Make the speed limit sensible, and I will.

I don't speed in Europe because 130 km/h is a perfectly fine limit; I've driven faster on uncontrolled Autobahn segments, but I'm not bothered when there is a limit. 65 mph on the NJ Turnpike (and only on the southern part) is not.

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yugioh3 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

65mph is plenty fast. going beyond 70/75 is diminishing returns in the safety of other drivers, not to mention worse greenhouse emissions.

a crash at 80+ is so much worse than one at 65. and American highways are not the Autobahn. different design and engineering.

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dotancohen 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

The energy (damage) of a crash is proportional to the square of the speed. Therefore a crash at 80 units per hour has over 1 and a half times the amount of energy, and thus one and a half times the damage, as one at 65 units per hour.

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rafram 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

If anything, American highways are wider and straighter than the Autobahn.

	▲	dangus 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		But they are less well maintained and with fewer safety features, built to a lower cost per mile. Being straighter is actually bad for safety (highway hypnosis). You’ll find long stretches of interstates with no guard rails as well as state highways with direct intersections with rural roads.

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dkiebd 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

[flagged]

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seanmcdirmid 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Sometimes the speed limit is set to lower the accident rate on a particular piece of road. Like those 30 MPH curve warnings on a mountain road. Even in straight shots the amount of traffic could make 80 MPH significantly more dangerous than 70 MPH.

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dangus 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

That limit is completely reasonable on the NJ turnpike especially considering that the cultural norm is to go 5-10 mph over. American speed limits are determined with the expectation of drivers going over. In other countries the limit is more literal.

No cop is going to ticket you for going 70-75 on the turnpike.

	▲	amanaplanacanal 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		In my town you don't get a ticket unless you are going 10mph over, and this is on surface streets. They might be stricter in the 20mph school zones though.