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Stats Transportation United States

With Highway Traffic Down, Are Reckless Drivers Still Increasing Highway Fatalities? (go.com) 157

Posted by EditorDavid from the open-highways dept.
Highway patrols across America "are reporting a rise in reckless driving," writes ABC News.

Slashdot reader quonset shared their report: In Connecticut, traffic has been cut in half compared to last year, but fatal motor vehicle accidents are up by about 40%. "We're finding that with the open roads, certain individuals are taking this as an opportunity to push their vehicles to the limit," Connecticut State Police Trooper Josue Dorelus told ABC News' Transportation Correspondent Gio Benitez. Dorelus said they have seen a 90% increase in cars going over 15 miles above the speed limit during the coronavirus pandemic...

"When you're going in excess of 100 miles an hour, these crashes are inevitably going to be fatal or near fatal," Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety President Cathy Chase told ABC News. In Massachusetts, the fatality rate for car crashes is rising. In Minnesota, motor vehicle crashes and fatalities have more than doubled compared to the same time period in previous years... Pam Shadel Fischer, the Governors Highway Safety Association's senior director of external engagement, said it could be because it is harder for drivers to gauge their own speed without other drivers on the road.
I wonder if that percentage increase of fatalities appears higher in a low-population states like Connecticut (3.565 million people). The article also notes that in California (population 39.5 million), their Highway Patrol "issued nearly 2,500 citations statewide for driving over 100 miles per hour from mid-march to mid-April -- an 87% jump from the same time last year..." But another article points out that from March 19 to April 30, the overall number of crashes in California dropped 75% while the number of people killed declined by 88%, and there was a 62% decrease in injuries (plus a 42% drop in DUI arrests).

Interestingly, that same article points out that from late March 19 to May 13 there were 6,043 citations for driving over 100 miles per hour -- so it's spiked by 3,543 in the last month since "mid-April", to a number that's over 1,000 more than the month before.
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With Highway Traffic Down, Are Reckless Drivers Still Increasing Highway Fatalities? More

With Highway Traffic Down, Are Reckless Drivers Still Increasing Highway Fatalities?

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  • At late hours hear motorcycles and cars with engines near redline going on the interstate over a mile away, sometimes on the four lane 35 MPH road a couple blocks away too. They think they're in Mad Max or Will Smith in I am Legend (or maybe Charlton Heston in Omega Man it was remake of)

    Good time to roll out all the cameras and even make some 20 MPH zone on highway with BIG portable speed bumps.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by yarbo ( 626329 )
      speed bumps impact ambulances too, so big speed bumps will slow response times.
      • Maybe make them deflatable with remote control?

      • In North Portland OR I'm seeing speed bumps with channels cut out of them on two lane streets: one wide channel in the center of the road, and one in either lane so emergency vehicles can whip through the channels without slowing down. They drive more to the center of the road than is possible when there is on-coming traffic. Everyone else (sans sirens and flashy lights) hits a speed bump on either the left or right side.

        Is this being done anywhere else? It looks like it is pretty effective. But...

    • Highways donâ(TM)t need speed bumps. That would be both dangerous and damaging to vehicles traveling at highway speeds. You are an idiot.

    • (Score: 2, Troll) at this time.

      I suspect the "troll" mods are for the crack at the end about 20 MPH zones and speed bumps, and the rest is probably exaggerated, but what he's talking about is real.

      I have been woken up by people like that and I know which neighbor it is and I go back to sleep plotting my revenge only to be awoken again because they (or one of their friends) just had to take another run down my normally quiet residential street.

      Every spring when the weather is nice people dust off their moto

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by I75BJC ( 4590021 )
      Praise God for the Darwin principle and the Darwin Awards!

      Who said the Wuhan Virus was only full of bad things.

      Just look at all the industries kept busy: LEOs, EMTs, Morticians, Gravediggers, Florists, Clergy, car makers -- HooRay!!!

    • At late hours hear motorcycles and cars with engines near redline going on the interstate over a mile away, sometimes on the four lane 35 MPH road a couple blocks away too.

      Troll? Exactly this sort of Mad Max car and motorcycle stunting is happening around here too.

  • I've seen and heard a lot of cars speeding and racing since the stay-at-home orders started. It seems some kind of fad.

