Safety benefits of a national 55 mph speed limit
|
About those German autobahns with no speed limits... |
|
|
|
Sometimes people like to point out that there are no speed limits on German autobahns as part of their argument against speed limits here. The following excerpt from HowToGermany.com clears this up nicely:
Don't let the high speeds on German roads fool you into believing that there are no reduced speed zones. Usually, speeders will not be stopped at the time of the offense but will get a speeding ticket through the mail. This may be as long as two or three months after the incident. The German police use special cameras to catch speeders. Persons exceeding the limits by more than 40 kilometers an hour can count on losing licenses for a period of up to three months, plus a stiff fine.
A tough, computerized point system is used to get dangerous drivers off the road. Increasingly strict penalties are the order of the day especially where drugs or alcohol are involved, and especially if there was an accident. Except where posted because of construction or traffic problems, there are no speed limits on the autobahns, although the recommended maximum is 130kph (about 80mph).
A mixture of slow-moving trucks and high-speed autos are on the same roads at the same time and defensive driving is a must. Autobahn chain-reaction pileups occur periodically, partly because of high speeds. The most common causes of accidents involving expatriates are failing to yield the right-of-way, following too closely and failure to maintain control. Accidents occurring at speeds of over 130 kph on the autobahns can result in insurance payment claims being annulled regardless of who was at fault.
The basic speed limit is 50kph (about 30mph) in built-up areas and 100kph (about 60mph) elsewhere. If you are hauling a trailer the speed limit is 80kph (50mph) on roads and autobahns.
http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/driving.html
I'll repeat those last two lines because some people may have a hard time seeing them:
Accidents occurring at speeds of over 130 kph on the autobahns can result in insurance payment claims being annulled regardless of who was at fault.
The basic speed limit is 50kph (about 30mph) in built-up areas and 100kph (about 60mph) elsewhere. If you are hauling a trailer the speed limit is 80kph (50mph) on roads and autobahns. |
|
|
Speed Limits: How Should They be Determined? |
|
|
|
|
By the late Professor Patricia F. Waller, Ph.D., (Emerita)
Dept. of Social and Behavioral Analysis, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
The primary purpose of our highway system is mobility, not safety. If it were the latter, we would set speed limits much lower. A 20 mph speed limit, with governors on all motor vehicles to prevent exceeding that speed, would certainly lower highway casualties. Of course, no one would consider such a measure, Clearly, we tacitly agree to accept a certain level of carnage in order to use the highways in ways we value. At the present time in the US, this tacit agreement says that it is acceptable to sacrifice between 40,000 and 42,000 lives annually.
In seeking an acceptable balance between mobility and safety, speed limits are a critical factor. To what extent is speed a factor in the likelihood of a crash occurring in the first place? An early and widely cited study (Solomon, 1964) found that as speed deviated from the average speed of the traffic stream, crash probability increased. He reported that speeds significantly below that of the traffic stream were at least as likely to cause crashes as those above the average speed. Solomon's data were from the 1950s and were based on rural roads, most of which were 2-lane. Much has changed since then, and, not surprisingly, more recent studies report somewhat different findings.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Drive 55 KTLK Radio Interview |
|
October 31 radio interview with Marc Germain on Los Angeles radio station KTLK 1150AM. Click Read More to listen. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Ideas to reduce GHG emmissions submitted to CARB |
In response to the California Air Resources Board solicitation for ideas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, October 1, 2007 the Drive 55 Conservation Project submitted these three pdf files offering our ideas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The files are named as follows:
Sept_2007_reduce_GHG.pdf (application/pdf) 88kb
Drive 55 Conservation Project Action Plan.pdf (application/pdf) 121kb
Emissions Impact of Elimination of the National 55 mph Speed Limit.pdf (application/pdf) 101kb
View all the submissions here.
|
|
Read more...
|
We need your help to contact these organizations, urging them to endorse the Drive 55 Conservation Project. Please look over the list below, and if you find you are a member or supporter of any of them, take a few minutes to send a letter or e-mail asking them to endorse the Drive 55 Conservation Project. If they hear from you it will help them to have confidence there is public support and encourage their endorsement.
Thank you in advance for your care and concern for this fragile environment we all share. |
|
Read more...
|
|
