Re: Speeding is good? No I don't agree... [What is a good driver?] <long>

["Dave Ewing" <rabbit16v@prodigy.net>]

I agree with most of what Jason is saying here but there are two sides to
everything.  FIRST, if you were driving fast and happen to kill my wife
and/or kids when in her minivan (whether it was her fault or not) because
you were speeding, I'd have to hunt you down, torture and kill you!!
Second, Germany is reducing a lot of the autobahn that has no speed limit
and also reducing the limits of the autobahn when going through towns or, I
guess, burgs.  A much higher percentage of europeans as compared to
americans utilize public transportation too!!  You know how the saying goes
(good or bad) that Europe is getting more westernized and I guess this is
one of the ways!!

As far as the rest, having driven on the autobahn alot and in the U.S. even
more, I would trust European drivers more than U.S. drivers.  Going from
Europe to the U.S. is like going from the U.S. to Mexico City, Mexico where
the traffic is ruled by Mob Rules!  I am CONSTANTLY cut off, nearly hit,
slowed, annoyed etc. by driver's and I only live in Olympia WA where the
population is only 100K!!  Just yesterday, in the rain, I was cut off by two
SUVs and I was in the left lane!  I flashed my lights at the second one
(irritated at this point) and she turned her lights off!!  Why?  I do not
know but the possiblitly of not being able to see her as well so I could
slam into her for flashing her did cross my mind.  The visibility was
limited to so as I backed off to a safe distance someone would jump into
that small gap!!  And I only back off a few car lengths!!  SO, you have to
hug the person in front of you so you don't keep getting shuffled back then
when some soccer mom wants to change the cd while eating her fish and chips
and asking her neighbor on the phone what she should bring to the next PTA
meeting for snacks slams into the car in front of her, you slam into her.
It's a losing battle!!  So what do you do?  Make your car perform to where
you can avoid accidents!!  Atleast that's my answer!!  A little on the
offense but what choice do you have these days, it's a war out there!