    • ... it is harder for drivers to gauge their own speed without other drivers on the road

      If only there was some sort of instrumentation on the dashboard to let you know your current speed.

      • Thank you! As the submitter (thanks guys for approving!) that was hilarious. Apparently not knowing there is a way to judge one's speed goes along with people not knowing how to drive.

        But after a moment's thought, it made sense. When people stiff-arm the steering wheel to drive their arm is in the way of the instrument panel. They can't see their speed. Not only that, as they're weaving back and forth in their lane because they lack control, they're more worried about trying to keep the car going straigh

        • Also, when you are out on the highway, there is no way to set your car to a certain speed. You have to judge how hard to press the accelerator pedal.

          Huh? Every car I've driven for the last decade has had exactly that feature, even the cheap ones.

          (I do a lot of car rental)

      • As someone who has done a bunch of driving in recent years, it has annoyed me how many dingleberries there are. [That's what I call annoying crap-stains who 'cling' to you by matching your speed.] It seems like they've been on the increase. These drivers aren't paying attention to the speedometer (or other instruments, or mirrors), they are relying on other drivers to keep them out of trouble while they do whatever stupid distracting thing they would rather do than prevent horrific injury &/or death.
        • The guys that try to tail gate the fastest vehicle around. I figure pretty much what you say, they want to go fast but don't want to get a ticket. So get behind another fast vehicle and hopefully the lead car gets the ticket, not them. Yes, I've also seen them match my speed while hiding in my blind spot.(Right rear.) Of course my biggest pet peeve is people who slow down to pass or merge on the highway. I mean they come down the on ramp to the highway and slow down to 30-40 or maybe even stop and then try

        • It's easy to get rid of "dingleberries" on a reasonably open road; I've never had one stick to me once I got over 100mph. Tailgaters in traffic are tougher, you can either vary your speed to make it annoying for them (doesn't work if they have adaptive cruise control), or scrape them off against other traffic.

          As for safety... forget it. Right now we're living through the safety-lover's dream, much of the world locked down because of "safety". The slope is indeed slippery, and safety has lost its moral su

          • In theory if it's just you and another person on some back road you can duck into some side street or parking lot and let them pass. I say in theory because it seems every time I let them by they immediately slow down because they're now the lead car.

    • Less traffic.

      Cheap gas.

      Not much else to do when the movies and malls are closed and the hookers can no longer congregate on the street corner.

  • Driver Profile Correlation (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Wolvez ( 13077 ) on Saturday May 23, 2020 @10:49PM (#60097228)

    Is it possible that the "profile" of people driving has changed and this could account for the increase in citations and accidents?

    More specifically, is it possible that a higher percentage of people driving now are doing so to flaunt risk and demonstrate their resistance to perceived oppression, limitation of freedom, etc.? If true, could this account for the rise, e.g. if those drivers are more likely to speed, drive aggressively, etc.?

    I'm really not trying to "politicize" this and I'm not passing judgment on the whole "liberty" issue with respect to business closure. I'm just trying to present a hypothesis, albeit ineloquently.

    Best.

    W

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by dgatwood ( 11270 )

      I think it's more likely that people are just bored, and with more time on their hands, the sorts of people who like to drag race late at night are doing it more.

      But the thing is, doing 100 MPH on an empty 65 MPH freeway in the middle of the night really isn't that dangerous as long as you know the road and keep left, because there's approximately nobody else on it. So that uptick in egregious speeding on those roads isn't likely to affect the overall fatality numbers meaningfully.

      It's the folks swerving f

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by MrL0G1C ( 867445 )

        I don't know about the US but in the UK our motorways (highways) are not the places where most of the accidents are happening, most of the accidents are idiots trying to do highway speeds on complicated city roads or on small country back roads.

        There may be less cars on the road here but the number of impatient arseholes on the roads has not decreased at all, people who drive like cunts are probably not obeying isolating rules.

        • I don't know about the US but in the UK our motorways (highways) are not the places where most of the accidents are happening, most of the accidents are idiots trying to do highway speeds on complicated city roads or on small country back roads.

          There may be less cars on the road here but the number of impatient arseholes on the roads has not decreased at all, people who drive like cunts are probably not obeying isolating rules.

