Patton Oswalt's bit comes to mind about how every year after 90, one law no longer applies to you. Speeding was one of the earlier ones, I think this guy is able to legally murder so long as he does it with his hands.
The last time my grandma drove, she was coming to our house ( 2 miles) for dinner and was late. No cell phones back then but eventually she showed up.
She told us she was pulled over for speeding. We looked at her ticket, was driving 76MPH in a 35MPH zone. She had a 94 Caviler, unsure how she could even have got it that fast. Well, that was the last time we let her drive, my brother ended up with her car and grandma duty.
She also got her ticket dismissed, the police officer decided he wasn't going to show and deal with her when she for some reason fought it.
My first car was a 94 cavalier…let’s just say it was not hard to get them going well over 100mph. The trickiest part was keeping it on the road because of the shaking. I did once (barely) outrun a tornado in it, though.
Not my first car but was my brother's and I drove it from San Diego to Houston when he got deployed in 2004. The radiator blew up just outside of Tucson and I had to spend three days there while it got fixed. Luckily I had friends at the University of Arizona and could sleep on their floor. Also could only afford to buy one used tape. So I listened to Dark Side of the Moon on repeat from Tucson to Houston
because they were a steel tank. Mass times acceleration = force. My first car was my mom's 89 chevy wagon (in 1999), it had an all metal outside and it weighed 2-3x what modern cars weigh. My parents wanted me to have it bc it was one of the safest, most solid cars on the road.
But all that weight sure as hell sped up fast on the downhills. Everyoen called me a speed demon until I traded that care for a horrible 4-cylendar POS saturn that you had to turn off the A/C to go up a hill. For the FRUSTRATION of trying to pass on the turnpike.
Haha, it was really scary and in a time before smart phones. I was heading out to my dad’s for a visit and thought the sky looked odd, but didn’t think much about it. The sirens went off when I was on the highway and I remember looking up and seeing it directly behind me aways back. I managed to put some decent distance between me and it, but it sure did feel like it was chasing me. I took the turn off to my dad’s and it started catching up because I had to drive perpendicular to it for about 10 mins. I got to his house just as the winds really picked up…I remember my car getting rocked with it. Ran into the house and straight into a closet, lol, to ride it out.
Im super glad this is one of the top comments. I really feel for the guy in the video, but i live in a town where over 75% of the population is retired and im sorry to say, but its a big problem on the roads. Im not saying its their fault entirely, there should be more resources available for seniors in my opinion. But everyone in my family knew my grandfather was incapable of driving safely since before i was born and yet he was too stubborn and no one else had the wherewithal to actually stop him, even though he had other options for transportation (unlike many) and nobody had the guts or nerve to actually stop him.
When I took driving classes some 20 years ago, we learned that it isn't necessarily the speed that's dangerous. It's the differences in speeds. If everyone else is going 70 in a 55, then it's safer to go 65 than 55. That one car going significantly slower causes more interruptions in the flow of traffic, more turbulence, like a stone in a creek. The flow of water has to quickly divert to go around or just slow down and bunch up. If not for that stone, the water would be gentle.
I barely drive at all and I have gotten into three situations of moose or deer appearing on the road from out of nowhere. I prefer to go slower during hours when big wildlife creatures are more active, regardless of other cars. Speed difference to the moose 🫎 gets bigger the faster you go. I live in a country with a lot of forests and wildlife
If everyone else was jumping off cliffs, would you do it too? I often see idiots on the motorway here not obeying road work speed limits, but you bet your arse I'll be slowing right down.
Yup. As in the speed limit is lower (the "55") and everyone is still going the original speed (the "70"), I'm not going to go faster (the "65") just to please them
I mean... I have. So I guess it would depend on the circumstance. Base jumping is terrifying but fun, but in the case you presented, my statement still holds true. The reason you slow down for road work is because there are people and machines standing still, on or next to the road. The difference between a vehicle traveling 60mph and one parked beside the road is roughly... zero and zero is zero, carry the zero, yeah, roughly 60mph.
That in my neck of the woods only applies to the interstates- often a speed limit of 70 (or 55 if you're an interchange in construction for the last 5 years) and a minimum of 45- everyone goes 75-80 anyways
If you're talking about the minimum 45 signs on interstates, it doesn't just apply to that road because it's posted. Its all roads. If you're driving slow enough to impede traffic, that is illegal, posted or not. Maybe it differs from state to state, but as far as I know it's nationwide.
Think about someone driving 10mph on a 45. Do you think it's wise to not have a law and have people pass or congest traffic only to increase the risk of accidents?
Yeah. Traffic engineering disagrees with them too. The idea really is that you should roughly be going the same +/- passing
The speed limit is supposed to be set at the 85th percentile speed, which means they exclude the fastest 15% of drivers and set the speed limit there.
