope you\’re not that type of driver since that would mean that you are a \”stupid driver.\”
Speeding is more dangerous to yourself and other drivers on the road. All the cars around you and the passengers in those cars and in your car are dependent on each other to be safe drivers. being a safe driver means adhering to safety and traffic laws.
Speeding is more dangerous to everyone on the road. Speeding is less gasoline efficient. Speeding is more dangerous to the long term health of your car.
I hope you can list for me the good points of speeding. I can\’t really think of any. Those that chronically speed are generally young or irresponsible people. Impatient.
In my opinion, this shows that the U.S. puts too much emphasis on controlling speed and not enough on other factors – such as driver behaviour and safer road design. A few roundabouts, especially at busy junctions, might help. It is a fact that one is three times more likely to die on the road in the U.S. compared to the UK. Even if one takes account of the the extra mileages covered in the U.S., one\’s risk of dying or being seriously injured is well over double that of the UK (inspite of there being vastly more vehicles per mile of road space in the UK). Unfortunately, the UK police are now, also, spending too much effort on speed at the expense of other factors – hence the UK death rates haven\’t improved over the last ten years. On the other hand, the revenue from fines is booming!
Duh…. Do you think it might have something to do with the speed limits being raised several years ago? Not to mention the repeal of helmet laws? How about the fact that high school drivers education programs are no longer provided via the schools, which means a lot of kids never take drivers ed? Or that there is no longer even a behind-the-wheel driving portion of the licensing test in Texas? Not to mention people who cannot read English are allowed to take licensing tests in their native language! (how are they going to read roadway signs?)
Nice Cindy but it most likely is cell phone use among female drivers of suvs who insist on making left hand turns at busy intersections while tlaking on a hand held cell phone. Would be surpirsed if the were hitting motorcyclist and pedestrains in the process—a recent study showed you are safer on the road at a .12 BAc than talking on even a hands free cell phone. No one want to take on this issue but it slows traffic and causes accidents plain and simple!
High school drivers\’ Ed was tremendously helpful for me. I learned so much in that class that I never learned from my parents or even other drivers. Its probably saved my life in difficult driving situations.
Some people who do not have \”sense\” when driving may not have it b/c of education. Driver\’s Ed was that education that many kids are lacking nowadays as they are talking on the cell phone and listening to their ipod while speeding in the fast lane.
If you have ever lost someone or become injured from an auto accident these stats touch your heart. Everyone should be required to take driver\’s education and us older driver\’s traffic school. Don\’t wait until you receive a traffic ticket to learn what could save one\’s life. Accidents from carelessness,
cell phones, eating/drinking while driving, falling asleep, and so many others are things we can avoid for safety purposes. Buckle up for safety and drive wisely as if someone\’s life depended on it, it does.
May be if children where to wait until they are adults before they can drive, may be drivers test were more restricted, like, drivers exam were to be taken in a regular roads instead of a paking lots. That may be the biggest problems here in the US.
P.s. get rid off stupid and slow drivers from the road..
By stupid and slow, I would assume that would refer to people who drive slowly in the fast lane, or people who drive 45 in a 55 and have 10 cars behind them. Are we going to blame the 10 cars who all want to drive the speed limit, who then attempt to pass the 1 slow driver? Its human nature to want to drive the speed limit and that will never change.
So if you want to make the roads safer, remove or punish the one slow car, then the other 10 cars who just want to drive the speed limit wont be tempted to make a pass, which is always risky. Contrary to popular belief, its the slow cars that cause the accidents, because slower cars, ruin the FLOW of traffic. If you ruin the FLOW of traffic then you create passing and lane changes which statisticly lead to accidents, NOT SPEED. Also slower drivers are usually driving slowly because they lack the basic reflexes to drive the speed limit.
To the person who claimed the increase in speed limit caused this increase in fatalities, that is not true. This article refers to an increase in fatalities from 2004. The speed limit increases were actually well before that. You people need to STUDY the situation before you go spouting off.
the increase in speed limits has worsened the severity of car crashes. Were it not for the increased safety of cars there would be a dramatic increase in fatalities. It is not my opinion but a fact.
The speed limit is the maximum speed allowable under law. So we should reward those that are driving the maximum legal speed and punish those who choose to follow the law and drive defensively?? Imagine that punish people for following the law!
Going 10 below the speed limit doesn\’t hamper the flow of traffic that much. That\’s why many roads have a passing lane. That\’s why some states have laws that slow drivers can\’t be in the passing lanes. Your \”solution\” is irrational.
And you also bring up \”proof.\” Well Geoff where is this said proof that says that going faster REDUCES the likelihood of an accident? I\’d like to see it. Preferably it should be a peer reviewed study not something you scrawled on a napkin using crayons.
Mr Duffman, you never addressed my point. If one slow old man, or drunk lady, or cowardly driver, is driving 40 in a 55, then till the end of time, I promise you, the 20 cars following behind will attempt to make a pass. Some legal, some not, some safely, some not. That will never change. As you apparently are not aware, there are traffic laws currently on the books that were derived from the same study I quoted from. Thus, you will see a minimum speed limit on many roads.
Also, it has always been illegal to slow and disrupt the flow of traffic. How can you dispute the fact that 100 cars going 55 miles per hour on a rd, is more safe than 99 cars going 55 with one car going 45 screwing things up? How many years have you studied these issues? In urban planning this is old hat to us, im not saying anything new or controversial. Slow cars are dangerous, and enforcing a 55 mph speed limit on millions of cars has never worked!! Go after the few weak and feeble drivers that screw things up for the rest of us.
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Define \”stupid and slow drivers.\” Would that mean going below the speed limit? The speed limit is a law not a suggestion.
