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Re: Solve speeding by limiting cars!
snagiel@emory.edu (Shahak Nagiel) wrote:
> Sorry. These things prove nothing but the fact that accidents are
>possible under any conditions. You both got in accidents (or ditches) not
>necessarily because you were going slow, but because you were unfamiliar
>with the area in poor weather or just not observent enough. Had you been
>going faster, it just would have been worse. Speed in and of itself is
>not dangerous, but it is inheritantly so. Many drivers seem to forget a
>fundamental law of physics which states that the kinetic energy is equal
>to mass (the car's weight) times velocity SQUARED. Regardless of the
>car's mass, the point is that for doubling your speed, the momentum of the
>car increases FOURfold. From 50 to 75, while only a 50% increase in
>speed, momentum increases 125%, which requires far longer breaking
>distances and makes accidents far more dangerous.
Agreed.
> Granted, most speed laws on today's highways have been around since the
>50s, when cars needed 250 feet to come to a stop from 60 miles/hour, and
>they got 10 miles to the gallon. Today, a good car can get 25-30 miles to
>the gallon, and yank itself to a halt within 140 feet. Which is why, of
>course, almost everyone cruises at 65 or 70 and doesn't feel guilty about
>it. But speed kills, no doubt about it, whether on highways or not.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Speed is a driver's controlled parameter. Speed does not kill, stupid
drivers (who do not know where or when to speed) kill.
It is the same thing as saying that electricity kills. Sure, if you
touch a pair of wires you can get killed, but we do not stop using
electricity for that reason.
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