kare11.com— We decided to give it a try using one car, equipped with five different cameras. A sixth camera hovered above in Sky 11 as we drove the speed limit on metro roads.
May 12, 2006View in Crawl 4
I cannot believe WI has changed that much. WI was famous for ticketing people doing a wiff over 55 when I was there on and off for the last ten years. I mean, you arrived on the border to WI, and you SLAMMED on the brakes and maintained 55. There were NO speeders, so there were no worries about yuppies-in-a-hurry causing an accident. Texas was even worse -- a hundred dollar ticket for doing 5 over. I wound up paying 300 for paying late.
Ugh... there are so many problems on the highway, and truly it's not speed related. So lets hit the list of what's really the problem.1. 55 MPH is far far too low. Most modern vehicles have little problem doing 80 MPH. And traffic usually travels at around 70 - 80 MPH. So I'd view 70 - 75 MPH as a good maximum. (Also after talking to a few LEOs, I've heard they pull over people exceeding 55 MPH not because of speeding, but it gives then a chance to pull over drivers and possibly see if the are wanted, driving under the influence, have expired insurance, driving a stolen vehicle, etc).2. All too often there is no enforced minimum or no enforced slower vehicles keep to the right. This is a major disruption of the flow of traffic when someone goes significantly slower than the flow of traffic. This is a cause of aggressive driving. People lane hop, tailgate, honk, etc which then usually causes disruption of the flow of traffic in other lanes.3. Poor highway design. Often times on ramps are way way to short, not allowing them to build up speed to properly merge into traffic. Also, some on ramps merge into the left hand lane, which causes major disruption and breaks up the flow of traffic. Or exit ramps are in the left hand lane causing slower drivers to populate more of the left lanes. And lastly some shoulders are far to small, and cause traffic next to that shoulder to significantly decrease in speed for fear of hitting someone on the shoulder.4. Poor highway maintenance. Often times major highways are sorely neglected. Uneven highways, potholes that would swallow SUVs, etc lead to erratic driver behavior and overall slower traffic in all lanes.5. And lastly, and most important is poor driver training. Drivers don't merge correctly, don't keep to the right, force their way into other lanes when there is no room, weave in and out of traffic, cut across multiple lanes to get to an exit, don't keep to the right if they are driving slower, etc. Driving is a privilege, not a right. And as such all drivers should be forced to take a very rigorous course that includes written testing and read world practice.But instead of really fixing these issues, it looks like they are asking for more police to be pulling over more people, which itself is a disruption of traffic as every approaching the pulled over vehicle drastically reduces speed (often driving far below the limit). But hey, how can it be wrong when you pull over 7k people and give them a ticket which could range anywhere from $60 - $600 dollars, and claim that you're doing a public service.
TylerDurden0: It proved that the traffic flow was moving much faster than the posted speed allowed.It was pretty silly for them to say that they were following the law, failing to keep right (or left in Australia) unless overtaking is a traffic offence.
I'm a 5-10 over, right lane, passive kind of driver. One thing that I really hate is construction zone speed limits on the interstate. You'll get these drops to 50 or 55 after cruising at 75 that A) Never have construction workers and B) rarely slow traffic down. So, effectively they're just a reminder that you are now going way over the posted limit and associated speeding fines are more severe.
When I got my driver's license the advice given to me by my peers was to 'follow the flow of traffic.' I was never a reckless driver, but recently I have been driving strictly within the speed limit. My experience is very good, I feel relaxed and less tired (especially on long trips,) and I never worry about cops pulling me over. I think everyone should drive within the speed limit.I felt so passionate about this issue that I started a website: <a class="user" href="http://thespeedlimit.org:">http://thespeedlimit.org:</a> It is a place where you can discuss issues regarding speeding, the speed limit and courteous driving.
