- Nobody is trained "to do whatever they want".
- How people drive on normal roads has nothing to do with the absence of a speed limit on autobahns.
- A new law about something different (speed) is hardly the best way to alter the behaviour of people who ignore existing laws (about dangerous driving). Tackle the dangerous driving, and speed isn't a problem.
I am afraid that the yahoos who learn to drive with no limits and abuse it by driving badly (onto bumpers, weaving, etc.) are also 'learning' that they are King/Queen of the Road and it doesn't take too much imagination to realize that the same jerk that is on their bumper on the hilly road is the same one that was on the freeway.
The dominating potential danger arises from the action of other drivers. In these circumstances, speed in itself is not important to reaction time. The important thing is relative speed. And if there is nobody nearby, what is the problem?
The whole time I have been exactly talking about the more than significant number who drive VERY fast and are ALSO bad drivers.
Getting up on someone's bumper is more than bad.
At the same time everyone knows how many times someone inadvertently changes lane and finds someone already in it and then abrubtly gets back (and if they are honest they say they have done it themselves at least once). Reaction time and how it relates to speed is more than relevant! And mass x velocity becomes very important for the consequences.
I have seen the Bonneville Flats in Utah - now THERE is a good place to play games with speed.
But please realize, I am not misunderstanding. If almost all drivers (98-99%) were basically safe drivers - always proper distance even if they have to 'wait,' no weaving, always alert and not SMSing or playing with their GPS, and their cars themselves were documented to be SAFE and it's a 3 lane road (3 each way) then push the limit to whatever.
(I would NOT have no limit as Montana found out)
People really do learn very bad habits when there is whatever speed allowed. It seems no one here remembers the Finland of the late 60's and the 70's. We had NO speed limit. I, myself, made it from Muonio to Helsinki in something like 5 hours! But we also had a 'driving culture' that was totally insane - people making their own center lanes for passing at just about every opportunity, etc. It was surely worse than what some people talk about now in parts of E Europe.
Talk with Tielaitos and you will find that one important key in educating the public was to PUT speed limits. Finally finishing some of the motorways was also significant - not to say a kind of urbanization/civilization of the maajussi Finn - Finland was the most rural country Europe in western Europe - might still be - but the % living in cities grew enough that people realized they were not alone.
the best feeling! not like here like ur making a driving test!!!
