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Speeding Myths and the REAL Truth, Speed Kills!
Does Speed Kill? This popular slogan suggests that the lower the speed limit is set, the more safety will result. If this were true, the U. S. Interstate System would have the worst, not the best, safety record. Instead, Interstates have the highest speed limits, the highest operational speeds, and the lowest fatality rate in America (0.88 fatalities per every 100 million vehicle miles traveled). Roadway design and use should be part of every speed setting discussion, and debate about speed limits should distinguish between speed causing a crash and speed influencing injury severity once a crash occurs. Safety statistics vary greatly according to roadway class. Local roads normally have the lowest posted speed limits and have the highest fatality rate of any roadway. According to the NHTSA Fact Sheet, only FOUR percent of ALL fatal collisions are “speed-related.” And just what is a “speed-related” collision? It could mean speeding… driving too fast for conditions… driving too SLOW for conditions… improper lane usage… illegal turn… running a red light or stop sign… or just about anything else. Not just speeding. Speed never kills. NEVER! Think about it like this… A guy decides to go skydiving. He goes up on a plane. He jumps out the side. His parachute… didn’t! He falls… fast! REALLY FAST! Does he die? No. He’s just fine. (Okay, he’s terrified)… But he’s doing an excellent job of falling. At least until… that pesky ground stops his fall. He dies. Why? Falling too fast? NO! He died because he stopped too quickly. If he had slowed down… before impact. He’d be fine. BUT NOOOO! He just had to stop the quick way. The same thing is true for driving. The impact isn’t too bad. The speed isn’t too bad. It’s the sudden stop at the last instant. Collisions kill. Not speed. A vehicle moving at 100 MPH can stop in about 10 seconds. No problem. It can stop in 5 seconds, but the occupants might need to wash an extra laundry afterward. Still, there are no deaths. But, in a collision, it will stop in about half a second. Generally speaking, this will not be very healthy. “What!” you say. “That’s just plain stupid… It doesn’t make sense…” Okay, how about this… Kelly is in a car moving at 0 MPH. It isn’t moving AT ALL. A train is moving at 20 MPH when it hits her car… How well does Kelly fare? Hate to say it, but she isn’t feeling too well. BUT THAT’S A TRAIN… Okay, how about this? Two cars are driving at 205 MPH. Car one hits car two… what happens? Ricky Martin’s spoiler gets bent, and Jeff Gordon goes on to win the Daytona 500! These cars move at speeds over 150 MPH all the time… Yet, the fatality rate of race car drivers is MUCH lower than that for average drivers. Why? They are all… MOVING AT THE SAME RELATIVE SPEED! It is differences in relative speed which affect impact damage IN A COLLISION. Find more about Traffic Violations here:
This is why a head-to-head collision is so much worse than a side-swipe. Once again… No Collision… No Death. RELATIVE, NOT ACTUAL SPEED, determines fatality in a collision. I told you about this myth to encourage you to fight against your speeding ticket. If speed doesn’t kill, if speed isn’t about safety… Why should you pay that fine? You Should NOT! DO NOT pay it; fight it. The worst that can happen with a ticket is I lose my license or pay a fine. Big Wrong… you could go to jail. That’s right… do not pass go… do not collect $200 (but you might PAY that!. Most states have a three-month jail term as a possible penalty for speeding. It is, after all, a criminal offense. Even though you could end up in jail…. Are you a bit more interested in protecting your rights now? The officer MUST show me the radar… Here’s another big myth. The Supreme Court decided (wisely) that an officer must have due regard for personal safety when deciding whether to allow a person entry into his vehicle. It is a twist away from the normal stance on vehicle privilege.
Normally, the High Court asserts that a vehicle is “publicly” open concerning privacy issues. But, they reverse a bit regarding officer (but not public) safety. Thus, an officer can claim he did not want to let you into his vehicle due to his need for safety. Besides, unless the officer is just a plain liar (not unheard of), the radar probably shows the speed he claims. Radar is VERY accurate, usually within 1 MPH, sometimes within 1/10 of a MPH. But the officer isn’t. He could have gotten a bad reading, hit the wrong target, or purposely introduced errors… all sorts of bad results can (and usually do) result from a bad speed measurement.
