Listers,
While doing a little recreational Web surfing I came across this cool site
with lots of links to highway speed limit related data and articles.
Probably many of you, like me, have wondered what the truth really is;
i.e., how do speed limits really affect the accident and injury/fatality
rates. I am always skeptical of statistical comparisons because they are
either intentionally skewed, the researcher doesn't understand how to
analyze the data, or the data is just wrong. Anyway, here's the URL for
anyone who's interested:
http://metalab.unc.edu/rdu/p-sl.html
This site has a stated bias, although they seem to include links to quite a
cross-section of sources. I admit to liking to drive fast, if the
conditions allow it. I lived in Germany for a couple of years and enjoyed
driving the autobahns there. Had a hard time adjusting to the double-nickle
when I got back though. Now, in S.D., the average speed seems to be in the
70-80 mph range on our freeways. With so many cars and so few CHPs, the
chances of getting stopped for going 80 is pretty slim. Personally, I feel
the CHP should concentrate on citing drivers for things like recklessness
and stupidity rather than simple speeding. If they had a radar gun that
measured stupidity, maybe that would change.
Happy motoring,
Bob
Robert L. Palmer
Dept. of AMES, Univ. of Calif., San Diego
rpalmer@ames.ucsd.edu
rpalmer@cts.com
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