          Really it's probably this. I know I pointed this out but in the case of Massachusetts most of the crashes are on back roads but the lower traffic volume is on highways.(They don't have much in the way of stats on traffic volume on back roads) The stats Mass put out does actually state this but it done so in passing so if you don't look very closely you might think there's a lot more crashes on the highway here. (From my own driving on those roads, there's not.) Average speeds here on the highway are almost

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Calydor ( 739835 )

        My first thought was whether there's a notable difference in maintenance done to roads in California and Connecticut. Let's be honest, hitting a pothole at 60 MPH is damned unpleasant - hitting it at 100 MPH is a crash.

        There was a pothole in a road I used to drive along frequently. I'd hit it every time since there was no way of pulling around it - single lane traffic each way - and I'd feel for a moment how I lost control of the car then regained it. Common, I'm sure.

        The chilling part was how 100 meters la

      • It is more likely that police are enforcing the rules more in order to acquire revenue.

        Things that would have been ignored before are now profit centers.

        I was moving a bit behind the flow of traffic and the flow of traffic was fast. Not unexpected because I was leaving a hockey game and many others were going home. I happened to be busted. Cop does the normal alcohol tests and sees that I wasnâ(TM)t lying about being sober. He knocks my speeding way down for not being a dick and being honest. Never min

    • Is it possible that the "profile" of people driving has changed and this could account for the increase in citations and accidents?

      More specifically, is it possible that a higher percentage of people driving now are doing so to flaunt risk and demonstrate their resistance to perceived oppression, limitation of freedom, etc.? If true, could this account for the rise, e.g. if those drivers are more likely to speed, drive aggressively, etc.?

      This was my first thought, too. The people out there will be in the risk-taker demographic.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by I75BJC ( 4590021 )
      Or maybe they're all Leftist just taking advantage of a pandemic?
      Not to do so, would be wasteful!

      or maybe it's just Stupid People with too much money?

  • Pro-social people isolate themselves; (Score:5, Interesting)

    by wierd_w ( 1375923 ) on Saturday May 23, 2020 @10:50PM (#60097232)

    But the truly anti-social take the opportunity to be a bigger menace than ever, because they think there is less enforcement.

    Nothing unexpected there. Idiots gotta idiot.

    The pro-social people are the ones that obey traffic laws and speed limits, because those things exist to keep people safe, and allow the roadways to function for their intended purpose of getting people and product from point A to point B. The antisocial consider those kinds of people to be an obstacle to their personal pleasure seeking, and view their vehicle as a thing that goes very very fast, and is fun to operate.

    It is not a stretch of the imagination to see how removing the former from the streets by issuing a stay at home order, would result in more activity by the latter.

  • I have to say, even for just myself I notice that I'm a bit off driving from where I am normally... a bit more correction in the lane, a bit less awareness of surroundings behind the car... that all stems from just simply not driving nearly as much as I used to (and I work from home!)

    So a lot of the people out deriving are probably the same way, just not as well practiced at driving and so even though there are fewer cars around, the road as a whole is just a bit more sketchy than it used to be.

    I would also

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Corbets ( 169101 )

      So a lot of the people out deriving are probably the same way, just not as well practiced [...]

      The 100+ MPH stuff I could see as well

      That’s some pretty fast calculus you’re doing there.

  • It should be pointed out the state misleads (Score:4, Interesting)

    by NotSoHeavyD3 ( 1400425 ) on Saturday May 23, 2020 @11:01PM (#60097262) Journal
    using statistics of course. I can only say about my own state, Massachusetts, but they pull the trick of changing what they're talking about. So when they mentions fatalities it's all roads. However when they mention volume it's highways since I don't think they keep stats on that. So who knows what traffic volume state wide is. Actually there's a blog where someone actually took apart the stats here https://www.motorists.org/blog... [motorists.org] and here https://www.motorists.org/blog... [motorists.org] and he actually goes into their data and gives links so anybody else can look it up and maybe there was an extra fatal crash or so but the numbers are so low it's basically impossible to come to a statistically valid conclusion. Oh well, it doesn't matter now since traffic volume on the highways here is way up.

    • Lol, whatever crazy-pants.

      Around my area people are flying. I can hear them in the 40 zone near my house kicking up it to at least 80. Bikes are especially noticeable.

