Faster cars, higher speeds Lead to more deaths.

[graywolf624]

As you can see the source is the IHS, no the insurance companies couldn't have an agenda. :roll:



http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/11/24/speed/index.html

Whenever vehicle speeds increase, death rates also increase," said Institute chief scientist Allan Williams. "And the reverse is true. In 1974 when the national maximum speed limit lowered the limits across the country to 55 mph, fatality rates dropped significantly."

Funny every study by independent real scientists came up that fatalities were not effected. I guess the past was changed somehow?

Info on the result of the 55 mph speed limit change.
http://www.motorists.org/stealthis/coincidence.html

Isn't it interesting that the last year that insurance rates declined was 1973, the last year before the federal government decided it, and not the states should set highway speed limits? And, isn't it even more interesting that when the federal government gave up on its 55 mph folly and returned speed limit authority to the states, auto insurance losses began a continual decline!

In Colorado almost a quarter of drivers were traveling 80 mph or faster. Drivers in Atlanta posted the fastest speeds of the major cities. Despite a 55 mph limit on urban intestates, 78 percent of the drivers typically hit speeds of 70 mph and almost 20 percent are driving faster than 80, the study found.

Go my home city! I do my best to contribute to that 70-80 mph. The thing it doesn't mention is that the cops pass you doing 90 and its a 12 lane highway at many points.

[deth]

hey, the insurance companies have to make $$ somehow! so i guess what they're trying to do is charge the ppl who have expensive fast cars, ie the ppl who can afford it, more............. its stupid

[htfaber]

It has always been a discussion whether speed and death in traffic is related. In a dutch car magazine they posted a pretty good line: If you drive faster would you sooner get an accident?Is it like when the knife is sharper you cut yourself sooner? Off course that isn't true, but when you cut yourself it does give more damage. But when you're playing with a sharp knife or driving faster you're paying more attention to the knife/road, so you don't get cut. At least, that's my opinion.
And yes, I do speed...

[graywolf624]

Very valid point. The issue of lack of attention at 55 is definitly there. There's also of course the issue with how fast people actually are driving as opposed to the speed limit. If grandma is going 55 and everyone else is still going 70 then problems are bound to occur. Thats alot of what happened with the 55 mph speed limit.

[fishfreek]

Some states have minimum limits and maximum limits. In VA its 65 on most interstates but some places that are fiarly metropolitin the rate is lower at areas where people are getting on/off the interstate.

I averge 70-75 on the interstates with the help of my cruse control. People still will fly past me or even worse do stupid things like pass on the sholder doing what appears to be 90.

I personally find 55 to be rather slow and if I had to drive that slow to work every day it would take me upward to 35-40min each way. !!!

[scubywrxr]

The highest speed limit in SA is 120kmh, the average speed most users travel at is 150-160kmh.. (about 100mph)

[AlienDB7]

The problem is, most newer cars are so stable at high speed. You can feel how fast you're going til you decide to stop. If you're driving a mid-90s compact car, say a corolla, you can feel the instability when travelling at 140kph. In such case, you know you're going [too] fast and should give 100% concentration. However, on a newer mid-size car, you don't feel anything when you're moving at 130-140kph. Especially with things like cruise control, people are so relaxed they almost forget they're travelling at such high speed. Personally, I avoid using cruise control so at least my foot is right on the brake and gas pedals when I need to react to an emergency situation.

Have to agree, slow moving traffic is always problematic. Some old people should simply stay off the road. If they can harder stay within their lane in the city, how can they keep their car under control at freeway speed? Not to mention all the passing caused by the slow moving car. Passing is always dangerous when everyone's doing it at the same time.

[graywolf624]

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/2002cpr/es5.htm

"Over the past thirty years, remarkable progress has been made in making highways safer, with highways becoming safer even as travel sharply increased. The exhibit below, for example, describes the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled from 1980 to 2000. The fatality rate has decreased, from 3.3 in 1980 to 1.5 in 2000, which met the Department’s Performance Plan target."

"The injury rate has also declined in recent years, as detailed in the exhibit below. In 1988, the rate was 169 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled; by 2000, that rate had dropped to 116. While significant, the declining injury rate falls short of the Performance Plan goal of 113 per 100 million vehicle miles"

[hemi_fan]

:idea: we need graduated limits. 1st lane - 100km/h, lane 2 110 km/h lane 3 120km/h and so on. This would keep the smaller roads slower, and the more wide open roads would be faster. The grandma could stay to the right, and the 20 year old in his porsche could do 150+ on the multi-lane highway. As long as dumbasses stop slowing down to look at broken down cars on the side of the road there would be a lot less accidents.