I was thinking about this yesterday when a local teen almost died in a car accident due to excessive velocity. He was driving over 100 mph. Most odometers on cars go up to about 140 or 150 mph. Why? It isn't legal to drive faster than about 70 mph on most highways in the US. Why do they make it possible for cars to go so fast? Why not just limit the speed so that they can't go faster than 80 mph? Isn't making a car that can go so fast just asking for trouble?

Cars don't kill people, people kill people.

Here's a half-baked discussion about it.

There is no speed limit on Germany's Autobahn, and statistically it is a very safe road to travel.

True, but we don't have an Autobahn in the US. I just don't see the logic in creating cars that can go so much faster than the legal limit. It's like making it legal to have cocaine in your possession but making it illegal to use it.

Maybe it's the same question as why cell-phones have cameras, games and music players. People are willing to pay extra for unecessary extras.

It's not just speed - there are all those 4x4's with off-road capabilities the drivers will never use.

Why did speed become a criteria for judging how good a car is? It needn't be - in Europe and Japan some cars are valued for quirkiness, cuteness or fun. It seems to be North America (but not exclusively) that values sheer horsepower, over design, handling or looks. Something truly ugly and useless, with medieval suspension, will sell here as long as it has a 5-litre engine.

Maybe it's because cars are heirs to horses, and horses were judged by speed or power.

It’s the same thing as headlight covers and lights for your wiper fluid jets. Some things are illegal to have on your car while you are operating it, but still legal to sell. For instance, my sister-in-law was pulled over once and the cop told her that he was going to ticket her for having an oil change/ mileage sticker on her windshield, because you’re not allowed to have anything but state regulated (registration and inspection) stickers on there. In my opinion, Pep Boys shouldn’t be allowed to put the sticker there if it’s illegal, but they all do it.
Besides, cars can go more than 70mph. There are some places in the Northwest where the speed limits are very high or nonexistent (I believe). There are also autocross tracks and drag strips where people race their street cars.

Also, some vehicles have limiters on them, I believe. We once had a u-haul that we couldn’t get to do more than 50, even on the expressway, because there was a governor on the engine. So it is possible to limit what a vehicle can do, but there are legitimate outlets for law-abiding citizens to go above the speed limit, as well.

It's revenue. A lot of money is gained from speeding tickets.

Especially if they catch you smoking when the pull you over!

quote:

Originally posted by Sarai:
True, but we don't have an Autobahn in the US. I just don't see the logic in creating cars that can go so much faster than the legal limit. It's like making it legal to have cocaine in your possession but making it illegal to use it.

But the manufacturers don't only produce for the US market.
Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi & VW are all German... where there is no speed limit on many stretches of Autobahn.
And it isn't dangerous. Deaths on the roads (per Capita) are significantly lower in Germany than in the US.

In the Uk a lot of deaths are caused by braking hard for hazards...Installed by the Authorities For "safety"! Some examples speed humps , Speed cameras,also Mini roundabouts which sometimes have to be taken at an odd angle and you are unsighted (and they are very slippy in the wet with oil and rubber!)
NOTE you can bear down on them at full speed and the warning signs are on the entrance and somebody crossing(from the other direction) think they also have right of way ...result Crunch! I have had a few near misses in strange areas with these ..Hope they don't turn up in your town

quote:

In the Uk a lot of deaths are caused by braking hard for hazards...Installed by the Authorities For "safety"!

Do you have any figures for this bedstor? And are there figures to say what percentage of that "lot of deaths" was caused by motorists exceeding the speed limit?

If motorists are keeping to the speed limit, calming measures shouldn't cause them any problem.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Karrow,

quote:

NOTE you can bear down on them at full speed...

Maybe you should try reducing your speed. Kids run into the road without any warning signs, and maybe when you are unsighted, too. If traffic calming measures are giving you problems, you're driving too fast.

'Braking hard' is not the problem - it's necessitated by the speed from which you have to brake. Speed is the problem.

"Many drivers claim that they are so preoccupied with having to slow down for speed humps, that they are actually distracted to the point of not seeing other vehicles or pedestrians. However, ROSPA (Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents) points out that on average, 1 in 10 pedestrians will be killed if hit by a vehicle going at 20 mph, as opposed to 9 out of 10 killed if hit at 40 mph.

And if you don’t slow down in time, driving over a speed hump can be uncomfortable, if not actually dangerous - bus drivers in Sheffield have sued over back injuries while trying to navigate speed humps in the city. ROSPA is quick to point out that anybody hurt by a speed hump is simply driving too fast to begin with."

Reference

Bedstor's statistics might be from when Karrow had her first car, which was slowed by putting your heels down.

Fuse and Karrow
What isnt noted is what some people do with these "improvements"
1) Kids and daredevils trying to use them as a skateboard ramp ...Doesn't matter about the pain ...Its an ego trip to impress their mates

Actually the best method of slowing traffic is disappearing fast from the landscape of streets often ripped up or Buried under Tarmac

The answer Cobblestones Takes skill to drive on them in all weather conditions,act the fool and They'll Jar you something rotten

quote:

Bedstor's statistics might be from when Karrow had her first car, which was slowed by putting your heels down.

(Karrow starts polishing the steel toe-cap on her jackboots.)

quote:

Originally posted by bedstor:
Fuse and Karrow
What isnt noted is what some people do with these "improvements"
1) Kids and daredevils trying to use them as a skateboard ramp ...Doesn't matter about the pain ...Its an ego trip to impress their mates

I agree with you there bedstor. What intrigued me was your comment in your ealier post that "a lot of deaths in the UK" are caused by traffic calming measures. I presumed from your statement that you'd seen statistics, and I was interested in seeing them.