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Snoop unto them as they snoop unto you

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Re: Snoop unto them as they snoop unto you

#101

Post by stonogo »

landemva wrote: post #52
bigmattystyles wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I agree with you. Especially since aside from the driver's safety, a lot of times, speed limits aren't about the safety of those in the car but to reduce the amount of noise due to tires, engines, breaking, etc... for those living nearby as well as pedestrians, cyclists, buses, animals, etc...

I'm not familiar with noise as a speed consideration by my State DOT. Do you have a reference to the noise consideration for speed limits in the law/rule for your locale?

https://www.dot.state.mn.us/environment/noise/pdf/metro-nois... page 6: Minnesota classes some speed limit reductions as noise abatement.

Washington refers to modifying speed limits with the goal of noise abatement: https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/ENV-ANE-Noi... page 20

Delaware includes modifying speed limits (classed as traffic management) for noise abatement: https://deldot.gov/Programs/highway_noise/index.shtml

as a counterexample, https://wisconsindot.gov/dtsdManuals/traffic-ops/manuals-and... various pages: Wisconsin forbids using speed limit reductions as noise abatement.

Re: Snoop unto them as they snoop unto you

#102

Post by uoaei »

abathur wrote: post #38
pesfandiar wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd argue speeding is even worse, but to each their own.

Anecdata, but I regularly see people exceed the speed limit by 30mph in Houston without much intervention by police. The city has (imo) a psychotic driving culture, but is still roughly middle-of-the-road in us news and world report's ranking of most dangerous US cities to drive in. Large speed deltas are (conjecture I haven't bothered to research) probably unsafe under any conditions. Exceeding safe speeds for the c…

Not Just Bikes has a great set of videos on Youtube about how road design and driver psychology help to tame speeds much more than simple road signs.

By now the evidence is clear: people will drive at the speeds they feel comfortable at given their environment (sight lines, spaciousness, density, etc.). Just putting a sign on the side of a wide and spacious road is not going to do much to affect driving speeds.

The most interesting one to me was how tree-lined streets encourage slower driving without any speed limit signs, because it feels more like a tunnel and less like an open road.

Re: Snoop unto them as they snoop unto you

#103

Post by gorlilla »

thayne wrote: post #90
genman wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In many cases those experts are quite dumb and speed limits are arbitrary. You can see it most clearly in Europe where different countries have set different speed limits for similar road conditions. For example in one country the speed limit in highway tunnels is 80 km/h, but in others 90 km/h while the width of the road is similar, or even mostly wider where the limit is lower. The same kind of highway can have 30…

Same thing in the US. Different states have different speed limits. The same road will change limits at a state border.

We have entire highway segments that have variable speed limits that change with traffic density and weather conditions. The speed limit signs are digital and update whenever a change is necessary.

Re: Snoop unto them as they snoop unto you

#104

Post by quickthrower2 »

jeffbee wrote: post #81
quickthrower2 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even cruise control can help reduce the need to check the speed so often but hills and changing traffic limits its use

Hills are the exact reason to use the speed control. It drives me crazy that drivers don’t know how and when to engage it, go 50 up hills and 85 down the other side.

Classic cruise control only applies throttle not brakes

Re: Snoop unto them as they snoop unto you

#105

Post by bagels »

lib-dev wrote: post #84
jeffbee wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hills are the exact reason to use the speed control. It drives me crazy that drivers don’t know how and when to engage it, go 50 up hills and 85 down the other side.

50 up 85 down is the natural way to drive. It’s a waste of fuel to brake downhill (beyond reason).

Stopping distances are increased when travelling downhill, so likely more dangerous.

Re: Snoop unto them as they snoop unto you

#107

Post by matheusmoreira »

sethammons wrote: post #97
matheusmoreira wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the only correct response to which is to contact the state government and complain while continuing to respect the law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience > Any man who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community on the injustice of the law is at that moment expressing the very highest respect for the la…

Can a speed limit be unjust?

Of course. There is such a thing as a minimum speed for efficient traffic flow. Nothing's more frustrating than being forced to drive slowly. It actually causes road rage.

Re: Snoop unto them as they snoop unto you

#108

Post by komali2 »

pesfandiar wrote: post #25
freitzkriesler2 wrote: post #2

I always wanted something to watch where their unmarked cars are. Speed traps are the worst.

I'd argue speeding is even worse, but to each their own.

Speeding isn't great but speed tickets and traps clearly are doing nothing to stop speeding.

There's really only one solution that works to prevent speeding: road design. Make roads less straight, less big. Add more obstacles and flow interrupts.

Private cars are obsolete anyway. Replace more lanes with bus lanes and be done with the problem altogether. It's frankly insane that we allow people to operate a private car with nothing more than a license they got at 16 years old and never tested again for for the 70+ years after they'll be driving.

Re: Snoop unto them as they snoop unto you

#109

Post by komali2 »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #107
sethammons wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can a speed limit be unjust?

Of course. There is such a thing as a minimum speed for efficient traffic flow. Nothing's more frustrating than being forced to drive slowly. It actually causes road rage.

What about being forced to drive? Every time I find myself in a car in the USA I consider it a failure of local government to provide an actual good means for me to get where I'm going. In other countries I can go somewhere while relaxing and reading a book.

The speed limit conversation seems a distraction. Why drive at all? It's annoying.

Re: Snoop unto them as they snoop unto you

#110

Post by matheusmoreira »

komali2 wrote: post #109
matheusmoreira wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course. There is such a thing as a minimum speed for efficient traffic flow. Nothing's more frustrating than being forced to drive slowly. It actually causes road rage.

What about being forced to drive? Every time I find myself in a car in the USA I consider it a failure of local government to provide an actual good means for me to get where I'm going. In other countries I can go somewhere while relaxing and reading a book. The speed limit conversation seems a distraction. Why drive at all? It's annoying.

Gotta agree with you. I hate driving.

I hate dealing with the other humans on the road and the stupid things they do. I hate the constant uncertainty, not being able to assume anything because people don't even signal turns properly. I hate the roads, poorly maintained, full of speed bumps, full of potholes, full of people walking around without a care in the world. I hate having to maintain my car.

I hate being forced to drive. I only do it because I hate other forms of transport even more.

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