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Re: Solve speeding by limiting cars!



In article <48adhl$eo1@post.gsfc.nasa.gov>, gwashing@ace.gsfc.nasa.gov (Gerald G. Washington) writes:
> 
> Okay.  The latest AutoWeek or Car & Driver printed findings released by the
> Florida State Highway Patrol (or some such).  The percentage of fatal collisions
> caused by speeding in Florida since 1990 was some ridiculously low number like 6%.
> I'll try to find the actual article.

Just a few loosely related thoughts:

1) Not sure about the above statistic, but dispite what it is, remember that
   probably the easiest thing for a trooper to do is check the "speed excessive
   for conditions" box on the accident report.  This will be interpeted as
   "speeding" by most people, even though the speed might well have been below
   legal limits.

2) Dispite all the "don't drink and drive" campains, alcohol is still a 
   significant factor in many accidents.

3) (IMHO)  I suspect simply falling asleep is an often overlooked cause of
   accidents, especially on the interstates.  I suspect that most of us
   have, at one time or another, come close to succumbing to the heavy
   eyelids during long drives.  Take a little cold medicine for that stuffy
   nose and really aggravate the situation.

4) I suspect that for the cases where exceeding the speed limit did contribute
   to the accident, that many times the limit exceeded was not the 65mph
   limit, but something much slower (e.g. doing 50mph in a residential area).
   I mention this in response to the idea of mandating speed limiters on cars.

-Bob




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