Automobile Speeding
Humans in the twentieth century live in an era characterized by an unrelenting desire for speed. The ability to go faster and accomplish more often seems to be the option of choice. Everything from the information super highway to the interstate highway is dominated by this need for speed. Whether it is fast food or fast cars, more powerful search engines or automobile engines, the fact of the matter is people rarely stop to catch their breath. Ever since the wheel people have tried to get from point A to B in as little time as possible. This idea is evident every time someone turns the ignition of his/her automobile. Cars were designed with the ability to travel faster and reach destinations sooner, but now it seems that these conveniences have been stretched and abused to the maximum. The question at hand is not whether or not speeding exists, which it does, but rather is it a problem? In addition, what are the consequences and/or ramifications of speeding? The notion of fast is usually associated with better, but is this really the case? These questions will be discussed in this paper.
Speed sells. Many people don't realize this, but automobile manufacturers do. In the November 1999 issue of Car and Driver there are over fifteen ads that advertise cars driving at speeds that are not reasonable or prudent to existing conditions. Some of these ads have small disclaimers at the bottom of the page, but many don't. When a new model year car comes out, the majority of the manufacturers advertise more horsepower, which translates into more speed. There are also many people who, on their own, attempt to make their cars faster. This is very similar to what happened during the muscle car era of t...
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...t is not surprising that there are more fatal accidents. When speed limits are raised police can access more time stopping reckless drivers, not just people exceeding the speed limit. Charles Lave, an economics professor at the University of California- Irvine, examined this phenomenon in a study in 1989. He found that raising highway speed limits allowed police to spend less time writing speeding tickets and more time apprehending drunk drivers and patrolling dangerous roads. The studies done by the IIHS also omitted several states in which traffic fatalities fell considerably. If those states were to be factored into the data, there would be almost no change at all in the rise of fatalities. Finally all speeding laws do some harm by providing the means for citizens to be fined, arrested, or otherwise restricted in their daily activities and commutes.
Many years ago, a popular movie, "Top Gun" coined the phrase "I feel the need, the need." need for speed and speed." Many drivers today would agree with that phrase. Speeding is one of the most common ways that people break the law. When people break the law there are unpleasant consequences.
On top of that there are also some hefty fines that will help a driver learn his or her lesson. The average speeding ticket in the US is 150 dollars, but the faster a person drives the more costly a speeding ticket becomes. Drivers have the choice to fight their citation in court instead of just paying the fine, a lot of speeding drivers often do. If the driver decides to do this, the officer then assigns them a traffic court date. Drivers who take their fine to court normally do so because they disagree with the reason they were pulled over or believe they have a justifiable explanation for speeding. There is not good reason for speeding hence the saying “better late than never”. A driver who goes to court usually ends up paying the fine they received in the first place along with court fees. Not to mention the effects a speeding ticket has on one’s insurance. Just one speeding ticket can skyrocket an average policy holder’s premium as much as 22 percent according to an analysis of over 490,000 policy quotes. There are a lot of things that money could be spent on than a speeding ticket. Most states also employ a points system and when an individual acquires a certain amount of points (ten points in most states) the state will suspend an individual’s license. Now the driver can take a Defensive Driving course to deduct 2 points from their record, this can be done once every 24
Some people argue that if stricter DUI laws existed, it will only have a negative financial effect on cities instead of stopping drunk driving. In the article, “At Issue: Drunk Driving”, the author explains how drunk driving remains an issue and what the effect of stricter DUI laws would have on social drinking in cities. The article states how people feel about tougher laws on social drinking: “Others feel that the current legal limit is adequate and stricter laws would penalize social drinking instead of actual drunk drivers” (ProQuest Staff). The author claims that if the government passed stricter DUI laws, they would not stop drunk driving more than they would hurt the city financially. However, the safety of the people inside the city should remain the priority over money. In the same article, the writer states that the safety of people in cities is being threatened. The writer gives statistical evidence that drunk driving has a direct effect on traffic death: “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 40% of total traffic deaths in the United States are due to drun...
Speed limits are very important throughout the world. Mainly because it involves the safety of yourself and other drivers on the road. Most people feel as if speeding is okay if you are driving correctly without any distractions. Well that is not the case at all, if you are sure of your driving and doing more than the speed limit it is a possibility that it can be another person at fault for the cause of an accident. Other drivers driving slowly causes road rage because so many people are in different lanes driving at the same speed limit. Speeding has always been a problem with me because I love to drive fast and I have a heavy foot.
... Behind the Wheel: Why Do We Speed?" Interview. Audio blog post. NPR. PBS, 07 June 2007. Web. 01 Nov. 2014.
