I have been on many different roads in many different lands and it is interesting to find that every road has a naturally occurring speed that is comfortable and safe for any given situation of weather, road condition, traffic, time of day, vehicle used, and present state of mind. Given this formula it should be easy to note that the right speed limit is not the same for all users. This is natural.
Speed limits in this country were originally set by building the road and then opening it up to traffic and watching to see what rate of speed 85% of the public was traveling at. They then set the speed limit at the next highest multiple of 5 and on we went. Occasionally the limits would have to be reevaluated and that is normal too. As technology has advanced, so have the capabilities of the cars we drive. Our cars have better brakes, suspensions, tires, engines, windshields, seats, seat belts, airbags, crumple zones, and a host of other things that exists below the skin beyond our view. What we drive today is nowhere near what we drove a decade or two ago let alone what was available in the era before seat belts and steel belted tires.
As times have changed, so have we. Some cities made it a law that when you went out to go for a ride in your horseless carriage, that you must have someone walking in front of you with a red flag to warn others of the impending danger your horseless carriage might make. Sometimes I wonder if we have really advanced that far.
Let’s face it, speed limits are not about safety, it is about control. I have heard some of the most ridiculous agreements for and in behalf of speed limits and their enforcement. I have been in cities where the natural flow of traffic was 10 mph faster than the stated speed limit and heard people say that if they raised the speed limit higher by that 10 then people would just drive 10 faster than that. So what does that tell us? Is the speed limit set 20 miles to low? Can you keep raising the speed limit eventually to infinity and people will continue to travel 10 mph faster even to infinity plus 10?
But Ed, we have always been told that speed kills. I must state the fact that I have yet to reach a speed that I spontaneously combust. Anybody that has witnessed a race will not that there is no magical speed that when it will cause the car to immediately burst into flames and sail into the stands wiping out many of the fans that came to watch just such an event.
No, speed does not kill. The misapplication of speed can. Does that mean that there is a skill level involved in the operation of our vehicles? Of course. Does that mean that the average driver out there is not being properly trained and their skills have not been developed enough to cope with any higher speeds than we currently allow? Possible but whose fault is that?
I’m sorry but I believe in people and their abilities to make good choices and to have capabilities that far exceed what they use on a daily basis. I believe that people can have common sense or at least develop it in the course of their lives to a point that they do not need to be told how to do every little thing. I believe that people have the ability to decide for themselves what is best for them and have the gumption to do it given the chance.
I would love to see a movement start on the interstate system. These roads were designed for safe 80 mph travel in the 50’s. Remember the cars we had in the 50’s. Remember that all those cars were not new then either. How far have we come, or rather how much farther should we be if we could only continue to advance our lives in a progressive manner? So what could we do?
Take all the speed limit signs down and replace them with “Slower Traffic Keep Right”. It is not making everyone drive at a set speed that creates a safe situation but having rules that make it possible for people of different speeds to coexist peacefully. “Slower Traffic Keep Right” allows for everyone to travel at the speed they are comfortable with and anyone that is comfortable traveling faster can move to the left, pass, and then return to the right at the speed they are comfortable with. People would know the rules and know what to expect from other people that knew what the rules were. People would use turn signals and rear view mirrors and be aware of those around them.
Drivers already know these things. Drivers use their turn signals and rear view mirrors. Drivers pay attention to what is going on around them. The look ahead and try to predict the possible actions of others around them. Drivers realize their own abilities of those of their cars and make decisions based on those abilities for the given conditions. Drivers know and care about these things. Real drivers also know just how slow the speed limits really are.
I have driven with the locals at speeds far faster than the stated speed limit but I have also driven with the locals far below the stated speed limit. 55 mph on an ice covered road in a heavy snow storm with gale force winds just isn’t going to happen no matter what the sign says. If we are smart enough to go slower than the speed limit as conditions warrant, then why aren’t we allowed to be smart enough to go faster as conditions warrant?
If you want to try something interesting, get in the right lane (where you should be unless you’re passing anyway) and drive 5 or 10 mph below the stated speed limit. See what happens to traffic around you. See what happens to you, how you feel, how relaxed or anxious you become. Can you make adjustments with merging traffic? Can you maintain that speed without absent mindedly trying to match the speed of others? Do you feel guilty for holding up others or do you feel empowered by it? Do this and you might learn as much about yourself as you do those around you.
It is all right to be different. All I want is the right to be different as much as I want you to have the right to be different. When we all can live differently together then will the possible become possible.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
No comments:
Post a Comment