But the radar display is just fine. In other words… #1: Don’t question the radar; question the officer’s use of/ability with the radar. #2: Don’t do it on the side of the road; wait until the court date. And, of course… this also assumes the officer was USING radar… something he doesn’t need to do. I agree that an officer doesn’t have to let someone enter their vehicle. However, as outlined, why should you pay for an incompetent officer who can’t use the radar? You Should NOT! Speed limits are designed for safety… You have GOT to be kidding! The national speed limit was set for one purpose – to save gasoline. Remember those long gas lines during the oil embargo in the late ’70s? President Carter came up with a few ideas on how to save gas… one was to set thermostats to 76 instead of 72. Another… to enforce a 55 MPH national speed limit. A 55 MPH “limit” was enacted in 1973 under the Nixon administration… To back up the 55 MPH speed limit, “data” was used to show that reduced speeds showed a trend toward reduced fatalities. DUH! A slower-moving vehicle is less likely to suffer damage… But, no direct correlation has been linked between collision FREQUENCY and higher speed. Only going faster means a higher chance of death IF a collision occurs. And more so, even the Federal government admits that most “speed-related” fatal accidents also involve… DRUNK DRIVING. Here’s what the government says… “In 2001, 43 percent of the intoxicated drivers (BAC = 0.10 or higher) involved in fatal crashes were speeding, compared with only 14 percent of the sober drivers (BAC = 0.00) involved in fatal crashes. “Well, There’s a no-brainer for you! 86% were DRUNK! They didn’t die because they were speeding… They were drunk! DRUNK DRIVING killed them… not speed. Collisions involving speeding drunk drivers are classified as being caused by… speeding. But, guess who helps to gather “reliable” traffic data…. aside from the police, that is… INSURANCE COMPANIES… and what do they make by having lower speed limits … MONEY. Speed limits are set based on “the average” driver’s speed, Nope. There is a nice little requirement created by the United States Department of Transportation called… The 85th Percentile. A word about 85th percentile speed is in order. Traffic studies have shown that speed on a roadway resembles a bell-shaped curve. The difference between the average and 85th percentile speeds can determine the standard deviation. The difference contains 35 percent of the distribution. “Put simply, the 85th percentile speed is the speed most people drive. BUT… most limits are lower than this number by about 10 MPH. Further, conclusive studies by the NHTSA show that most people “drive at a speed at which they feel most comfortable.”
And it also shows “Fines do not deter drivers from their ‘driving comfort zone. ‘” And even the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration admits… “Various studies seeking to prove that the 55 mph limit has had a long-term positive effect on highway safety have come up with mixed results. Given the present federal law, however, more than local considerations are at stake whenever a police administrator considers a speed enforcement program because a state has much to lose by not complying with federal law and regulations. “Money, not safety, is the primary reason for speed compliance programs… Speeding tickets = MONEY And, there is more…. Manual On Uniform Traffic Control Devices – Section 2B-10 (1988) When a speed limit is to be posted, it should be the 85th-percentile speed of free-flowing traffic, rounded up to the nearest 10 km/h (5 mph) increment. Gee… The States and local governments break the law by posting invalid limits and then want us to comply with the invalid limits. Nice, huh? This myth makes me the angriest. Why aren’t the speed limits set at average? It’s all about money. I won’t stand for it, and you shouldn’t either. Fight the good fight, and show the government you won’t lie down like a dog. You will fight against this unfair ruling.
More Interesting Articles Here:
https://www.hinshawlawnews.com/can-you-beat-a-speeding-ticket/
https://www.svingenlaw.com/speeding-tickets-are-costly/
https://www.legalnews.tv/school-zones-and-speeding-tickets/
https://www.mypersonalstatement.help/you-can-lose-your-driving-privileges-with-too-many-points/
https://www.tnglaw.net/can-you-avoid-speeding-tickets/
https://www.cliftontrafficlawyer.com/speed-traps-are-all-over-the-state/
https://www.markrenkenlaw.net/traffic-ticket-defense/
https://hardinattorney-stlouis.com/getting-a-traffic-ticket-is-stressful/