catbellerMay 12, 2006
I cannot believe WI has changed that much. WI was famous for ticketing people doing a wiff over 55 when I was there on and off for the last ten years. I mean, you arrived on the border to WI, and you SLAMMED on the brakes and maintained 55. There were NO speeders, so there were no worries about yuppies-in-a-hurry causing an accident. Texas was even worse -- a hundred dollar ticket for doing 5 over. I wound up paying 300 for paying late.
hakdragonMay 13, 2006
It was on digg earlier and since you're point and link both seem relevant to the discussion of this story, I don't know why you were modded down.
skyhighrocketsMay 13, 2006
I saw this in HD on my 50" TV. I live in Minnesota :)
heapmallocMay 13, 2006
Ugh... there are so many problems on the highway, and truly it's not speed related. So lets hit the list of what's really the problem.1. 55 MPH is far far too low. Most modern vehicles have little problem doing 80 MPH. And traffic usually travels at around 70 - 80 MPH. So I'd view 70 - 75 MPH as a good maximum. (Also after talking to a few LEOs, I've heard they pull over people exceeding 55 MPH not because of speeding, but it gives then a chance to pull over drivers and possibly see if the are wanted, driving under the influence, have expired insurance, driving a stolen vehicle, etc).2. All too often there is no enforced minimum or no enforced slower vehicles keep to the right. This is a major disruption of the flow of traffic when someone goes significantly slower than the flow of traffic. This is a cause of aggressive driving. People lane hop, tailgate, honk, etc which then usually causes disruption of the flow of traffic in other lanes.3. Poor highway design. Often times on ramps are way way to short, not allowing them to build up speed to properly merge into traffic. Also, some on ramps merge into the left hand lane, which causes major disruption and breaks up the flow of traffic. Or exit ramps are in the left hand lane causing slower drivers to populate more of the left lanes. And lastly some shoulders are far to small, and cause traffic next to that shoulder to significantly decrease in speed for fear of hitting someone on the shoulder.4. Poor highway maintenance. Often times major highways are sorely neglected. Uneven highways, potholes that would swallow SUVs, etc lead to erratic driver behavior and overall slower traffic in all lanes.5. And lastly, and most important is poor driver training. Drivers don't merge correctly, don't keep to the right, force their way into other lanes when there is no room, weave in and out of traffic, cut across multiple lanes to get to an exit, don't keep to the right if they are driving slower, etc. Driving is a privilege, not a right. And as such all drivers should be forced to take a very rigorous course that includes written testing and read world practice.But instead of really fixing these issues, it looks like they are asking for more police to be pulling over more people, which itself is a disruption of traffic as every approaching the pulled over vehicle drastically reduces speed (often driving far below the limit). But hey, how can it be wrong when you pull over 7k people and give them a ticket which could range anywhere from $60 - $600 dollars, and claim that you're doing a public service.
shinglorMay 13, 2006
TylerDurden0: It proved that the traffic flow was moving much faster than the posted speed allowed.It was pretty silly for them to say that they were following the law, failing to keep right (or left in Australia) unless overtaking is a traffic offence.
unbrokenMay 15, 2006
I'm a 5-10 over, right lane, passive kind of driver. One thing that I really hate is construction zone speed limits on the interstate. You'll get these drops to 50 or 55 after cruising at 75 that A) Never have construction workers and B) rarely slow traffic down. So, effectively they're just a reminder that you are now going way over the posted limit and associated speeding fines are more severe.
ahsenjafferSep 21, 2006
When I got my driver's license the advice given to me by my peers was to 'follow the flow of traffic.' I was never a reckless driver, but recently I have been driving strictly within the speed limit. My experience is very good, I feel relaxed and less tired (especially on long trips,) and I never worry about cops pulling me over. I think everyone should drive within the speed limit.I felt so passionate about this issue that I started a website: <a class="user" href="http://thespeedlimit.org:">http://thespeedlimit.org:</a> It is a place where you can discuss issues regarding speeding, the speed limit and courteous driving.