      The cops went to one of the main drags into/out of the city last Friday and Saturday and staked it out hard. In the 35 zone they got 130 stops during that time, 60 warnings, 70 tickets, top speed was 120, 5 drivers fled the cops, 3 out of those 5 crashed. That's not normal in a 35 zone.

      People assume the cops are busy and the roads are empty and are going hog wild.

      • For the past 2 months, you'd have to do 120 around here in NC... I don't really see an issue though, not tons on the road, if you wanna get crazy and kill yourself - go for it. That's called freedom. When there aren't others around to harm, go as fast as you want, buy the ticket, take the ride.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by EzInKy ( 115248 )

        Same here. I live on a street with a 35mph limit that feeds into downtown. Any more it is common to see people racing down it like they are competing in the Indy 500.

  • I would hope so (Score:4, Insightful)

    by bobstreo ( 1320787 ) on Saturday May 23, 2020 @11:09PM (#60097294)

    There are a lot of people still on the transplant waiting lists.

    The good news is less collateral damage to innocent bystanders.

    • There are a lot of people still on the transplant waiting lists.

      Do you think people who care so little about themselves that they've cared enough about others to tick the organ donor box?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dryeo ( 100693 )

      There's more pedestrian traffic then ever on the side roads around here. People not working and going for walks. Provincial health officer is really pushing people to get outside for their mental health.

  • Objectively, a safe speed would scale based on number of vehicles on the road. The more cars there are, the slower you need to go to travel safely. And likewise, the fewer vehicles there are, the faster you can go while still traveling safely.

    Right now, there are fewer vehicles on the road. So it makes sense that people are driving faster. In the past discussions about speed limits and speed traps, we've established that people are in general (except for the occasional idiot) pretty good at figuring

    • Re:What's a safe speed? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by wierd_w ( 1375923 ) on Saturday May 23, 2020 @11:54PM (#60097400)

      That assumes straight, level, and smooth road surfaces in clement weather, and also assumes that the vehicle roll energy is not a factor, or that aerodynamic lift does not occur.

      The actual reality is that none of those things can be expected to be true.

      As such, you should stick within the posted highway speeds, which were selected based on being the happy medium between those conditionals, which maximize driver safety.

      A roadway with high speeds in mind is designed like the Autobahn. Smooth, slow and graceful curves, high walls to reduce wind interference, etc.

      US highways are not the Autobahn. Don't pretend they are.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by CaptainLugnuts ( 2594663 )

        As such, you should stick within the posted highway speeds, which were selected based on being the happy medium between those conditionals, which maximize driver safety.

        That's bullshit. The US interstate system was designed for 85MPH travel with shitty 1950s cars. After Eisenhower saw the autobahns in Germany he understood how useful high speed long distance travel was and got it built here.
        Any posted speed limit under 85 is a deliberate effort to raise revenue, it has no basis in safety.

        • Maybe in some states, but certainly not all.

          Infrastructure maintenance is not that high up on the priorities list of most politicians, and as such, the US's highway system is rough and patchy.

          NOT the kind of thing you want to go blasting the accelerator on, just because you have some kind of overriding compulsion to do so.

        • Re:What's a safe speed? (Score:5, Informative)

          by dunkelfalke ( 91624 ) on Sunday May 24, 2020 @03:07AM (#60097734)

          You know why Germany allows this kind of high speeds? Because the rules on driving on the Autobahn are very strict and so are German driving tests. Both are something Eisenhower apparently forgot to implement.

          • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

            by Gerald Butler ( 3528265 )

            > very strict and so are German driving tests

            This should not be underestimated. The written test alone for a driver's license in Germany has over 200 detailed, complex questions. You are only permitted to get 4 (YES, FOUR) questions wrong and still pass the test. This means a passing grade is 98%.

            • Re: (Score:3)

              by Calydor ( 739835 )

              And as far as I know there's no such thing as being taught by your parents how to drive a car. Go to a licensed driving instructor or you don't even get to sit at the exam in the first place.

          • You know why Germany allows this kind of high speeds? Because the rules on driving on the Autobahn are very strict and so are German driving tests. Both are something Eisenhower apparently forgot to implement.

            Try doing that now and see how quickly the test and enforcement is deemed racist if there is any unfavorable disparity in the outcome towards people of color.

