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Re: Need Help Bad speeding ticket



randy@omni.voicenet.com (Randy) wrote:
>In article <5NOV199521134200@vms2.tamu.edu>, msw5513@vms2.tamu.edu (Gumby)
>wrote:
>
>> In article <randy-0111950034210001@philly36.voicenet.com>,
>randy@omni.voicenet.com (Randy) writes...
>> 
>> >People tell me all the time they will not drive
>> >MORE than 10 MPH over the SPEED LIMIT in fear of getting cited. Hence,
>> >speed limits do work to keep MOST traffic from going too fast. I think 75
>> >MPH on most highways may be more than adequate, but if you make the speed
>> >limit 75 MPH, you will have people driving 85 MPH. That is why I think 65
>> >MPH is a good speed limit.
>> 
>> Let me get this straight.  You advocate breaking the law.  You think people
>> should go faster than the speed limit, and you want the limit set low to
>> force people to speed.
>
>No where in my post do I advocate breaking the law. I do not think people
>should go faster than a legitimate speed limit. My point is, that 
>no matter what the speed limit is, people will exceed it by 10 MPH because
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>they know/think they can get away with it. If the speed limit is 10 MPH
>under what a safe speed limit would be, the majority of the people
>breaking the law by 10 MPH would actually be doing a safe speed limit.
>

<snip the rest>

Sorry, but the bullshit meter just hit the top of the scale!

PEOPLE DRIVE AT SPEEDS THAT THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH, REGARDLESS OF 
THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT.  

This is just no my observation, but also that of a recently released
federal study on speed laws. It is true that when speed laws are politically
motivated and regulated below the natural flow for a given roadway, drivers
may feel that if cops are around they must not exceed the limit by more 
than 10 mph.  Yet, when cops are not around, the flow are usually quite 
higher.

Lets do a thought problem: set the speed limit to 85 mph on a rural
freeway (say the I5 north of LA).  Do you think that people driving
minivans and UTEs are gonna cruise at 95mph?  Do you think that
people in Hunday's (other than Rodney King) will do 95?.

I might probably cruise at 90 or 95 in my cars, but then I usually do
drive that road at that speed anyhow because my cars feel good between
85 and 100.  But most folks will cruise at speeds that they are comfortable
with.  I would dare say that Porsches, NSXs and Ferraris might do 105, but 
then I'm comfortable about having such cars about me doing those speeds
because as a general rule they are being operated well below their 
performance envelopes even at a 100 and can react quite quickly to
adverse circumstances.


tony



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