I\’d say a stupid driver is a person that tailgates and goes far over the speed limit and changes lanes without signaling and zig zagging through traffic. I hope you\’re not that type of driver since that would mean that you are a \”stupid driver.\”
Speeding is more dangerous to yourself and other drivers on the road. All the cars around you and the passengers in those cars and in your car are dependent on each other to be safe drivers. being a safe driver means adhering to safety and traffic laws.
Speeding is more dangerous to everyone on the road. Speeding is less gasoline efficient. Speeding is more dangerous to the long term health of your car.
I hope you can list for me the good points of speeding. I can\’t really think of any. Those that chronically speed are generally young or irresponsible people. Impatient.
In my opinion, this shows that the U.S. puts too much emphasis on controlling speed and not enough on other factors – such as driver behaviour and safer road design. A few roundabouts, especially at busy junctions, might help. It is a fact that one is three times more likely to die on the road in the U.S. compared to the UK. Even if one takes account of the the extra mileages covered in the U.S., one\’s risk of dying or being seriously injured is well over double that of the UK (inspite of there being vastly more vehicles per mile of road space in the UK). Unfortunately, the UK police are now, also, spending too much effort on speed at the expense of other factors – hence the UK death rates haven\’t improved over the last ten years. On the other hand, the revenue from fines is booming!
Duh…. Do you think it might have something to do with the speed limits being raised several years ago? Not to mention the repeal of helmet laws? How about the fact that high school drivers education programs are no longer provided via the schools, which means a lot of kids never take drivers ed? Or that there is no longer even a behind-the-wheel driving portion of the licensing test in Texas? Not to mention people who cannot read English are allowed to take licensing tests in their native language! (how are they going to read roadway signs?)
Nice Cindy but it most likely is cell phone use among female drivers of suvs who insist on making left hand turns at busy intersections while tlaking on a hand held cell phone. Would be surpirsed if the were hitting motorcyclist and pedestrains in the process—a recent study showed you are safer on the road at a .12 BAc than talking on even a hands free cell phone. No one want to take on this issue but it slows traffic and causes accidents plain and simple!
High school drivers\’ Ed was tremendously helpful for me. I learned so much in that class that I never learned from my parents or even other drivers. Its probably saved my life in difficult driving situations.
Some people who do not have \”sense\” when driving may not have it b/c of education. Driver\’s Ed was that education that many kids are lacking nowadays as they are talking on the cell phone and listening to their ipod while speeding in the fast lane.
If you have ever lost someone or become injured from an auto accident these stats touch your heart. Everyone should be required to take driver\’s education and us older driver\’s traffic school. Don\’t wait until you receive a traffic ticket to learn what could save one\’s life. Accidents from carelessness,
cell phones, eating/drinking while driving, falling asleep, and so many others are things we can avoid for safety purposes. Buckle up for safety and drive wisely as if someone\’s life depended on it, it does.
May be if children where to wait until they are adults before they can drive, may be drivers test were more restricted, like, drivers exam were to be taken in a regular roads instead of a paking lots. That may be the biggest problems here in the US.
P.s. get rid off stupid and slow drivers from the road..
By stupid and slow, I would assume that would refer to people who drive slowly in the fast lane, or people who drive 45 in a 55 and have 10 cars behind them. Are we going to blame the 10 cars who all want to drive the speed limit, who then attempt to pass the 1 slow driver? Its human nature to want to drive the speed limit and that will never change.
So if you want to make the roads safer, remove or punish the one slow car, then the other 10 cars who just want to drive the speed limit wont be tempted to make a pass, which is always risky. Contrary to popular belief, its the slow cars that cause the accidents, because slower cars, ruin the FLOW of traffic. If you ruin the FLOW of traffic then you create passing and lane changes which statisticly lead to accidents, NOT SPEED. Also slower drivers are usually driving slowly because they lack the basic reflexes to drive the speed limit.
To the person who claimed the increase in speed limit caused this increase in fatalities, that is not true. This article refers to an increase in fatalities from 2004. The speed limit increases were actually well before that. You people need to STUDY the situation before you go spouting off.
Mr. Montgomery:
the increase in speed limits has worsened the severity of car crashes. Were it not for the increased safety of cars there would be a dramatic increase in fatalities. It is not my opinion but a fact.
The speed limit is the maximum speed allowable under law. So we should reward those that are driving the maximum legal speed and punish those who choose to follow the law and drive defensively?? Imagine that punish people for following the law!
Going 10 below the speed limit doesn\’t hamper the flow of traffic that much. That\’s why many roads have a passing lane. That\’s why some states have laws that slow drivers can\’t be in the passing lanes. Your \”solution\” is irrational.
And you also bring up \”proof.\” Well Geoff where is this said proof that says that going faster REDUCES the likelihood of an accident? I\’d like to see it. Preferably it should be a peer reviewed study not something you scrawled on a napkin using crayons.
Mr Duffman, you never addressed my point. If one slow old man, or drunk lady, or cowardly driver, is driving 40 in a 55, then till the end of time, I promise you, the 20 cars following behind will attempt to make a pass. Some legal, some not, some safely, some not. That will never change. As you apparently are not aware, there are traffic laws currently on the books that were derived from the same study I quoted from. Thus, you will see a minimum speed limit on many roads.
Also, it has always been illegal to slow and disrupt the flow of traffic. How can you dispute the fact that 100 cars going 55 miles per hour on a rd, is more safe than 99 cars going 55 with one car going 45 screwing things up? How many years have you studied these issues? In urban planning this is old hat to us, im not saying anything new or controversial. Slow cars are dangerous, and enforcing a 55 mph speed limit on millions of cars has never worked!! Go after the few weak and feeble drivers that screw things up for the rest of us.