            • Don't worry, a significant part of the white US population would have to learn to live without a driving licence as well in that case.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Sique ( 173459 )
          On German autobahns, the lanes are much wider. RQ26.5 is a usual design: The whole construction is 26.5 metres wide (about 87 feet), but has only four lanes, two in each direction. There is nearly always the Standspur (standing lane) on the right side. Old or space restricted Autobahns without a Standspur have a speed limit of 120 km/h or less. And there is the Rechtsfahrgebot, the requirement to use the right lanes. Heavily used parts of the Autobahn have speed limits of 120 kph or 100 kph.

          So whatever th

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        Posted highway speeds are fixed, but the "safe speed" depends heavily on environmental conditions as you mentioned...

        Also highway speeds were set many years ago, since then vehicles have improved significantly.
        Vehicles designed to go fast are also much better at doing so than vehicles designed to be cheap or designed to carry large loads etc. Speed limits are set based on average vehicles.

        So yes, in a modern high performance car in good condition, in good weather conditions and on appropriate roads you can

        • So yes, in a modern high performance car in good condition, in good weather conditions and on appropriate roads you can absolutely drive significantly above the speed limit while still being safer than someone driving an old poorly maintained vehicle in poor weather who's obeying the speed limit.

          Yes, the speed limits are the maximum allowed under any circumstances. You can still be cited for driving at the speed limit if merely going at that speed is dangerous (e.g. heavy fog). There's also various other fa

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Bert64 ( 520050 )

            The amount of traffic has increased too. Other factors, such as potholes, deer, other obstacles haven't changed.

            Well the whole point of the original article is that the amount of traffic has temporarily decreased due to lockdown measures.
            Potholes obviously depend on the individual road, some roads are in great condition, some are poor.
            Same with deers and other wild animals, some roads are in locations where wildlife are never going to be a problem.

            Determining what speed is "safe" requires taking all these factors into consideration, whereas the posted speed limits are a lowest common denominator.

          • "Yes, the speed limits are the maximum allowed under any circumstances."

            That's not even slightly true. Counterexamples abound. For example, the posted limit on the 101 through Humboldt is 65, or 55 while towing. Yet towing vehicles are commonly doing 70 and everyone else is generally doing 70-75 without being ticketed. And they're doing all of this right past the cops.

            Speed limits are first and foremost about revenue generation, not public safety. If we really cared about safety we'd either be making cars a

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Tom ( 822 )

        As such, you should stick within the posted highway speeds, which were selected based on being the happy medium between those conditionals, which maximize driver safety.

        They are also selected to be still safe under most conditions, so there's a huge safety margin. When the weather is clear and the road dry, the safe limit is considerably higher, but static signs can't take that into account.

        It's like the sign in the elevator that says "12 people". It can actually handle twice that, but we need the safety margin, because if it actually said "24", then some idiot would cram the 24 most heavy people he can find in there and complain when it breaks.

    • At least in Massachusetts it's up to the cop, there's no X number of the speed limit being an automatic reckless driving.

    • Re:What's a safe speed? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 ) on Sunday May 24, 2020 @02:48AM (#60097674) Journal
      Theoretically, yes. However the average driver doesn't have the chops to competently handle a vehicle at 100mph or higher, even if they think they do. Furthermore unless you're driving a car that's designed to handle properly at 100mph or higher, it may not be able to handle it in anything other than a straight line.
      Most people can't handle a bicycle at 20mph when something unexpected comes their way; you really expect them to handle a car at 100mph or more when something unexpected happens?

  • If you're serious about speeding, you coordinate with a group of friends and send a few lookouts (and if possible a couple of decoys) ahead of time. Turn Waze on, have your pals on mobile or radios, ensure that you have a decent radar/laser detector on, and then go at it. Extra points if you take turns during the duration of the drive: open up the engine for a while, swap tod being a lookout or decoy for your buds. Because, shenanigans.

    And if you're serious about racing, take your car to the track and g

    • Alternative explanation: Heart Attacks and Strokes are caused by infectious agents and since people are isolating, the infection rate is down.

      • Pollution by small particles such as created by vehicles is a known factor in strokes, heart attacks and Alzheimer- but we haven't got solid data on how big that factor actually is for each disease. I guess we're about to find out.

