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How is it even possible/practical to obey traffic laws? (lemmies.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I'm talking specifically about obeying the speed limit, doing a full stop at stop signs, etc. After receiving a speeding ticket for doing 53 in a 50, As an experiment I went a full day obeying all traffic laws 100% and it caused so much road rage. For example, there is a 2 lane road near me with a speed limit of 50 (where I got the ticket), traffic usually moves at about 60/65. There was a huge line of cars behind me and nowhere to pull over. As soon as an opening came up on the shoulder I was about to pull over and one of the cars behind me blew past me on the on the right blaring their horn. Then another truck passed me at the next opportunity and brake checked me. Both of these cars proceeded to run a red light about 1/4 mile ahead of me endangering others. By far the worst part of driving on this 2 lane road was the 25 mph work zone which is completely ignored by everyone else. It effectively resulted in me doing 25 mph in a "60" which is very dangerous.

Having needed to spend the entire day pulling over at every opportunity to let people pass I inevitably picked up a drill bit and got a flat tire.

Even matters as simple as stopping completely at a stop sign for 1 second cause immediate anger and dangerous behavior from other drivers.

What on earth are we expected to do? All I want is to avoid speeding tickets and drive safely.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think traffic laws in many cases cause more issues than they solve, though I don’t know enough to really say which types of laws are problematic.

I do notice that a lot of drivers which go over the speed limit because it’s too low tend to overdo it, driving too fast instead, for example. On roads where the speed limit is fairly high most people seem to drive at a speed close to it.

I also read a study a few years ago which claimed that removing speed limits actually causes most people to drive slower, but I can’t find it right now.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I had this experience in driving on wide open highway in nevada, the speed limit was 80 and to my surprise traffic was moving at maybe 83-ish. If I was doing 80 exactly it wouldn't cause any issues at all. That speed can easily be considered safe by anyone because there's effectively nothing to hit.

However, I still think that speed limits (25/35/50mph zones) are actually reasonable and the issue is that the majority of people vastly underestimate how impact forces and stopping distances are effected with increased speed. Decades ago, doing 60mph in a car was generally terrifying, now cars are so smooth and refined that it feels like nothing. I don't care how well-engineered your car is, though, it doesn't change the amount of force created on impact. In fact its even worse now with cars being so much heavier in general.