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I think that speed limits should be rated according to traffic flow. For example, some areas on this island are rated too low, such as the freeway. On the other hand, danger on the road is not just due to speeding. Weaving in and out of cars at high speeds is extremely dangerous to the lives of others on the road, but driving at high speeds on an empty freeway is not as dangerous. Although I do not agree with the speed limits in certain areas, I do believe that following the speed limit at all times is important. Following the speed limit is a part of being a responsible road user.
I also feel that driving too slow or below the speed limit can make you a hazard on the road. This can cause an accident because you are obstructing the flow of traffic. They are like big pieces of debris on the road that you have to dodge.
Overall, I think that no matter what the speed limit is, it should be followed. If it is not, it is breaking the law. My behavior is consistent with my attitude because I do not drive too slow or too fast. I think that I am in control of my vehicle whenever I drive and have courtesy on the road for other drivers. Sometimes I drive fast when it is safe to do so and drive reasonable in hazardous conditions.
I think the speed limits that are posted, should be abided by in some instances, school zones, narrow residential streets and the like. I feel that those persons who set the speed limits have developed "safe" speeds for most of the areas using valid reasons for doing so. Most of the interstate I-5 on the west coast has speed limits set from 65 mph through most areas. The only areas that have lower speed are through the mountain passes that curve and may have ice during the winter. I have driven throughout the West coast and even though I had been going 30 to 40 miles over the posted speed limit, (weather permitting, of course) I have usually just been keeping up with the local traffic. There lies the conflict that I have with posted speed limits, for me and many other "experienced good" drivers exceeding the posted limits is not a problem but on the other hand. I do feel that if most of the other drivers go within 10 miles an hour of the posted speed limit, then they are driving at a relatively safe speed for their driving skill, still other drivers should not even be driving at all! I think when they start to get up in the range of 20 mph. or more, then we may have a potential problem on our hands. This could cause a very dangerous situation. Slow down, pay attention, and drive at the speed that you are capable of driving and no more.
I love to speed. Speed is the best rush I have ever experienced. Fast is my favorite way to drive and I have driven over the speed limit more times then I could ever count. Every time I get into a car and press the gas I can feel my adrenaline rushing and my need for speed starts to kick in. I cannot say for sure but I do believe that this need is a least partially hereditary. I say this because both of my parents enjoy driving fast. I might be partially because they are also taught me how to drive, but they never actually taught me how to speed. Though I love to drive fast and have done numerous times in the past,I have realized from experience the dangers. Five years ago I would have been all for increasing the speed limit but now I'm not so sure.
No, most of the time my opinion on speeding, which is against it, and my behavior, which is speeding, are not consistent. In recent months I have taken major steps to reduce my speed and be more aware of the dangers of speeding each time I am tempted to speed. In my neighborhood there are many small children who do not pay attention to what is going on around them. This is what made me realize that many people drive in the same manner. They do not know what is going on around them and it up to us as individuals to be extra aware.
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I don't like to speed. I just do it out of habit. Sometimes I can't stand the idea of driving 25 miles an hour. It doesn't give me a rush of any kind, it really is just a habit. Most of the time, I am speeding because I am keeping up with the pace of traffic, not even paying attention to what the speedometer says. The one time that I got caught for speeding, I was keeping up with traffic going about 70 miles an hour on Nimitz and then I see these flashing lights behind me. I think the driver should use discretion to decide when it is okay to speed and when it is not. For me, I speed mostly when there are no cars on the road with me, like early in the morning. But I hardly speed excessively. The most I go over the speed limit is about 15 miles. I think excessive speeding is extremely dangerous and stupid. I get irritated when I see those stupid little racer cars, dropped to the ground with all their decals, going 80 or 90, weaving in and out of traffic. That kind of speeding is really dangerous. I don't consider my kind of speeding dangerous. I speed within limits and I am always aware of what is going on around me and what is more important, I have full control of my vehicle. I doubt that those racer punks have any control over their vehicle going 90 miles an hour.
My attitude towards the law and speed limits varies, I guess. I agree with posted speed limits in heavy traffic situations. However, at three in the morning, it is hard to go 50 miles an hour when there is no one on the road with you. I believe that there should be time imposed speed limits. I also don't agree with speed limits when you are going with the flow of traffic. If the flow of traffic is going at 70, you should be going 70 to. Going speed limit in a situation like that endangers everyone else on the road, including yourself. I was extremely irritated with the cop that pulled me over that one time. While I do admit to speeding, the ticket was ridiculous. Had I slowed down to speed limit, I would have caused a dangerous obstacle to everyone else on the road. I was also irritated in the fact that I was caught. Everyone else was going exactly as fast as I was going, and yet, I was the only one who got caught. But I guess you can't catch all the fish.
I believe that my attitude is consistent with my behavior. I always speed with discretion, and never excessively. If the flow of traffic is going a certain speed, I will go that speed. My main focus on the road is that I know what is going on around me, aware of the other drivers, and for me to have control over my vehicle.
