This is why I heart traffic cops;

[GardoneVT]

It need not he a constitutional right, for a change to be statist.

The idea of privacy on the street isn't a constitutional right, but the increasing use to CCTV by gov is still statist.

That being said, the most likely non-natural way we will end up in the hospital or the coroner is via traffic collision, not gun battle. Considering an airliner load of people die every month just from driving a car, and automobiles are NOT a constitutional right like firearms are as JV observed, some regulation actually makes sense here.

Go ahead and call me anti-freedom if you wish, but note that if we lived in a nation where cars over 300 HP required a background check to purchase and a separate license to drive at owners expense, the starting video of this thread probably wouldn't have happened.

[PPGMD]

Go ahead and call me anti-freedom if you wish, but note that if we lived in a nation where cars over 300 HP required a background check to purchase and a separate license to drive at owners expense, the starting video of this thread probably wouldn't have happened.

You must not have bought a car recently, because they do a background checks when you buy a car. In fact they recently expanded the law to help combat fraud and identity theft.

And background checks don't prevent people from doing stupid things with them. And nor does licensing. Most states require special motorcycle licensing, yet go to Bike Week and count the number of accidents.

The fact is speed enforcement doesn't stop stupid behavior like that. At major events like that the participants all know that the cops are everywhere, yet they still do the stupid stuff.

And lets be honest the guy you are most concerned about wasn't going that fast. In fact he couldn't be going fast with him slipping and sliding like he is.

Instead of watching videos on the internet spend four years in Daytona Beach and you will realize that speed traps have little effect on these idiots. Targeted enforcement of these dangerous drivers is the ONLY thing that will have a real effect on traffic safety other than slowing everyone down to a crawl (I watched someone die from the 40 mph crash, so I don't think that will stop traffic deaths either).

[John Hearne]

Just to be clear, this is what speed enforcement for revenue enhancement really looks like:
https://screen.yahoo.com/videos-for-...041400714.html

[JV_]

The statistic is adjusted to miles driven per accident.

How does it account for car density? I'm certain that I interact with more cars driving for 15 miles in Northern VA than one would driving 15 miles in Utah ... at least most places in Utah. Isn't that the real issue for most accidents? Interacting with other cars? VA may think so, as you drive on many roads that leave out of DC, like I-66, the speed limit increases the further you get from the city. When you cross out of Northern VA, it's 70 mph.

I'm no expert in traffic safety and speed enforcement, but it seems like maintaining safety while driving in Northern VA is a bit different than maintaining safety in a place in a place that has 30X more land for the same population.

And you seem to have taken some on the thought that I'm OK with the way VA hands out traffic/speeding tickets, and that's not something I have said in this thread.

And FWIW: I haven't had a speeding ticket in years, they're not real difficult to avoid.

[Slavex]

Having driven over much of Europe now I can state with conviction that North American drivers suck and need speed enforcement for the most part. I used to think the drivers from "over there" were the problem until I drove over there and realized just how bad drivers are in NA. In my experience European drivers are more aware of their surroundings and can handle the greater speeds with ease. It still makes me uncomfortable to be going 180KMH in traffic, with people passing me, but I can get by now. 210-220 and I start to get worried though. In Germany the only speed enforcement I saw was directly around Berlin and Frankfurt (I was asleep most of Germany the last time), in Czech the same thing, in Switzerland I did manage to get a ticket doing 62 in a 60 zone on a scooter. Bastards.

[BaiHu]

As I side note to Slavex's point, it is my understanding that BMW hates the concept of cup holders, because in Europe they stop and sit to drink or eat and then go drive. However, they had to stick them in for the sake of the NA market. Maybe it's not an urban myth.

[BobLoblaw]

How does it account for car density? I'm certain that I interact with more cars driving for 15 miles in Northern VA than one would driving 15 miles in Utah ... at least most places in Utah. Isn't that the real issue for most accidents? Interacting with other cars? VA may think so, as you drive on many roads that leave out of DC, like I-66, the speed limit increases the further you get from the city. When you cross out of Northern VA, it's 70 mph.

I'm no expert in traffic safety and speed enforcement, but it seems like maintaining safety while driving in Northern VA is a bit different than maintaining safety in a place in a place that has 30X more land for the same population.

And you seem to have taken some on the thought that I'm OK with the way VA hands out traffic/speeding tickets, and that's not something I have said in this thread.

And FWIW: I haven't had a speeding ticket in years, they're not real difficult to avoid.

VA has some of the most expensive roads too. I'm just spitballing here so bear with me. Navigating smooth wide roads in dense traffic surely results in more total accidents (although less severe per accident) whereas driving curvy, narrow, uncared for country roads full of wildlife would seemingly result in less total accidents but the overall fatality per accident is higher.

I haven't had a speeding ticket in a while either.

[Shellback]

For all the complaining and whining about Virginias strict traffic enforcement,note that in this table of highway fatalities created by the IIHS here, Virginia has one of the lowest death rates per 100 million miles traveled in the nation.

Hmmn. What an interesting coincidence.

Personally, I get the argument advanced that attentive driving matters. That being said, the faster you're going, the less reaction time you have when things happen-like Aunt Ida in her minivan changing lanes , or a semi merges unexpectedly -and the damage caused by the wreck is increased exponentially. When that kittenhead in the Mustang wrecked, he might have been going 45-50 before he lost it-not very quick, but he still heavily damaged three cars . Imagine how bad that would have been had he blown it at 70+.

What you're ignoring is the fact that automobile fatalities have been decreasing for the past 30 years despite higher populations, more density and the fact that people are spending more time in their cars and legally driving faster. IIHS shows it here, with nifty charts & graphs, and NHTSA here.

1979 - 1980 had the highest fatalities yet the national speed limit was restricted to 55mph. Since 1995, when the 55mph limit was repealed, almost all years going forward show a reduction in deaths. CATO put out in an interesting policy analysis in 1999 which helps debunk the whole "speed kills" mantra.

In fact, in 1997 there were 66,000 fewer road injuries than in 1995, the year before the speed limits were raised. The injury rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled fell to its lowest level ever recorded in 1997. If the injury rate on the roads had been as high in 1997 as it had been in 1995, approximately 17,000 more Americans would have been injured on the roads.

And quoting Eric Peters from the CATO analysis.

Sometimes higher speeds are safer because they reflect the normal flow of traffic—what highway engineers call the “85th percentile” speed. This is the speed most drivers will main- tain on a given stretch of road under normal conditions. When speed lim- its are set artificially low, tailgating, weaving and speed variance (the prob- lem of some cars traveling significant- ly faster than others) make roads less safe. (54)

[JV_]

What you're ignoring is the fact that automobile fatalities have been decreasing for the past 30 years despite higher populations

My car is significantly safer than it was 30 years ago. Airbags, traction control, crash avoidance, blind spot detection, and a slew of other features are not ones my older cars had.

[Shellback]

My car is significantly safer than it was 30 years ago. Airbags, traction control, crash avoidance, blind spot detection, and a slew of other features are not ones my older cars had.

Right, I don't disagree with you. Cars can maintain higher speeds, and the handling is far superior to anything we had 30 years ago, so why would you leave the "speed limit" the same? Speeding tickets amount to a "go fast tax" most of the time.

If a person is driving recklessly or being inattentive then nab them, I'm all for busting dickheads. If a person is driving safely, albeit "fast", let 'em fly.*

I'm only referring to highway speeds, interstates, and the like and not in town congested driving where you can expect pedestrians, etc.