        Viral and bacterial infections are only rarely involved with heart issues and strokes, but a lot more with cancer. I'm expecting cancer rates to decline as well - especially in China where they had both massive industrial pollution and a huge population in close contact.

    • Car crash victims will generally seek assistance. Car crash creators may however attempt to avoid it in order to avoid prosecution.

  • "When you're going in excess of 100 miles an hour, these crashes are inevitably going to be fatal or near fatal,"

    That doesn't necessarily mean that driving at 100 mph increases the probability of having a crash. True if you're driving your 1994 Taurus with 200k miles, bad tie rod ends and shitty struts, probably not a prudent decision. Then again, that same vehicle is just as unsafe at 55mph.

    But, 100 mph in most newer and older maintained German vehicles is perfectly safe (as long as there's no humans on yo

    • Re: Somewhat misleading (Score:5, Insightful)

      by guacamole ( 24270 ) on Sunday May 24, 2020 @12:51AM (#60097464)

      One of the dumbest statements I have ever heard. I don't think you understand the problem here. When one car is driving at 80 where most vehicles are driving at 50 mph, or when a car drives at 100+ mph on a public highway where most cars drive at 70 mph, only the vast differential in speed alone is guaranteed to create a havok and accidents. Other drivers can't see it anticipate when somebody is driving this fast.

      If you have German car or Rustang that you think won't crash and burn at 100+ mph that's not an excuse for such reckless and reprehensible behavior on public roads. Please take your car to a race course and leave the public roads alone. The speeding assholes should be ticketed, moreover their driver license should be taken away immediately when they exceed the posted speed limit by 20+ mph.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        The point is that the highways have a lot less traffic on them now and in many cases are totally empty, there is no slower traffic around.
        And if you're driving in good weather conditions you can see what little slower traffic there is from quite a distance as you approach it, and you can slow down to pass this traffic safely.
        Given wide highways and sparse traffic, it's likely the slow traffic (if any) will be plodding down the inside lane so you can pass by quite safely in the outside lane at a considerably

      • Re: Somewhat misleading (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Tom ( 822 ) on Sunday May 24, 2020 @03:12AM (#60097740) Homepage Journal

        when a car drives at 100+ mph on a public highway where most cars drive at 70 mph, only the vast differential in speed alone is guaranteed to create a havok and accidents. Other drivers can't see it anticipate when somebody is driving this fast.

        This, for 100%. Other cars can't estimate your speed. This is true even in Germany. I've driven 290 tops and I've driven hundreds of kilometres never going below 200. Those distances and speeds I drive mostly at night, exactly because there's almost no traffic. As soon as you get into traffic, you slow down or you're an idiot. That guy in his beat-up rustic ahead of you looks into his rear mirror and thinks he'll manage the overtake before you're there. But he's going 120 and you're going 240, so it's basically as if he's approaching another car that's standing still. But he can't judge your speed properly from his mirror, he can't see if you're going 240 or 180 or something inbetween.

        When I drive fast in the left lane, I slow down if there's traffic on the middle lane. These people are dangerous.

    • If you're on the Autobahn, go for it. If you're on a U.S. freeway, just no!. Most people don't have the skills to handle a vehicle at 100mph or higher. They think they do because modern cars are so quiet and comfortable inside, little road noise, little vibration, and so on, but when the rubber (literally) meets the road, they can't handle it. Just. No. This is why we have speed limits.
      • The Autobahn was designed for high speed driving, no road in the U.S is designed for speeds like that. Doesn't matter your skill set when the car is hopping over misaligned lane pavement seams, jittering around from uneven pavement (seems road crews around here lately don't know how to lay new pavement without some sort of washboard effect), and destroying itself in potholes.

    • That doesn't necessarily mean that driving at 100 mph increases the probability of having a crash.

      Yes it does, that is literally how both physics and the limitation of human beings work. Seriously were you born this dumb or did you go to some kind of anti-school?

