Now what happens?

bmetcalf

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There was a article in Car and Driver 20+ years ago that examined the USA statistics for speeding deaths. Because our statistics are reported by the states, where each have their own criteria and systems for collecting the statistics, the numbers were suspect. One state only had "speed" as a cause, which turned out to include too slow in the category. Another didn't separate out drunkness from the accompanying speeding cause. So, there's Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. The nannies hate the freedom that driving and riding allow.
 

ClassicBiker

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One fact that escapes the simple minded (read bureaucrat, nanny state supporter, etc..) speed does not kill, speed differential kills. A hundred plus years ago people were afraid that if a train exceeded 60mph you would die from asphyxiation as the air was sucked out of your lungs. Well that has been proven wrong countless times. Until Chuck Yeager went blasting through the "sound barrier" everyone thought people would get squashed. Even scientist spoke as if the "sound barrier" was a physical barrier that prevented people exceeding the speed of sound and reserved that realm for the inanimate projectile, rockets, bullets, cannon balls. Yet in 1947 Chuck Yeager blew through it and survived. Fighter aircraft the world over travel two to three times constantly. Concord even took the average person through it for many years.
Now if you are in motion and make contact with an another object also in motion, the change in velocity is what causes injury and/or death. As we know a change in velocity is called acceleration. Whether positive (going faster) or negative (slowing down). The average value of acceleration that cause death is 65 g's. That is a serious change in velocity. Acceleration due to gravity is 9.8m/s*2 or 32.17 ft/s*2. Knowing that Force equal mass time acceleration and it also equals 1/2 times mass time velocity squared. So doing the math I came up with a speed differential of 64.66 ft/s or 44 mph is fatal. Which corresponds with studies that say you are most likely to die if the speed of vehicle hitting a pedestrian is 40 mph or faster.
So what is the speed limit going to be? Sub 40 so the likely hood of pedestrian who inadvertently wanders into the path of vehicle does not sustain a fatal injury? No considering speed limiters is merely a knee jerk reaction so politicians can claim to be doing something about the problem. It is far easier to do that than to get the public to realize that there are consequences to their abhorrent driving habits.
Steven
 

ClassicBiker

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Screed?:oops: Maybe, it could be. But my point being is that it is all very well trying to minimize the likely hood of a fatal accident, but you are never going to totally eliminate it. People are going to do dumb things. No amount of interference from the "nanny state" is going to stop it. At the current rate of expansion of the "nanny state" we'll need someone walking in front waving a red flag.
Steven
 

vibrac

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I agree the burecrats have never heard of the law of diminishing returns the Draconian laws about electrical installation and inspection that prevent my boiler man from wiring a plug were brought in when then whole of the UK had 11 deaths from electrocution in the year it certainly has not reduced them since.The top of the curve gets flatter it can't reach 100% and they keep saying zero road deaths by 2050? go figure.
 
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