> At 12:41 PM 11/1/2001, Patrick Bureau wrote:
>
> >Jason, glad you see it still as a conversation.
>
> Hey Patrick,
> No worries, it'll stay a conversation always with me; you'll never see me
> mad on this list. :)
>
> I do have a few comments though:
>
>
> >Technology as been claiming many lives in cars, telephones, radio now
with
> >cdroms, Tv sets etc etc etc... that is just a fact that people, the
> >average job actually LETS himself be distracted because driving is such a
> >common occurence and 90% of the avergae joe on the road beleives they are
> >good drivers because they have not had an accident in teh last 2 years of
> >driving (as per inforced by inssurance corporations...), this has worsen
> >since the arrival of SUV's now they drive tanks and don't even get hurt
> >when they run over other peoples car with them.
>
> Right.  Being accident-free is not an indicator of being a good driver.
My
> Grandmother, whom I absolutely adore, is regrettably a horrible driver,
but
> one with a 50+ year driving history and not a single accident.  And on the
> other hand, some of the best drivers I know have had many accidents.
>
>
> >100MPH (as previously quoted by example in a zone of 45-50MPH) is
> >reckless. dangerous, even if you are a consiencious driver, a tire blow
> >out at 100MPH on a daily road will take you into a house, a telephone
post
> >or even worst... that kid admiring how fast you car was coming up the
> >road, just before you squash him on the sidewalk and kill him. that is
> >what I am talking about.
>
> Well, you're right.  Stopping distances grow exponentially as speed
> increases -- as does the force involved if you have an accident.  However,
> to say that 160km/h/100mph is a reckless speed is exactly the type of
> brainwashing I was talking about because of speed limits.  100mph is most
> certainly a reckless speed in a city.  But on a purpose-built highway with
> limited access, medians, etc?  There's a very good reason why Germany has
a
> lower death rate than the US even though they have much higher speeds and
a
> much more densely populated country:  Prudency.  Their speed limits are
> prudent -- they make sense, so people follow them.
>
> Now driving at 100mph next to a sidewalk where there's a remote chance of
> *anyone* standing is reckless.  But as far as I'm concerned, so is
> 60mph.  Given the right conditions, though, 150mph isn't unreasonable at
all.
>
> And, for the record, the 110-in-a-55mph ticket I got was a limited access,
> 4-lane-in-each-direction, perfectly flat, perfectly straight, perfectly
> paved section of I-95.  North and South lanes are separated by a 10-foot
> high wall, and there are guard rails on both sides of the roadway.  There
> are no houses nor children to hit, and as I said, having passed only 3
cars
> in 32 miles, there also wasn't anyone else to hit.
>
>
> >I am not arguing the speed laws in some areas are below logical
> >explanations (I have seen 15MPH limits on 3 lane roads) but in hine-sight
> >the limits are what they are NOW, because every hot-rod-head in his
> >mustang and camaro has blown and raced on the same road, killed children,
> >injuded others, destroyed property etc, and the towns and cities are
tired
> >of the massacares because these "children" holding a steering wheel. (I
am
> >using children not in an age sense but in a frame of mind sense)
>
> Rightfully so!  I'm the asshole holding up traffic actually doing 15mph on
> school zones!  And then people get mad at me for wanting to drive 70mph on
> an open country road.
>
>
> >I may sound like a preacher and perhaps my point of views come being in
> >teh 70's driving a monster car, able of 9s 1/4 mile racing on street
> >tires, being reckless myself, and first accused of my statements above,
> >but I have encountered an accident that me realize in the 90's that even
> >if you know you car, even if you are carefull, you will have an accident
> >at least once in your life, and as "insane" as I might of been in teh
> >past, and probably because of it, I got "lucky" ran into a ford 1955 with
> >a Honda civic, I walked away from the accident with a bump on my head,
the
> >car was totaled. the truck has a bent license plate (damn trucks are
built
> >tuff in those days...)
>
> I, too, had an accident that forever changed the way I feel about
> speed.  Many of you know about it.  I was in the passenger seat for 2
> accidents separated by 3 weeks, both with the same driver.  The first, we
> totalled the S-10 Pickup we were riding in when a drunk driver pulled out
> of a blind intersection in front of us.  Impact speed was close to
> 75mph.  Thankfully, no one was hurt.
>
> Three weeks later, we're in the rental car because the S-10 (which had
only
> a few thousand miles on it), was totalled.  We entered a curve at 110mph
> and halfway through, the driver got spooked and hit the brakes.  We wound
> up flying off of a 17-foot cliff at an estimated speed of 100mph, only to
> land below, flipping one time back-over-front and then 5 and a half more
> times side over side.  We were the first people to ever survive this cliff
> and we made the evening news, etc...  apparently it's a very dangerous
> corner, and accidents happen there all the time, but we were going fast
> enough that we flew over the trees rather than slamming into them.
>
> All things considered, we both were extremely lucky.  But it did leave me
> with more than a year of physical therapy and a number of permanent
injuries.
>
> >Andy used to drive Sprint cars in the USA, the details I got is that he
> >was driving ~ 100MPH on the highway (clear day no rain) and some drunk
> >bastard on the right lane, saw him coming up on the left lane and decided
> >it would be fun to play crash derby with his cadillac. Andy got
> >side-winded, and flew into the middle ditch and velocity took him across
> >the bank into opposing traffic he ran under an 18 wheeler that never saw
> >him coming and crushed the car with his rear wheels.
>
> But here is a perfect example where the conditions were not right for
> driving 100mph.  Yes, it was a clear day -- but he was passing a car with
> an obviously high speed differential.  That's fine on an Autobahn, where
> people are prepared for, and expecting, that.  I have no problem passing
> cars at 150mph, but not if they're going only 60.  Speed doesn't kill;
> speed differential does.  Sorry to say, but it sounds like Andy should
have
> slowed down before he passed the asshole in the Cadillac.
>
>
> >It will always be hard for me that anyone driving a mass produced car at
> >the limit of the edge on public roads is a consiencious driver.
>
> Well, I think you know I disagree, depending on where, when, and how...
but
> that's what makes life interesting!
>
> Take care,
> Jason
>
>
>
>
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