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Re: Repeal of the National Speed Limit Law
In article <DAr552.8qG@ncrcae.ColumbiaSC.ATTGIS.COM>,
Chris Glasser <Chris.Glasser@ColumbiaSC.ATTGIS.COM> wrote:
}
}>==========Mark Rushton, 6/24/95==========
}>
}>This is typical spew from the brain-dead. The idea that going
}>10-20-30 mph
}>above a posted speed limit on a regular interstate highway is
}>going to harm
}>somebody is ridiculous.
}
}Right. Going 85 in a 55 MPH zone is perfectly safe. Even if everyone else is
}going 55-65.
}Do you really believe that?
I bet my life on it. Well, except that everyone else is doing 60-75.
}What if you're going 75 or 85 in a 55, and the guy in the lane next to you
}about 150 feet in front of you has a tire blow out? What if he then loses
}control of his car temporarily and swerves into your lane? At 75, you have
}MUCH less time to react than at 55. Your brakes will not be able to slow your
}car down anywhere near as well.
Even if he swerves into my lane, he still hasn't lost much of his own
speed--- he can't, in fact, because he can't brake with the blown-out
tire. I only have to slow enough to avoid him
}Your car will not handle as well as 75. You
}have a much greater chance of hitting this guy going 75 than 55. Do you deny
}this?
Yes. I also claim the situation is rare-- few blowouts on the highway
result in loss of control, and there are few in the first place.
}And common sense also says that the faster you're driving, the less time you
}have to react to unexpected situations. If you're driving an interstate at
}night, your headlights can only cover a certain amount of ground in front of
}you. If you're going 75 in a 55, by the time your headlights hit some
}unexpected debris on the road you will not have any chance of avoiding that
}debris.
So don't overdrive your headlights. At 75mph, you probably aren't
doing so.
}The average car's brakes are far less effective at stopping from 75 than at
}55.
The need to come to a panic stop on the highway is extremely rare. Or
do brick walls suddenly drop onto highways where you live?
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