We are always demanding more advanced machinery, and from the past, we have grown into a much more technological society. Lately, more and more people not only want more technology, they want them to be quicker. Things such as quicker computers, quicker connections to the internet, better cell phone connections, pagers, cars with more power, voice mail, palm pilots, etc. are in greater demand. People don't want to waste time anymore. We want things done quicker without as much effort. We want things to take less time to do them so we can have more time for other things. Their society is exactly like ours. Besides having advanced technological machines, they also have much larger speed limits, so people could get where they want a lot faster. Clarisse and Montag make it obvious to the reader that they live in a fast-paced world when they first meet each other. Before Clarisse runs into her house, they notice how fast drivers go that they "'don't know what grass is, or flowers because they never see them slowly,' she said. 'If you showed a driver a green blur, Oh yes! he'd say, that's grass! A pink blur! That's a rose garden! White blurs are houses. Brown blurs are cows. My uncle drove slowly on a highway once. He drove forty miles an hour and they jailed him for two days'"(9). Their speed limit is so high that everything that they see seems like blurs. They never see objects; they only see colors. Our speed limit isn't as high as theirs is, but people usually go much faster than the speed limit is.
As for traffic regulations, Anderson, D. Mark says that "legalization is associated with and 8-11 percent decrease in traffic fatalities". This is because Marijuana slows down reaction times in the brain, so most people who drive while high go well under the speed limit. An...
“Long term effects of repealing the National Maximum Speed Limit in the United States.” American Journal of. Public Health. 3 October 2010: 1-4. Web.
Several surveys have shown the city of Miami to be one of the least preferable cities in which to drive. Every morning there is an exodus of Biblical proportions, as thousands or cars tightly pack into highways six lanes wide. More discouraging about driving in Miami is the mind-numbingly slow pace with which traffic moves. Moreover, bumper-to-bumper traffic causes many minimal damage accidents that ironically have larger, more negative, effects on traffic congestion than they actually should. Other factors such as construction and aggressive drivers create more hazardous conditions for commuters. The roads and highways of Miami are a world of danger that creates the unpleasant experience it is to drive in Miami.
...bit faster than normal. What should drivers do? Well, there is something we can do that would allow for us to be able to raise the speed limits. We can write to our local representatives and let them know the need for raising the speed limits. Provide good research and valuable information that will help them to make the best possible decision. Of course, we must obey the law until the speed limits are changed. God has commanded us to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. (Bible) This was used not only in the aspect of money but also in the aspect of all of Caesar’s laws. The urge is very real to want to break the law, but think about others before yourself. According to Terry Turner we need to think of the why before the how. Basically ask yourself, why do I need to speed? Then after careful consideration of all factors, decide how fast to drive your automobile.
According to Lundy, “The study, “Children”, found a correlation between traffic fatalities and children being struck by vehicles in states with forbearing red-light camera regulations.” Even though opponents may argue that many school-zones speeding tickets are issued when the infraction did not put any children at risk as Lundy stated red-lights save children’s lives. Even if an infraction did not put a child’s life endanger, drivers should obey the rules of the road, and own up to their carelines. Bottom line, break a law you deserve to pay the consequence (i.e., costly ticket). Lundy continues, “When motorists are aware of red-light cameras, lives are saved because drivers travel slower and do not run red-lights.” Definitely, when most motorist know that they are being closely monitored, then a safer traveling environment is birthed. Moreover, fewer accidents occur through red-light camera awareness — drivers are more cautious while driving, so less accidents occur, and lives are spared as
...the demands of driving, but the fundamental problem may be the behaviour of the individuals willing to pick up the technology" (Reimer, 2009).
According to Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) study in which speed limits were varied at 100 locations nationwide resulted "raising posted speed limits by as much as 15mph had little effect on the motorists' speed." The data actually indicates that accident rate reduced at sites where speed limits were raised. Traveling at high speeds saves time and gets you to your destination quicker and the traffic usually travels five to ten miles faster than the posted speed limit.
Imagine driving on I-75 as cars race by you at a blink of an eye. You are driving 60 miles per hour, the speed limit; they must be doing 100 miles per hour or more. This is not an illusion; this is the reality of driving on a highway. Believe it, it happens everyday. Cars race down the road at uncontrollable speeds that cause tickets, accidents, and sadly death. Speed limits are a must for traffic control, for safety in neighborhoods and for avoidance of collisions.
...s to make traffic more efficient. For example, the Ohio Revised Code in section 4511.21 states clearly that "No person shall operate a motor vehicle, trackless trolley, or a street car at a speed greater than reasonable or proper due regard to the traffic." Road speed limits are used to regulate the speed of vehicles. Sometimes people try to get somewhere and they go over the speed limit not realizing that they are putting themselves in danger. Now every time I get in a car with a friend or a family member, I make sure that they are going by the speed limit, not texting and paying attention on the road. It is very important that we follow this rules because they are only protecting us, and keeping us safe. If we want to reduce the millions of deaths that are caused by this imprudence every year we need to start being more responsible when we get behind the wheel.