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Deeb,

I thoroughly enjoy reading your prose.

I don't have a problem with the speed limit. I just more often ignore it.

I drive within my capabilities, respecting the road conditions, respecting the weather conditions and within the capabilities of my vehicle.

On a day like today (here in Ottawa after a significant snowfall with the roads snowcovered) you would not see me drive anywhere near the 80 km/hr limit - more like 50-60 km/hr tops - even though I am driving a 4x4 Jeep Cherokee.

I recall driving back from Montreal on a freezing rain day (speed limit 100 km/hr and 80 km/hr minimum limit) never going over 40 km/hr. I wonder why the police didn't enforce the 80 km/hr minimum limit?

Like Deeb says - its for the lowest common denominator.

On the other hand: Given a nice sunny day, dry roads, no traffic, driving my DeTomaso on the highway ...

B.G.
quote:
Why do you feel so mad that you are getting a speeding ticket. There is no need to protect yourselves. You ARE breaking the law!!! It is no different than someone who robs a bank complaining that there must be some way to protect them from getting monitored or caught. Drive the speed limit and there is no problem. I have never received a speeding ticket.

Now seat belt laws. That one makes me mad!!!


Confused Where your belt and there is no problem! I admit I drive beyond the speed limit, but never would I get in a car and travel without a seat belt on. Just look at the statistics, too many teens killed here and most of them could have walked away had they been wearing a belt.

UK Motorway speed limit is posted 70 mph, most traffic travels at 85-90 mph. Personally I feel much more 'alive' and in cotrol at 90+ mph (providing conditions are right) than drowsing along at 70mph.

An interesting study in Australia showed that fixed speed cameras do nothing to reduce accident rates and if anything they increase them as people try to brake at the last minute when they see the camera. It is nothing more than a money generating scheme.

Same here in Reno with Cops, the city keeps employing more and more traffic cops, never mind the increasing crime rate, homicides and gang violence due to the illegals. Why...becuase a traffic cop can generate their salary, plus more for the city.
I never said I dont wear my seat belt. I always have, at least in the pantera. What I dont like is them telling me I have to or I get a ticket. Speeding, running red lights, turning without signaling, those all can cause accidents and hurt other people. Not wearing my seatbelt cannot cause harm to other people. Same way with wearing a motorcycle helmemt. We have seat belt laws to make revenue, but we let any fool talk on a cell phone all they want while driving and that is dangerous.
Dave:

I have to disagree with you. Speeding does not endanger anybody necessarily; EXCESSIVE speed given the road conditions, driver ability, mechanical worthiness of the car, etc does. I don't think anyone here is advocating going 150 mph in a school zone. We just want to be left alone when we are driving at a perfectly safe speed given the road conditions, our ability, the mechanical worthiness of our car, etc.

In fact, I get pretty tense whenever somebody starts going on about how "Speed Kills". That is pure sophistry. As if the minute your vehicle exceeds some arbitrarily determined limit it will somehow automatically veer into the path of an oncoming school bus. Yeesh. These tend to be the same people that I am regularly pulling out of the ditch in winter because they thought that driving the speed limit on ice means they were driving safely.

- Peter
quote:
Originally posted by CrazyDave:
I never said I dont wear my seat belt. I always have, at least in the pantera. What I dont like is them telling me I have to or I get a ticket. Speeding, running red lights, turning without signaling, those all can cause accidents and hurt other people. Not wearing my seatbelt cannot cause harm to other people. Same way with wearing a motorcycle helmemt. We have seat belt laws to make revenue, but we let any fool talk on a cell phone all they want while driving and that is dangerous.


CrazyDave...
I have to agree with you to a point, about the seat belts! That is, what about the guy that doesn't have Car Ins.! In Mexafornia it's a law but you have NO recourse against the state, they make the law but don't inforce it. Sorry...back to seat belts!
What about the guy with no Ins., wrecks his car and is badly hurt (not wearing a seat belt) we the people pay! If the guy was wearing a seat belts chances are he may not be as hurt? thus costing we the people less money to fix his sorry ass!
quote:
Originally posted by Cuvee:
What about the guy with no Ins., wrecks his car and is badly hurt (not wearing a seat belt) we the people pay! If the guy was wearing a seat belts chances are he may not be as hurt? thus costing we the people less money to fix his sorry ass!


That sounds good in theory but I think there is so much more to the fight of seatbelt laws.

One is the law was pressed and flatly voted down. Latter the law was snuck in and pushed through.

When it did pass they said "It's ok, we are just going to write warnings no tickets"

Then they said, "well no big deal we are just going to ticket if your stopped for another reason".

Then one day with no announcement they changed it so they can pull you over just for a seatbelt violation and by then people had given up fighting it.

It left a very sore taste in people mouth. It doesn't feel like laws of a free society. Laws are a balance of what is agreed upon by those in society as neccesary or needed. This was pushed through in a more "communist method". People feel a severe loss of freedom.

Freedom isn't free. The ability to make choices for one self, the ability to make the decision to drive from burger king across the street to the movie theater without being pulled over because the cops would like to score an easy ticket or because they don't like the way you look.

It was politically motivated to the brainless PC feel good movement which gives the cops another way of pulling people over because they want to. I was once pulled over for doing 10 over on a dark night in an area where the speed limit is way under marked. I took my belt off to get my wallet out to get my drivers license. The cop was going to write me a seat belt violation.

