At 10:10 AM 5/2/98 -0400, you wrote:
>To all concerned about radar detectors:
>
[...]
Good post, Gene. I agree 100% (and so does my Valentine One) :-)
I think that someone who has a detector has shown that they want
to be more in touch with what is happening around them. I forget what
the technology is called, but some detectors can detect emergency
vehicles and such. PA puts radar guns in their construction warning
signs (to slow people down, I guess). Similar to the idea conveyed
by studies that have shown that people who habitually drive faster
than the speed limit are generally better drivers than the average
person.
I think the case could probably be made that the artificially low
speed limits are actually creating a danger to motorists. People
driving safely at perfectly acceptable speeds (according to the laws
of physics) can easily be over the politically defined speed limits,
and a portion of their attention must be used to watch out for
the police who are enforcing the artificially low speed limits.
That attention would would be more beneficial if it could be
directed to the act of driving. Like a mouse who misses a berry
while running through a field because it was watching for hawks
flying above...
People may say I'm crazy, but I think that a solid driver
education program (not like the joke that is in place now; rather than
sitting around and watching movies, you get sent to something like the
Skip Barber driving school) and higher speed limits would do wonders
both for safety and general driver attitude.
I favor "recommended" speed limits. All speed limit signs would
be yellow; (you know, like the signs at curves. You can legally go
through the curve faster than that, but if you cause an accident
while doing so, you'll get into more trouble than if you caused
an accident while driving at or under that recommended speed.) The
recommended speed limits on these signs would be determined by
engineers, not politicians. They would convey actual information
that the driver can use to drive safely, rather than being an
artificial speed to allow the local governents to line their
pockets with the money of motorists. Of course, anyone would be
free to go as fast as they like (just like anyone is free now to go
faster than the recommended speed in a curve), but you will only
get stopped if you are creating a hazard to others. (You can
create as much hazard to yourself as you want.)
Alas, this will probably never happen, but its a nice dream. :-)
-Jon-
.--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu -- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---.
| DoD# 1038, EAA# 518210, NMA# 117376, USUA# A46209, KotWitDoDFAQ, RP-SEL |
| '96 Dodge Dakota v8 SLT Club Cab, '96 Kolb FireFly 447 (#FF019) |
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I do not speak for the SUNY College at Fredonia; any opinions are my own.
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