  • True here in Canada, (Score:4, Informative)

    by jenningsthecat ( 1525947 ) on Sunday May 24, 2020 @12:53AM (#60097468)

    or at least on the highways that surround Toronto. Just two weeks ago somebody was caught near where I live doing 308 kph in a 100kph zone. (That's about 192 MPH in a 62MPH zone). My S.O. and I don't go out often, but when we do and we're on the highway we notice more speeders going faster. We've seen lots of cops on the highways who have pulled cars over - way more than pre-Covid. We see tow trucks there too, which means the drivers have been going 50+ above the speed limit. (Around here doing 50 kph over the speed limit gets your car impounded and your licence suspended, along with a hefty fine. Lately a lot more people seem to be ignoring that deterrent.)

  • and the container trucks blow through the red lights like they didn't exist.

  • In Connecticut, ... certain individuals are taking this as an opportunity to push their vehicles to the limit," Connecticut State Police ... said they have seen a 90% increase in cars going over 15 miles above the speed limit during the coronavirus pandemic ...

    If 15 miles above the speed limit is pushing a vehicle to "the limit" either the vehicle and/or "the limit" has COVID-19. Sounds like they just have crappy drivers -- who don't know their limits. Pro tip: Try it on a motorcycle... much more "fun".

  • Driving (too) fast and (too) furious -- okay.

    Driving (too) fast -- not okay.
    Driving (too) furious -- not okay.

  • Some people apparently believe that this is an 80's post-apocalyptic movie and that they're Mad Max, the way they're driving: 20 to 30 (or more) miles per hour above the average speed of the freeway traffic, regardless of how heavy it is, threading their way through it with no regard for the safety of themselves or anyone else.
    This is part of the observations that I've made that lead me to say people are panicking. Rational people don't do shit like this.

  • habits (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Tom ( 822 ) on Sunday May 24, 2020 @02:55AM (#60097694) Homepage Journal

    "When you're going in excess of 100 miles an hour, these crashes are inevitably going to be fatal or near fatal,"

    They're also going to be more common, because drivers in the US aren't used to that kinds of speed. That's 160 kph! Too fast for americans used to 55 mph (~90 kph).

    Meanwhile, the typical german driver starts waking up at 160 kph, and don't you dare driving on the left lane of the Autobahn with such snail-like speeds.

    It's a matter of habit and training. I've driven 290 on the Autobahn (180 mph) - where it was three lanes, sparse traffic, good road and weather conditions and visibility. You know at that speed that you're taking a risk, and you slow down when traffic gets more dense or a curve approaches. You know that an idiot on the middle lane can cut in front of you driving his 120 or something and that he could just as well be standing still for all it matters, and you drive accordingly.

    You do that because you're used to driving 180 (~110 mph) or 220 or something like that. You have a feeling for the speed and which speed is adequate, because you've done that all your adult life. You prefer driving long distances at 180 to 200 because that's a nice cruising speed while at 120 (75 mph) the main danger is falling asleep because it's so darn boring.

    But if you removed the speed limit in the USA today, there'd be a massacre, because people aren't used to it. They didn't start with a car that does 140-160 tops. They didn't learn in driving school to drive 130-140 (~85 mph). They also don't have the cars for it (I can still take a hands-free phone call in my BMW at 200, no problem).

    The story is about people being off the leash, going outside familiar territory, taking risks they don't usually take - and that has a to-be-expected outcome.

    • Re:habits (Score:4, Insightful)

      by wierd_w ( 1375923 ) on Sunday May 24, 2020 @04:00AM (#60097784)

      No, the *REAL* problem (Since interstate is often 85mph or higher), is that highway maintenance is nowhere near as immaculate as the German Autobahn.

      Now, tell me with a straight face that you will do 240kph on a road surface that looks like this.

      https://bloximages.chicago2.vi... [townnews.com]

      Or this

      https://blog.insurify.com/wp-c... [insurify.com]

      Or this

      https://www.gannett-cdn.com/pr... [gannett-cdn.com]

      Or this

      https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker... [kinja-img.com]

      I think you get the idea.

      In the US, each individual state is responsible for its portion of the highway system, and each state has its own sets of porkbarrel bullshit, and petty backroom dealmaking (sometimes involving real hookers), which means that each state's roads and road maintenance budget are different. Allowing a "Drive whatever speed you think you can handle" policy nationwide on the highway system would cause poorly maintained road surfaces to literally crumble and crack, would cause even well maintained vehicles rated for those speeds to have road-surface related accidents, and cause a shitload of fatalities.

