What people don't stop and consider, though, is that, when a vehicle DOES go out of control and crash at Triple-digit Autobahn speeds, the results can be absolutely catastrophic. Safety-systems or not, there is no getting around the laws of physics and Kinetic Energy....all else equal, the higher the speed, the greater the impact-force, and the more potential damage one is likely to see.

Watch what happens to this Lambo.

 

exactly so everyone else needs to speed up to decrease that nasty speed differential lol

and i always stop and consider that fact, but i like to actually feel alive, not just have a heartbeat... life is too short to always follow every law, so i will continue to seek out empty stretches of highway to get my speed fix without selfishly putting others at risk... it's the least i can do to honor those brilliant mercedes and toyota engineers who worked tirelessly to create these extraordinary machines

 

Nope. All that does is stretch the laws of physics by X-number of times, so that you have a whole lot more potential time-bombs instead of just a couple. For the most part, Interstate Speed-Limits are way they are in the U.S. for good reasons....and, no, not just for revenue-collection.

The speed-differential is also is of little effect if people would obey the limits...you wouldn't have people whizzing by much slower traffic, and creating a hazard.

The only real arguement for extremely high speeds is that some people just want to satisfy their egos. (Fast & Furious, Need for Speed), etc..... Public roads are simply not the place to do that, period.

 

for those of you that don't know, physics is a branch-of-science, it's conducted by 'physicists' which-are scientists that specialize in physics

 

If you speed on the unrestricted sections of the autobahn, it's still your fault if you get into (mostly) any kind of accident.

Re: power on the street - if you're using it in traffic, something smells. If you're darting past traffic, something smells too. Doesn't matter what you drive. Traffic being stupid (hogging lanes, not maintaining speed, not using blinkers, weaving, using phones, not being considerate/being self-righteous in general, whatever) IS a problem, but it doesn't justify being on the other end of the spectrum. The police not actually policing traffic is another story entirely... IMO speeding tickets and the other super common offenses should be points-only, but revenue >>>> safety and having to drive a variety of undercover vehicles in order to be able to effectively police traffic (and actually trying to police traffic properly) doesn't appear to be an aspiration for most.

Final note - atleast IMO, top speed is a useless metric. 1/4 mile trap speed & times - fine. Track/autoX/etc times - fine. Absolute Vmax needs so much preparation to reach relatively safely that it's beyond silly.

 

There are numerous studies that show speed limits don't have much impact on average road speeds, and that the 85th percentile speed is the safest speed for vehicles to be operated at, and in the US most speed limits are set well below the 85th Percentile speed.

 

The most effective study of all is an unchangeable law of physics....Kinetic Energy. The faster a body moves, the greater the potential impact-force and damage will be (resulting in damage and death) in an impact.

That is not simply me talking. Sir Isaac Newton himself discovered that law centuries ago.

 

Then why dont increases in speed limits to the 85th percentile speed increase traffic accidents or fatalities? Because they don't.

The bottom line is our speed limits in the US are by and large far too low. On the highways I travel daily around the DC metro area it is impossible to travel the speed limit without getting run off the road, and in many cases the average speed on the roadway is as much as 15-20MPH over the set limit. Thats the average flow of traffic.

 

Even in Germany, they are now regulating certain sections of the Autobahn more and more, with speed-limited areas. Growing traffic-density is increasing the chances of serious accidents on the Autobahns more and more, and the authorities have been forced to act. There are still some Wild-West sections left, but they are steadily decreasing.

 

But those speed limits in Germany are set to the 85th percentile speed. And guess what? Average speeds on unrestricted sections of the Autobahn aren't any higher than on restricted sections. I'm not saying we need no speed limits, I'm saying they are set too low. For instance, 270 in Maryland should have a 65 MPH limit in the express lanes. The Beltway should be 60-65 in sections. What creates danger is differentials in speed.

 

I hate to sound excessively negative, but one particular spot on the Beltway (the sharp curve on the Other Loop over the I-270 spur) could maybe have an even lower limit, particularly for semis. Large trucks are CONSTANTLY jack-knifing and spinning out on that curve, particularly in slick conditions, creating back-ups for miles, even though there are warning signs and yellow-lights.



That whole Beltway section through the Rock-Creek Park zone, with moderately-sharp curves, from Old Georgetown Rd to past the Mormon Temple, also needs to be driven with a lot of caution, although the curves are not quite as sharp or dangerous as the curve on that I-270 overpass

 

Thats a ramp, not an ordinary part of the Beltway. There are reduced posted speeds on that ramp, I believe its 45 MPH.

Thats why I said "Sections of the Beltway", that area between Old Georgetown Rd and the Mormon Temple would be an area where it should stay 55. And you find the 85th percentile speed there isn't much more than that.

Looking at what we were describing about Mustang drivers, speed limits dont deter them from that behavior, so why are good drivers who are driving the flow of traffic being fined?

 

when you say 'these things' i'm not talking about approaching 2 cars in the distance at a crazy closing rate and suddenly threading the needle at the last second lol... but often on a 2 lane road you'll get 2 cars going just slightly slower than i'd like to be going driving alongside each other leaving no room to pass, so i'll patiently hang back until enough space opens up to quickly and decisively (very important to be quick and decisive lol) slot right between them and be on my merry way... since you're right most people are not expecting someone to whiz by at high speeds, which is why i always leave room for an escape route

any kind of proper speeds though i leave for the empty stretches of highway where there's no possibility of someone merging in front of me at the last second... i have been on pocono raceway but i'm simply not gonna drive 3 hours one way and then pay to use a track just to get that 10 seconds worth of acceleration i need to be satisfied... so many of these conversations wouldn't even needed to be had if people could follow the very simply rule (and law but it's never enforced since it doesn't help make money) of staying in the right lane except when passing

 

this is exactly why everyone else speeding up decreases the difference in kinetic energy between cars and thus leads to less chance of incident

 

yes there's no incentive to enforce (or change) laws that would lead to fewer fines being issued

and i agree darting past traffic is never responsible, but there's ways to safely get past other cars in your way without freaking someone out and causing them to do something unpredictable... you might **** them off though lol