Why are cars made with the ability to exceed the speed limit by 100% when road traffic accidents are one of the highest causes of death in the UK?
2006-12-27 10:09:23 · 28 answers · asked by Lucy P 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Safety
Some of the speed limits are ridiculous, like California's truck speed limit, at 55 mph they make nice traffic jams that really tie up our freeways, what were they thinking :(
2006-12-27 10:22:43 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
What a wonderful idea, if only the speed-limits actually meant anything.
Since "New Labour" and Blair announced that local authorities will be able to set speed limits, we have stupid little people with clip-boards deciding what and what is not "safe," aided and abetted by an equally dim police-force who have been "professionally trained" and who have read the "roadcraft manual." (Remember, the police are the ones who go around killing people in pursuits).
Thus, what was once 60 is now 40, what was once 40 is now 30, and what was 30 is now 20; to the point that speed-limits have lost all credibility.
Near to where I live, there is a new 30 limit approaching a crossroads, on which are situated two pubs and 3 houses. The speed limit starts, on a deserted stretch of road, HALF A MILE AWAY.
Approaching this tiny hamlet from the other direction, the speed limit is 50mph, between two rows of houses!
Go to Lincolnshire, and you may as well travel by horse and cart, since the "initiative on speed" which resulted from a freak year when there was a sudden increase in road-deaths.
It wasn't an initiative at all, in point of fact, it was simply a dumb response on the part of equally dumb officers and "safety experts."
It made little difference to the overall death and serious-injury toll, but at least THEY were seen to be doing something about safety, even if they weren't, which made the politicians very happy.
The whole thing is a complete sham, yet you suggest that ALL schools, during daylight hours and term-time, should have a 20mph limit imposed on the roads around them, THEY WHO KNOW BEST look at you as if you are about to fall out of your tree.
The world is full of "experts". Unfortunately, it is also full of utterly incompetent motorists, who are unsafe at ANY speed, and speed restrictions can do nothing to make that situation any better.
2006-12-28 06:27:49 · answer #2 · answered by musonic 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"FUS 336" started to get it right.
It's not the top speed that's critical to a street automobile's performance, it's the accelleration.
Let's say that a car's motor was engineered to only reach 70 mph. The limitations on the vehicle's horsepower would mean a very sluggish rate to get up to that speed.
A car, merging onto a highway from a near zero mph start would have a hard time getting up to speed and would be a hazzard to traffic coming up from behind. The merging car needs enough horsepower to quickly match speeds with approaching traffic. THAT kind of horsepower means that the car can reach ultimate speeds much greater than the speed limit.
A car CAN be engineered with a governor that could cut out acceleration power, once the speed is met, but that would also limit any emergency power needed to pass, or avoid other kinds of problems, such as hills.
Besides, this kind of engineering would need to be ADDED to the vehicle, which means added costs. Added costs means higher prices, and I doubt the public would go for the idea of a car that costs more to do less.
2006-12-27 10:26:06 · answer #3 · answered by Vince M 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
How would one implement this?
In this present day and age, speed limits vary on the same and/or different roads so how the hell is the car to know at what speed to travel to ensure it stays at the posted speed limit?
They can't, which is why cars have drivers, gas and brake pedals amongst other controls....
In addition, excess speed above the posted limited may be needed for overtaking or avoid accidents.
Imagine how long it would take to overtake a B Double Semi doing 90 when the posted speed limit is 100?
2006-12-27 12:55:38 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No! You may be right about road traffic accident stat, but it's not the speeding that is the main contributing factor, it is certainly the skill of the driver. You could travel at 130mph and never cause any road accidents, yet you could travel under the speed limit and cause many. If you are a skilled, attentive driver then you will be able to see the signs of an accident before it happens and take necessary action.
2006-12-27 10:41:48 · answer #5 · answered by Monkfish Bandana 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Everyone seems to be missing the point. A car that can only get to the speed limit will be working at 100% of its performance all the time. It wouldn't last 5 minutes.
2006-12-31 01:25:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
think you'll find smoking, drinking and drugs are bigger killers, why doesn't the government ban all of these ? I not in favour of speeding in excess, but i do think that the government is using speeding as a back door for raising tax. Lets face it no one want to loss someone they love to a speeding motorist, but then no one wants to loss someone they love to smoking, drugs drink !
5 girls have just been killed because of their drug habits in Ipswich. I have no idea how many life's have been lost to smoking and drinking in the last year, but I'm sure its more than road deaths. At the end of the day,driver should realise the consequence's of their actions and sentencing should be made more severer for people who kill on the road. It's not an accident it's causing death with a lethal weapon !!
2006-12-27 20:12:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
This is a subject I once bought up with an ex of mine who was a mechanic & loved his fast cars. Cars SHOULD only be able to go a max of 70mph as that is the fastest you are legally allowed to drive on britains roads. Why they are made to go any faster I have no idea as what is the point? Surely you could argue that the manufacturers are actually encouraging drivers to speed!
On a slightly different subject, why are lorries able to have the same speed limit as cars when surely a lorry would cause more damage at 70mph than a car at 70mph!?
2006-12-27 21:38:18 · answer #8 · answered by C Greene 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sure, if you like Big Brother watching over your every move. Accidents are more related to driver error and inexperience than speed. Here in the US, the speed limits were set to 55mph not for safety but for fuel economy reasons. They've upped the limits in many places (80mph in some parts of Texas) without the "gloom and doom" predicted by the safetycrats. In many cases, speed limits are artificially low to ensure a steady stream of extra revenue from speeding tickets.
2006-12-27 10:18:35 · answer #9 · answered by Paul P 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Get your facts straight first.
FACT: DEATHS caused by speed as the single or significant factor are NOT a major cause of death. They account for under 1% of the national total.
Only non-drivers or crap drivers that shouldn't be allowed on the roads think in such terms.
Grow up & start exerting your own free will, that's why we have an accelerator, a speedometer, commonsense and a brake.
It's people like you that allow Nazi & dictatorial states to come to power. You should be ashamed of yourself.
2006-12-27 10:28:35 · answer #10 · answered by creviazuk 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
What the hell makes you think that the death rate is proportional to speed? Over 90% of all vehicle related deaths are caused by head trauma. Why are we not all required to wear safety helmets? High speed can only be related to 1% of highway deaths per year. Sounds like SLOW speed kills to me...Do some research, hippie.
2006-12-27 16:31:26 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