LS4fun

What do YOU consider reckless....i think in a 55 ...85 is reckless yes!

3dog

iTrader: (1)

well now you mention that 55mph is the speed limit. i'm sure that 85mph would be considered reckless in a court of law.

around here in seattle we have interstate 5, it is posted at 60mph up from the 55 it used to be. the interstate when it was built, was made so you could drive 70mph with no problem and that was with the cars from the late 60's. we're talking 5 lanes wide, with a median just as wide and shoulders that you could play football on. now, say i go out and there are no other cars in sight and i get up to 85mph. i really don't think that is being reckless. could i be ticketed, sure. if there is lots of traffic and i'm cutting people off and weaving in and out i agree that is being reckless. hell throw me in jail if i'm doing that, because then i'm endangering other people.

another example; one of the ways i drive to work at 0430 every morning. i go on a 4 lane (two in each direction) road that was opened to traffic about a year ago. it is thru an industrial area full of warehouses. well the speed limit is 25mph. there is never any traffic, nor are there any obstructions to vision . so sometimes i end up going 50 maybe even 55 or 60mph. could i get a ticket? you better know it. am i endangering anyone? no. would i go that fast in traffic? no.


my bottom line is any speed can be reckless. it depends on the conditions. i do like to drive fast, i will admit it. when i go over the limit i make sure that i am not weaving in and out or cutting anyone off. i don't think that speed alone should be the sole factor. no one should ever drive in such a way that innocent people are endangered.

LexFather

Let us not forget the government imposed the STUPID 55mph law in the 70s during the oil embargo. When local governments discovered this CASH COW, it never was increased until what, 1995 or 1996? Remember no speed limit in Montana???

Since we have no oil embargo, and even the wost car today is way more advanced than anything pretty much made in the 70s, and roads are better, shouldn't speed limits increase???? The only reason not may be we have 3 times as many cars on the road as before, we are too congested.

mmarshall

Yes, the main problem today is simple congestion. Also, a lot of people don't keep a close eye on their tire wear and pressures, and at really high speeds, and they would end up spinning out all over the place on wet roads.
This already happens any time it snows.

Whether the 55 MPH limit was a cash cow or not is debatable. With millions of drivers routinely ignoring it every day almost everywhere, the amount of money it actually DID bring in was nothing compared to what it COULD have brought in had the limits REALLY been enforced,.....which, of course, for the most part, they weren't.

3dog

iTrader: (1)

they were enforced here in washington. i picked up a ticket for going 60 in a 55. i could not believe it.

it always seemed to me a real waste of time to plod along at 55mph when i had a 150 mile drive to portland ore. instead of two hrs lets do three instead.

i think if they would raise some of the limits you would get more cars thru a given point in a given amount of time, thereby reducing some of the congestion.

mmarshall

OK...so you got a ticket. For every one issued ( including yours...and I do agree that 60 in a 55 zone is trivial ) probably a million people DON'T get caught. I've gotten a couple of red light violations in my life....but for each one I got, there were many others that did NOT get caught. Cameras are starting to get those, too....not just speeding.

The point I made in my earlier post is still valid.......the so-called "cash-cow" status is debatable when you consider ACTUAL revenues generated versus POTENTIAL revenues.