>Driving in the Atlanta area I would be grateful to have ALL of those
>DWA's here- I travel these roads with great FEAR of you people who are
>comfortable with SPEED. The engineers have determined the rate of speed
>for the road and have set MAXIMUM speeds NOT minimum.
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Now before anyone sends me any more hate mail, I am not condoning speeding
on public motorways in any way shape or form, or picking on anybody in
particular.
That said, a lot of those speeds were established (probably in the
50's-60s') when vehicles weren't capable of generating the
cornering/braking/handling that are inherent in vehicles nowadays. Maybe
some of them should be re-evaluated? Not only that but those speeds are
also set so that your average individual, with only moderate to low driving
skills can safely navigate most roads without scaring themselves to death.
Also, (at least in Calif) yellow speed signs are only a suggested speed,
not a maximum. I have found that many times, while negotiating a corner,
where a Maximum speed was posted at say 40 and the corner (yellow) was
posted at 25, in my Spit, I can SAFELY, without tire squeal or losing
traction, continue at 40 around the bend without incident. Granted, my car
is much more capable than a lot of vehicles on the road. For example, my
truck, I would most certainly have to slow, (but still not to the 25 MPH).
I feel that I can very safely cruise on freeways posted as high as 75
(there are a few here in Calif), and quite frankly I wouldn't have any
trouble or hesitation if it were set at 85-90 MPH. I think a lot of people
put a little too much emphasis on speed per-say, and not the driving
conditions, vehicle type or MOST IMPORTANTLY the driver - there is a lot of
truth (and safety) to the slogan, slower drivers keep right-
I have often felt that the left most (passing) lane on all freeways should
have no max speed (or at most maybe a limit of 100 MPH) All other lanes
can have the arbitrary 65, 70, 75. That way, if you don't feel comfortable
driving at those higher speeds (and most likely I wouldn't in my truck),
then you have the option of switching/staying at a lower speed, in a right
hand lane. In this way you eliminate those bottle necks/clogs from those
wanting to go faster, (and in this day and age, with newer cars, relatively
safely) and those who feel that they are saving the general populace by
blocking the left lane, going 60-65 secure in there own minds, that they
are in the right. These individuals, (not targeting anybody on the list)
In my humble opinion, are creating a much more dangerous situation than
someone traveling along on the freeway at 75 or 80 MPH, that is if they
didn't have to dodge slower moving vehicles.
But I have found that my ideal world is vasty different then that of most
others :-)
Barry Schwartz (San Diego) bschwart@pacbell.net
72 PI, V6 Spitfire (daily driver)
70 GT6+ (when I don't drive the Spit)
70 Spitfire (long term project)
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