It truly pisses me off because NOTHING is done to help stop the poor and dangerous driving. You always see battles on the expressway and continuous dissreguard for every law, rule and piece of common sense in driving yet they enact this law to make people "Feel good" about what they do.

Freedom isn't free and the risk is worth the freedom and the ability for people to be allowed to make their own decisions about what they do some times.
Last edited by comp2
When they were pushing the seatbelt laws many voiced that if you wanted to make it fair, let the insurance companies handle it. You pay for coverage. If you don't wear seatbelts then compensation is different and possible loss of coverage. Even coverage by some one at fault would be based on the assumption the other person is wearing seatbelts. If not, his coverage is limited even if not at fault.
My take on speeding is general respect for the laws everyone has to follow. If I follow in traffic and some one flies by I think "Why can't I do that?" And so many start doing so. When you get one driving fast and aggressively suddenly you have several. This begets the tailgater's, the people cutting everyone off, cutting in. It seems innocent enough but it is never as simple as it seems.

BUT>>>>>>>>>>>

If a tree falls in the woods and NO ONE IS AROUND TO HEAR IT, did it make a noise?
quote:
My take on speeding is general respect for the laws everyone has to follow. If I follow in traffic and some one flies by I think "Why can't I do that?" And so many start doing so. When you get one driving fast and aggressively suddenly you have several. This begets the tailgater's, the people cutting everyone off, cutting in. It seems innocent enough but it is never as simple as it seems.


Huh? If I'm on a hill and see a guy ski off a ramp 1,000 ft in the air do I run up there and give it a go? When I watch a scientist mixing explosive chemicals do I reach over and start pouring?

I think that generally we all know and abide by our own limitations. And needs. If you don't want or need to go fast (even I feel that way sometimes when embroiled in an important phone call) just stay in the right lane, watch your mirrors and don't slow anyone else down.
quote:
Originally posted by comp2:
My take on speeding is general respect for the laws everyone has to follow. If I follow in traffic and some one flies by I think "Why can't I do that?" And so many start doing so. When you get one driving fast and aggressively suddenly you have several. This begets the tailgater's, the people cutting everyone off, cutting in. It seems innocent enough but it is never as simple as it seems.
It does not happen on the Autobahn, and it did not happen in Montana when they eliminated speed limits for a period of time (traffic fatalities actually dropped). The facts show that it is, indeed, as simple as it seems...
quote:
Why do you feel so mad that you are getting a speeding ticket. There is no need to protect yourselves. You ARE breaking the law!!! It is no different than someone who robs a bank complaining that there must be some way to protect them from getting monitored or caught. Drive the speed limit and there is no problem. I have never received a speeding ticket.

Never a speeding ticket? You have never exceeded the speed limit?
The speed limit on our highways is usually 100kph. This is a joke. The average speed that cars are travelling on any major hiway is 120kph in the middle lane. 130 in the left.
The speed limits are a joke. It's the donkeys driving 100kph in the left lane(passing lane) and those who don't know how to merge onto a hiway (at hiway speeds) that cause major traffic problems.
I don't mind paying for a speeding ticket. It's the law and if I get caught, I should pay. What pisses me off is the speed traps on the downhill portion of a road. Or when they post a reduction with a tiny sign that you miss. You get a ticket for driving with the flow of traffic.
I got a "no right on red ticket" last month at a corner that I made rights at for 20 yrs. They posted a tiny new sign there and got the guys that had been turning there for years. They can't go after the wreckless clowns weaving in and out, they have to nail the everyday people, who in most part are decent drivers.
What really gets me is after paying the ticket, you get to pay for a huge increase in insurance premiums for years to come.
Why do my police friends never get speeding tickets?
Try cruising in the left lane at ANY speed in Europe and see what the other drivers do to you.
Speed doesn't kill. People who drive beyond their limit or their cars limit kill.
Will


Now seat belt laws. That one makes me mad!!!
quote:
Originally posted by deeb:
quote:
My take on speeding is general respect for the laws everyone has to follow. If I follow in traffic and some one flies by I think "Why can't I do that?" And so many start doing so. When you get one driving fast and aggressively suddenly you have several. This begets the tailgater's, the people cutting everyone off, cutting in. It seems innocent enough but it is never as simple as it seems.


Huh? If I'm on a hill and see a guy ski off a ramp 1,000 ft in the air do I run up there and give it a go? When I watch a scientist mixing explosive chemicals do I reach over and start pouring?

I think that generally we all know and abide by our own limitations. And needs. If you don't want or need to go fast (even I feel that way sometimes when embroiled in an important phone call) just stay in the right lane, watch your mirrors and don't slow anyone else down.


I don't think that even remotely applies to the point I was making.
Maybe I am mistaken, in which case I apologise, but I think your point was that seeing someone fly by and not get caught makes you want to do the same.

I don't see how that's a bad thng, unless some folks do it, even though they are way over their heads and really should stay where they are.

If we all decide to speed along carefully and safely then fine. Because that's what's happening anyhow. Driving on our highways you see everyone is way over the legal limit on any given day, until they come up to smokey on the side of the road.

Fast is not aggressive. And bad drivers are bad drivers. Period. I don't think they are enticed to become bad driver by those who are passing them in the passing lane.
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