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The first website I encountered that deals with speeding is at http://speeding.skyline.net/. This site basically deals with how to get out of a speeding ticket when you go to court. According to the counter at the top of the page, 81,074 people have linked to this particular page. The subheadings for this page include: The best way to avoid getting a ticket, The most important five minutes of court, should you even show up, and what you should plead. The author, according to his own word, was the recipient of over thirty moving violations, and so, this self-proclaimed expert decided to share his knowledge with the world.
The author of this site believes that speeding tickets are just a way to generate revenue. He does not believe that speed limits are established to protect drivers.
The second website I encountered about speeding is called P.A.S.T. or Parents Against Speeding Teens. This sites mission states
"Our main focus will always be the education and awareness of young drivers. We feel they need to be aware of the sometimes tragic consequences of speeding and reckless driving. With a combination of more awareness and more experience behind the wheel, teens have the potential to be very responsible drivers. We have several methods of accomplishing these goals."
As you can guess, this site is against speeding. They offer personal stories of actual teen tradgedies that are a result of speeding.
I totally agree with this site. I feel that teens do not have the experience or knowledge to know that speeding kills. They feel like they are immortal and therefore speed excessively, causing a danger to themselves and other drivers on the road. Just the other month, several teens were critically injured, one fatally on the freeway here in Honolulu as a result of excessive speeding and racing.
The third site that I encountered about speeding is at http://azfms.com/DocReviews/Jul96/art11.htm. This sites debates the question about the effects of raising the speed limit. This site cites a study that proposes that raising the speed limit from 55 to 65 actually lowers the mortality rate on the roads from 3.4 to 5.1 percent. The study states such things as decreased speed variance and road switching as the cause. The site is a part of a larger site of document reviews for the Arizona Transportation center.
I am somewhat in agreement with this study. I am skeptical as to the decrease in mortality rates in relation to increased speed limits. But I do agree with the explanation about decreased speed variance and lower mortality rate. I believe that speed variance is a big issue with traffic accidents. If everybody drove at the same speed on our freeways, there would be less accidents, as this site goes on to contend.
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This message, found through Dejanews, is part of a forum that discusses the pros and cons of raising the speed limit. This particular posting was one of the clearest and sensical postings that I ran across in the forum, as it cites a study and then goes on to say how speed limits should work and why they don't. The writer of this message obviously is against the current posted speed limit. A more effective way of expressing his concern and point of view would have been to take on a more objective standpoint and eliminate the negative comments he has against current speed limits. Objectivity would add more credence to his argument.
Author: Colin R. Leech <ag414@FreeNet.Carleton.CA> Date: 1999/04/01 Forum: alt.planning.transportation Jens Puchert (jensi@mod4win.com) wrote: > > Since it's speed differentials that matter, not absolute speeds, the > slow drivers are just as great a danger to the fast drivers as the fast > drivers are to the slow drivers. Theory of relativity. Half right. A driver travelling significantly slower than the rest of the traffic (the proverbial granny travelling 40 mph when everybody else is going 65 mph) _is_ dangerous, and will suffer the most in a collision. The reason she will suffer most is the half about which you are incorrect: absolute speed *does* matter, because the energy that has to be dissipated to bring you to a stop (after you hit something) increases with the square of your speed. All that kinetic energy gets transferred from the fast car to the sign or abutment that is hit, or to the granny who gets run over by the faster driver.This posting is related to speed differentials and is a part of the same forum. This posting talks about the dangers in driving at different speeds. This topic is one that I have already identified with. I believe that speed differential has a lot to do with danger on the road. I believe that this topic needs to be studied further by traffic psychology as a separate topic in itself; apart from speeding. It also needs to be studied by traffic researchers. Implications of speed differentials may change attitudes towards speeding, and may in turn affect policy regarding speeding and speed limits.
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What I have concluded from this report is that there are many other aspects behind the speed limit debate. There are those who are for raising the speed limit and there are those who are against raising it. The main issue in the debate over the speed limit is whether or not it will increase accidents. While both sides make good arguments, there are other factors that contribute to this issue. It is also debated whether or not a speed limit is directly correlated with number of accidents and mortality on the road. I have learned that other factors can contribute to this debate. These are factors such as speed differential, which I think is an extremely valid alternative hypothesis. I have not changed my opinions on speeding because of this report. I am still against excessive speeding, which I think is extremely dangerous to the speeder and fellow drivers, and I still believe that going with the flow of traffic is important. Minimizing speed differentials is a good way to decrease accident numbers.
My suggestions for future generations as always is to start early. Start the researching and web browsing as early as possible. This will help when you start writing out your report. The technique for report posting that I found was most helpful is to stick with one design for all your reports. In this way, you don't have to worry about how to put together your reports. You can just copy, cut, and past your way to making a good format, making little changes here and there. The other advantage for doing it this way is that you become familiar with your one particular format which makes your latter reports all the more faster to publish. What will take you days on your first report, will turn into mere hours on your latter reports.