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Re: Repeal of the National Speed Limit Law





In article <3smln6$gbc@wanda.pond.com>, russotto@wanda.pond.com said:
>In article <DAr552.8qG@ncrcae.ColumbiaSC.ATTGIS.COM>,
>Chris Glasser  <Chris.Glasser@ColumbiaSC.ATTGIS.COM> wrote:
>}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.

How fast is the guy next to him going? If he's going 75 too, rather than 55,
as is likely the case, then you will have just as much time to react as if
both were going 55. I just finished explaining this in detail in another
thread.

>}Your car will not handle as well a[t] 75. You
>}have a much greater chance of hitting this guy going 75 than 55. Do you deny
>}this?

You car will handle the same at 75 as it does at 55, when it comes to avoiding
obstacles that are moving at the same relative velocity (say, 5 mph slower
than you are).

>}The average car's brakes are far less effective at stopping from 75 than at
>}55.

If by this you mean that it takes longer to stop from 75 than from 55, then
that is correct. Isaac Newton explained it rather thoroughly. On the other
hand, if by this you mean that it takes longer to slow down by a fixed amount,
say 10 mph, then you are incorrect. It takes the same amount of time to
slow from 75 to 65 as it does to slow from 55 to 45. This is much more likely
to happen than having to come to a full stop on the freeway. Vehicles in front
of you do NOT suddenly come to a complete stop instantaneously. More likely,
they will apply the brakes to avoid some hazard, then resume their previous
speed. That only requires that you slow by as much as they did. How fast you
are going has no effect on how long it takes you to do so.

Michael Johnson
Relay Technology, Inc.


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