Road Courtesy - Page 5

Ray Zee · #41 07-10-2005, 02:20 PM

so i guess the consensus here is that if you see someone speeding you should help them out so they dont get caught.

is it that most like to speed and wouldnt want to get caught themselves. or is it because you think that speed limits arent to be obeyed becuase they are set too low.

The Dude · #42 07-10-2005, 02:33 PM

It's mostly the first one, although let me explain how I feel about the second part.

Different people have different cars, different driving abilities, and different knowledge of local roads. To pretend that there is a set speed limit that is perfect for everybody is stupid. That said, there's no realistic way to take into account all the variables and set 5 different speed limits for every road.

So people are left up to themsleves to determine if they can/ should speed or not. Let me tell you, on I-90 in eastern Washington where it's open wheat fields and I can see 5 miles of road in front of me, I have no second thoughts about the rightness or wrongness of driving faster than 70mph. It's a risk/reward analysis.

If I drive 80mph, I'm still being adequately safe. However, I risk getting a ticket. That's the consequence of me driving 80. If I choose to drive 150, that's a different story. But I have no reservation speeding when my best judgement tells me that it's safe to do so. And I pass no moral judgement on others for taking the same liberty.

wacki · #43 07-10-2005, 02:34 PM

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Anybody else do this?

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I do.

As for Ray Zee's comment. Well there are many highways around here that have speed limits of around 50 mph. Nobody goes 50, not even the cops. Everyone goes 65 while the cops normally cruise around 70. At the end of the month when the cops want to fill their quota (or raise money) they go out and pull a ton of random people over. It's almost like the speed limit is set lower than what people drive so they can raise money. There is something wrong with that IMO. If you have a law, have it for a good reason and then enforce it!

EDIT: The dude has a good point about mutliple speed limits. My last sentence .... well probably isn't the best thing I could of said.

RunDownHouse · #44 07-10-2005, 03:30 PM

To be clear, the only way I ever saw anyone warn about a speed trap was not flashing headlights from normal to bright, but turning the headlights off, then back on (if at night) or flashing the brights on, then off (if driving during the day).

When driving to night, flashing from normal to bright is a warning about deer near the road, a car on the side of the road, a hint to move over/pull over towards the shoulder so the other driver can pass, etc. But turning the lights on and then off is pretty much reserved for speed traps.

d10 · #45 07-10-2005, 04:35 PM

I would say mostly #2. Where I grew up, the speed limit is 55 on straight 5-lane highways. Most people drive between 70-80. I recently drove through WV, where the highways are 2 lanes wide and constantly curving. The speed limit is 70 and at times, that is even a bit fast to be entirely safe. Very few people break that speed limit. People are going to drive at a reasonable speed given the conditions of the road, and I see nothing wrong with that.

Larimani · #46 07-10-2005, 05:33 PM

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Does anybody else find it strange that someone from the UK is trying to tell us what we should and shouldn't encourage in our legas system? MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.

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It's called obstruction of justice. Check article quoted by another 2+2er. Does anybody else find it funny that someone from the UK knows the U.S. legal system better than an American?

Regardless of whether it's legal or not, I got a question for you: A guy who was going real fast and that you warned slows down and avoids a ticket... as soon as he's past the speed trap he starts speeding again. A few miles down the road, he runs over a kid due to his excessive speed and kills him. Are you in part responsible for the death of that child?

Larimani · #47 07-10-2005, 05:39 PM

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Warning other drivers is a crime & if you get caught doing it you goin' DOWN boy!

P.S.: There are speed regulations & cops for a reason... you pay taxes to pay the cops and then sabotage their work?

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You are a douchebag.

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Good argument. Nice analytic work.

B Dids · #48 07-10-2005, 05:44 PM

I don't speed in places where speeding is dangerous.

I speed in places and conditions where the posted speed limit is probably 20 mph below what it's safe to drive.

The speed limit (at least on the highways) was set based on fuel economy, not saftey (or at least that's what I've heard).

Larimani · #49 07-10-2005, 05:46 PM

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I don't speed in places where speeding is dangerous.

I speed in places and conditions where the posted speed limit is probably 20 mph below what it's safe to drive.

The speed limit (at least on the highways) was set based on fuel economy, not saftey (or at least that's what I've heard).

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Fuel economy?? In the states?? who are you kidding?

benza13 · #50 07-10-2005, 05:56 PM

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The speed limit (at least on the highways) was set based on fuel economy, not saftey (or at least that's what I've heard).

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This was true when the speed limit was dropped to 55 in the 70s during the fuel crisis. The government tied assistance with road budgets to enforcement of this speed limit I believe. Today states have more freedom because there hasn't been a fuel crisis like that since.

That said, in New England I flash regularly and receive them back occasionally. Although when I get flashed I find that half of the time there is a cop and the other half there is absolutely no reason for it that I can find.