      The US highway system is qualitatively **NOT** equivalent to the German Autobahn. It is reckless as fucking hell to pretend "Oh, thats just because people aren't used to the speeds."

      No, it's because the US highway system is NOT the Autobahn, is not engineered like the Autobahn, is not maintained like the Autobahn, and is not policed like the Autobahn.

      • I was expecting to see images posted above of horribly maintained roads in the sticks. ...

        But that's what U.S. highways look like. Going 70mph on those isn't a big deal. I wouldn't go 90+ on them.

        • 240kmh == 149.1mph

          Its what our German friend was espousing. To do that, you need immaculate roads. The US highway system is NOT that thing.

          That was the point. That's why I picked realistic images. To demonstrate what is actually over here. Even *WITH* a car designed for that kind of travel, the road surface would be too unsuitable for those speeds, and people woud die.

          Because the US highway system is *NOT* the Autobahn.

        • You obviously lease your car, if you planned to own it past three years you wouldn't be driving it fast on roads like that.

          Although the first road looks fine compared to the rest, they seal the cracks and it looks smooth.

      • You forgot about car maintenance. Most states don't have safety inspections and none of those that do have very high standards. Germany tests the boiling point of your brake fluid...

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Tom ( 822 )

        Now, tell me with a straight face that you will do 240kph on a road surface that looks like this.

        Not even if I wanted to suicide, you're right. That shit is called a highway over there? I can't believe it. It wouldn't even be a second-tier road here.

        Yes, on those roads I'd probably not even drive 100 (60 mph).

        • Infrastructure maintenance not getting proper attention, either in terms of budget or compliance oversight, is a **MAJOR** problem over here.

          When intially constructed, our highways were actually quite nice. Nearly 100 years of "lowest bidder, crooked inspectors, and flagrant nepotism in awarding contracts" has resulted in roads that look like that.

          Yes. Like that. Many of our interstate highways do in fact, look like that or worse.

          Take this nevada one-- It's from a guy just recording his trip. It's not abo

    • >"They're also going to be more common, because drivers in the US aren't used to that kinds of speed. That's 160 kph! Too fast for americans used to 55 mph (~90 kph)."

      Americans are not used to 55. What decade are you in? Highway speed limits vary from 55 to 70/75. Almost nobody drives 55. Everyone takes at least 5. Most/many take 10 (at least in my area). So it is really more like 75 to 85.

      Speed, itself, is not a major cause of typical accidents (although it can increase damage if there is an accid

  • How should I drive recklessly when there are a hundred thousand cars around me and we're moving at 1 mile an hour?

    But if everybody stays home and I'm alone there ....

  • What kind of speed limits do they have in Connecticut, or maybe how crappy cars do they have there, that going >15mph qualifies as pushing the vehicle to its limits? Or is it that the article just slapped two unrelated quotes together, because the same person said them?

    As for the difference between east coast and California, having lived in a bunch of places including CA and MA, I always thought the California had the most aggressive drivers, but also most drivers that had the moves to back it up. On the

    • Northeast U.S. has more twisty, tree-bordered roads than southern California. Probably more wildlife on the roads.

      Although most of them have been improved over the years, 50 years ago there were places on state highways where going 20 mph over the limit was impossible because a sudden drop on a curve meant you'd be off the road.

    • I've lived in CT for 30 yrs and going 15 over the limit has always been considered 'ok'. Never been ticketed or seen anyone being ticketed for going 15 over. 15 over is going with the flow of traffic. Of course, the state now has a $1B deficit so they need the money and they may start ticketing as many people as possible

  • It's more difficult to stop when you reach the edge than it is in California.

  • Even in normal times aggressive driving is common in Connecticut -- weaving, cutting off, and extreme speeding. Speeding is common even on winding secondary roads where you can't see them coming. You have to listen.

    Connecticut has a lot of wealthy people -- it's got the highest per capita GDP of any US state and the third highest GINI coefficient. And a lot of those people own high-end European sports sedans designed for the Autobahn and to post impressive lap times on the Nürburgring. Even if there

  • During the 5 days of Easter, starting on 2020-04-09, there were 28 fatalities from road accidents during the semi stay-at-home, compared to 162 in 2019. https://www.transport.gov.za/d... [transport.gov.za]

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