Bruce said in part:
...<<Witness a young child being thrown from a vehicle and getting impaled
on a guiderail
because their parent was speeding and neglected to properly belt that child
in and it would change your whole prespective on why motorists are stopped
and often ticketed...>>...
First off I think the Police have a very tough job. I honestly don't
understand why anyone would become a cop. 1) You risk your life 2) You have
to see and deal with lots of gruesome disgusting stuff 3) You must regulate
an ignorant ungrateful public. 4) You submit yourself to the ridicule of
others (like on team.net :-) For those that still make this their profession
- you have my admiration!!
But the problem that I see in Bruce's and other law enforcement officers
argument is that "speed kills". Speed does not kill. PERIOD And we do have
lots of statistics to back this up. When the fed mandated 55mph the death
toll per mile traveled did not go down. When the 55mph limit was removed
from interstates the death toll did not go up.
But it's excessive speed for conditions that kills. As autocrossers we all
know this. Go into a slalom too fast for the car's or your limits and you
will not come out the other end. Its the same on the highway with the added
complications of other mototrists and unknown obstacles around the next
corner. So it would be nice if we could make our speed limit signs read
"65mph or faster if its safe"
Unfortunately "safe" is a judgement call that we all make differently. And
apparently the lawmakers do not have enough faith in the Police or the
Public to allow them make these decisions. So we have arbitrary speed
limits.
What would I do if I were supreme ruler?
1) Install smart speed governors on all vehicles
2) Install smart roadside transmitters on all public highways. The
transmitter would send a signal based on weather, traffic and the
twistiness, bumpiness of the road. We could even assign different speed
factors to different lanes.
3) Issue graded smart drivers licenses. The base license would require
passing a simple written and driving test. More advanced licenses would
require passing advanced car control skills tests and would not be available
to those under 18 or 21. DUI convicted drivers would have degraded licenses.
The license would transmit its data to the speed governor in the car
4) Install sensors in the car for passengers/children and trailers.
5) Install radar systems like in the current top of the line Mercedes, that
maintain safe following distances and prevent tailgating.
So the car could then compute the fastest allowed speed based on all sorts
of factors that a conscientious driver already takes into account. This
would eliminate excessive speed but allow those qualified drivers in
high-performance cars with no passengers or trailers to SAFELY exceed
currently posted maximums.
Of course the cost of such a system that could not be jammed is currently
prohibitive so this is a dream (some would say Big-Brother nightmare) not a
reality.
Regards,
Alan
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