My top 10 enforcement & countermeasure pet peeves

[category4]

Stealth is just make the argument from a pure physics point of view. If you are going slower when you have an accident the forces acting upon your body are less than if your velocity were higher. So from that point of view alone the statement "speed kills" can be interpreted as correct. No-one has said speeding kills.

Well, actually speed would be an aggravating factor in any accident, but not the cause of death. The accident is caused by poor driving (speeding or not) and death as a result of the accident is a factor of many things, speed probably being the largest (but also the speed and density of the objects that you run into). However, without an "accident" speed does not kill on its own.

Physics or not... speed does not kill and neither does speeding. Speed damn sure doesn't help your chances of surviving an accident though... I will give you that much.

I think we are on the same page!!

[9500ier]

Sorry, I should have only quoted: "So from that point of view alone the statement "speed kills" can be interpreted as correct."

[partsfreak]

To be technically correct its not exactly the speed that kills, its the sudden stop.

[Stealth Stalker]

Unfortunately, the problem with maintaining that speed does not kill, and is always just one minor factor, is that you then have to also admit that everything else is "just one minor factor". Society won't allow that because they want to blame something. They want one factor to villainise as "the cause" for all these deaths.

[9500ier]

Unfortunately, the problem with maintaining that speed does not kill, and is always just one minor factor, is that you then have to also admit that everything else is "just one minor factor". Society won't allow that because they want to blame something. They want one factor to villainise as "the cause" for all these deaths.

It comes down to bad driving almost all of the time. Too fast for conditions, being reckless, not paying attention, or whatever. You are right, speed is easy to accuse and if you slow everyone down you can get away with a lot more bad driving. However, speed is not the true cause...

I am only being so argumentative because I hate how many people believe this crap. They think I am nuts for making good time on the interstate. They think 100mph is so insane. There is nothing dangerous about going 100-120mph when you are on a straight stretch with no cars around on a clear day (if you are paying attention and are a good driver in a capable car). I tell people what kind of time I make and they are like "oh, he's a crazy driver" and then I have a car full of 4-5 people going 100mph for a few hours and they said they feel safer with me than with other people they have riden with. My last road trip I averaged 86mph moving (83 overall) doing 99mph on the cruise control most of the time... there were 3 other guys in their 20s. Everyone fell a sleep for awhile but me.

[djrams80]

To be technically correct its not exactly the speed that kills, its the sudden stop.

Flawless logic here!!!

[hippocrates]

With my driving, it's not "speed kills" but "driving the PSL kills." I find that when exceeding the speed limit (I don't drive as fast as many here, but for these purposes 10-20 over PSL depending on surface streets/highway/conditions/etc.), I am an extremely attentive driver, hypervigilant for LEOs, knowledgeable about where all other cars are on the road around me, and very situationally aware.

On the other hand, if I'm driving PSL, I'll find that I'll go 10 minutes and can't even remember the last 10 minutes of driving, I'll go to change lanes and I have no idea if someone's behind me or in my blind spot, I won't know how far it is to my exit, etc.

For me, more often than not, driving PSL leads to inattention. That's not to dispute the quite obvious phenomenon that an accident at 75 is more lethal than an accident at 30 mph with all other variables equal, but for me at least, assuming no sudden impacts, "speed saves" - a much more palatable platitude.

[gpracer1]

With my driving, it's not "speed kills" but "driving the PSL kills." I find that when exceeding the speed limit (I don't drive as fast as many here, but for these purposes 10-20 over PSL depending on surface streets/highway/conditions/etc.), I am an extremely attentive driver, hypervigilant for LEOs, knowledgeable about where all other cars are on the road around me, and very situationally aware.

On the other hand, if I'm driving PSL, I'll find that I'll go 10 minutes and can't even remember the last 10 minutes of driving, I'll go to change lanes and I have no idea if someone's behind me or in my blind spot, I won't know how far it is to my exit, etc.

For me, more often than not, driving PSL leads to inattention. That's not to dispute the quite obvious phenomenon that an accident at 75 is more lethal than an accident at 30 mph with all other variables equal, but for me at least, assuming no sudden impacts, "speed saves" - a much more palatable platitude.

Yesyesyes......people doing the PSL are on "cruise control" and not paying attention, or worse, multi tasking. That is a leading cause of accidents.

When you are doing 30 over or on the Autobahn doing 150 mph, you have BOTH hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road paying max attention.

The whole problem is we have no real driver education/training that is mandatory. So now we have all these laws to protect the masses. This includes the Indy drivers, us performance drivers and the inexperienced point A to point B in a minivan drivers with low pressure/bald tires.
Imagine if everyone had a mandatory Bondurant driving school 1 day class!!

[swarga]

Stealth is just make the argument from a pure physics point of view. If you are going slower when you have an accident the forces acting upon your body are less than if your velocity were higher.

That's true, but overly simplistic. When it comes to injury or death during a vehicle collision, a really big factor is the type of collision (elastic, inelastic) and the distance over which the collision takes place. Ever wonder why cars have "crumple zones?" Their purpose is to increase the distance over which the post-impact deceleration takes place, releasing the energy of the collision more slowly and causing less damage to the vehicle occupants. This is the same principle behind the big yellow crash barrels that you see sitting in front of bridge support pillars - not to mention the airbag in your steering wheel.

Race drivers have collisions at 200 MPH and many times they just walk away from the wreck. The guys who design race cars have a really good understanding of physics.

[category4]

Stealth is just make the argument from a pure physics point of view. If you are going slower when you have an accident the forces acting upon your body are less than if your velocity were higher.

That's true, but overly simplistic. When it comes to injury or death during a vehicle collision, a really big factor is the type of collision (elastic, inelastic) and the distance over which the collision takes place. Ever wonder why cars have "crumple zones?" Their purpose is to increase the distance over which the post-impact deceleration takes place, releasing the energy of the collision more slowly and causing less damage to the vehicle occupants. This is the same principle behind the big yellow crash barrels that you see sitting in front of bridge support pillars - not to mention the airbag in your steering wheel.

Race drivers have collisions at 200 MPH and many times they just walk away from the wreck. The guys who design race cars have a really good understanding of physics.

I understand that, but the simple fact is the lower the speed of the crash the better chance of surviving. All of the other factors you mention are not something we can control typically.

I understand everyone's point of view on this subject. I personally don't agree with speed enforcement for the reason that "speed kills". There are many more factors to it than speed.