Well, it's been quite a while. I've been super busy with work, trying to absorb all what I need to and get some stuff done while at it. It's getting better on that front, but this is not about work.
In order to catch up with some of the things that have been happening I decided to post my first multi-pointed post. The post about everything and nothing :)
So bad news first, I got my first speeding ticket here. It might not come as a suprise to those who know me. The cost might be though. The fine policeman who stopped me said I was going at 85mph (on a 60mph highway). He was particularily upset about the fact that I was "switching lanes passing other cars in the rain" (read: ghoraz in Arabic) so well, the ticket was for a whopping $183. I didn't pay that though.
I paid $250.
The thing is, speeding tickets stay on your record here. Insurance companies check your record and adjust premiums accordingly every 6 months. Get an 85mph speeding ticket and watch your insurance premium skyrocket in front of your eyes. So it is usually in your best interest to keep a clean record.
There are 2 known ways to do just that. Never speed, always be extra careful and keep your fingers crossed, *or* get an attorney to contest your tickets. I chose the second path. Granted, it's much more costly that way but what else can I do.
And in case you think speed limits save lives, I beg to differ. Studies of the data coming from Montana and the auto-bahn begs to differ.
Montana is an interesting state, they had no speed limits. The law just instructed drivers to be "reasonable and prudent" and to travel at speeds that are appropriate according to the road and conditions. A federal law and other incidents caused Montana to revert to having speed limits, when statistics of fatalities on the roads were compared under the two contrasting legislation schemes the data proved a very nice surprise. Fatalities *doubled* after the introduction of the carved-in-stone numerical speed limits.
Need more examples? The autobahn (a no speed limit highway in Germany, the most famous in the world) boasts lower fatalities than American highways till today. And I'm not making this up, there is hard data that supports this. if you're still interested, you might want to check out a few of these:
Fatalities reach an all time low in Montana despite an increase of 12% in traffic volume during the no speed limit period.
Fatalities double in Montana after enforcing highway and interstate speed limits.
Why the autobahn is safer than most american highways at speeds twice the national speed limit.
Well, I am definitely not saying you should go flat out in your Fiat 500 and waive the no-speed-limit flag. However, most people do not walk around with death wishes. Give him a speed limit of 60 when he -and his car- can clearly go at 90 and he'll most probably sleep at the wheel. Empower the driver to judge the speed he and his car are comfortable going at and more often than not, he will do surprisingly well.
Egypt could be an exception :P
Anyway, this has gone for too long and I can't possibly add more stuff to this one, so wish me luck contesting the ticket, and take good care. I'll be posting again in no time. I promise more exciting stuff and maybe even photos ;)
Ciao
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
hey v0od0o... sucks that you got a speeding ticket, and good luck contesting it :D
btw, I really agree with you on the speed limit thing, another thing I have on top of my head to support it is the current speed limit was created about 20-30years ago, 20-30years later, car and car safety, highway safety technology has improved drastically, if everything has been improved, why not raise the speed limit?
but thats just my point of view, just so happens no government listens to the gearheads when it has been widely proven... it pisses me off as well Chris, you're not the only one ;)
Andy! Thanks for stopping by. Been quite some time :)
It does suck indeed... While researching the matter I even found a black and white photo for an american highway speed sign in the 1950s that stated: 40mph Minimum speed, 80mph maximum speed.
50 years later you're required to go at 60mph in a car than can stop from that speed in a mere 40 meters.
Will let you know how it all turns out :)
I know... I've told this to alot of people and they don't seem to believe me. Cars nowadays can stop from 80mph in 1/2 the distance compared to 1950's cars I believe
While the car times had indeed improved, The human reflexes more or less remain the same. At 100 Km/h every second of a delayed decision means you are covering something like 3 more meters. These could represent the fine line between life and death. And after 2 glasses of wine or a can of beer which is very much normal you can really count on 1-3 seconds of a delayed reflex:) Increase the speed limit and imagine how many more meeters you can cover at full throttle before you apply the breaks:))
The question frequently asked, why do car manufacturers keep on making fast cars when nobody actually uses them.
Car Magazine lately selected the new Suzuki Swift as it's car of the year. And analysts forsee that the Automotive industry in the years to come will be drived by regulations and energy costs.
So my advise is enjoy your speed tickets while you can, because maybe in 10 years we won't have any cars that can go beyond 60mph.
Imagine a world void of Ferraris and Porsches and full of hybrids and electrical cars!!!
Cynical, but indeed possible
Good point duke.
However, if speed limits are based on both the human as well as the car capabilities and only one factor improved then still speed limits should have been raised in accordance with that factor.
Second of all, there is a statistical body of evidence that proves that speed limits do not save lives as thought. It might be counter intuitive, but the data is there for anybody to inspect and draw conclusions. For some reason governments don't seem to see that though.
I understand your point Duke, but as Chris pointed out, there is already evidence to show that higher speeds does not mean more accidents. I believe one factor that has to improve in order for higher speed limits is better driver training, if I recall correctly, unlike the US, in Germany, not 95% of the people can pass the driving test... it isn't as easy. If you've been on the German Highways before, you'll notice a vast difference. I went there with my dad about 5years ago and we were travelling at about 230+kph on the autobahn and everyone just seemed to have perfect lane dicipline driving etiquette
Post a Comment