As far as Traffic engineering, safety, and general courtesy are concerned it is in fact a speed target.
This is reinforced by the fact that the set of laws most commonly used in the US has speed at 14mph and below as no points. Impeding traffic is 3 points, and in several states now, going the speed limit is not an excuse to impede traffic.
That law was written with the understanding that people speed and that it’s still more dangerous to pass on the wrong side than it is to exceed the speed limit by even as much as 50%.
No, it is dangerous because if you are going the speed limit and you come up on someone that is going 30MPH under, they have no brake lights to tip you off that they are going slower than the speed limit like 99% of other drivers are going.
And if it is low visibility, like fog or at night or around a blind curve, the extra time it takes to realize you are about to hit a car can cause an accident.
You are missing the point. I was saying what makes it dangerous.
It is common knowledge that driving in the rain is more dangerous because of lowered visibility and greater risk of loss of traction, but can be done safely but still greater risk than if it was a clear sunny day with no water on the road.
You essentially said "You don't know how to drive in the rain? Don't drive then." It is a non sequitor to the point I was making about why it is more dangerous than going the speed limit.
When you are driving, you want to not be in an accident. If you are going slower than the speed limit significantly, there is a greater risk of you being in an accident by other drivers. Other drivers might be distracted, or have the sun in their eyes, or a million other things that might cause them to hit you.
When you have to deal with rental cars, etc. you are not going to care whose fault it was. Just that you now have to deal with it.
We’re not talking about people suddenly slowing down. If someone is consistently driving slow, and you can’t tell, then I’d question your driving skills or eyesight.
Any unpredictable behavior is dangerous when driving. Driving ridiculously slow is unpredictable, because we drive the speed limit. Some norms don’t have to written into law to exist.
Someone swerving around a slow driver is. Even if that person is only going the speed limit the change in speed for the driver behind the car changing lanes now has a sudden change.
And it’s buses. I don’t want to assume you are too young to drive and that’s why you don’t know this, but…
On the highway it actually kind of is. Some highways will actually post minimums if it becomes enough if an issue.
I’ve definitely been on highways in MA that set a maximum limit of 65 but a minimum of 45. The minimum is pegged to the max and not the other way around
I don't see people doing 30 on highways very often, I do see people in fancy cars sitting a meter behind someone going at the speed limit like the petulant children that they are. I know who's making the road less safe for everyone else when I see it, it usually isn't the person doing a reasonable speed
Curious how that link doesn't support that at all. Their source actually says
You must obey the speed limit. If no limit is posted, drive no more than 55 mph (88 km/h). Often, it is common sense to keep your actual speed below the posted limit.
Reading comprehension. He never said driving faster was safe or safer compared to slower, just that any deviation from the speed limit/flow of traffic is more dangerous than following it, whether that is slower or faster, and his source agrees with him as does the law and common sense
No, federal and state studies have consistently shown that the drivers most likely to get into accidents in traffic are those traveling significantly below the average speed. According to an Institute of Transportation Engineers Study, those driving 10 mph slower than the prevailing speed are six times as likely to be involved in an accident. That means that if the average speed on an interstate is 70 mph, the person traveling at 60 mph is far more likely to be involved in an accident.
Speed limits are in fact a target if the rest of traffic treats them as such.
Prevailing speed as used in traffic studies is calcutated on a clear day in free-flowing traffic conditions.
Three data points are averaged to find the "prevailing speed"
The 85% speed of cars. - 85% of cars are going slower
Second find the 10mph bracket that contains the most vehicles and record the top of the bracket. -Most vehicles are in this bracket normally
Third is to drive in the traffic and aim to pass as many cars as pass you and record average speed. -At prevailing you are expected to ocassionaly pass a car.
So if you wan't to aim for the average speed and the speed limit was based on a "prevailing speed" study, then you should aim for a bit under the speed limit in clear conditions without traffic congestion.
Weather, heavy traffic, and time of day can all reduce the effective current prevailing traffic speed (flow of traffic). When you drive you aren't dealing with average traffic in good condition, but are dealing with conditions as they exist in the moment.
Aiming to not be the fastest vehicle around, to be close in speed to the main cluster of vehicle, and/or pass about as many people as pass you is a decent target and adapible to conditions. Then adjust based on your vehicle and mental and physical condition.
If you find yourself needed to adjust way below flow of traffic maybe give up the license. But most U.S. public transit sucks so it's hard to do.
And I'm not saying that just speeding when everyone is going the speed limit is safe either. The safest speed is around the speed that the rest of traffic is doing. If there is no traffic then it's whatever speed you feel safest driving at, up to the limit.
You believe? You don't know which study you were referencing? kinda odd - could you tell me which page you were looking at so it doesn't look like you frantically searched for one to support your point after you'd already made it? I'll have a read later and get back to you.
We have multiple lanes for a reason, if I'm doing 20 miles under the speed limit, I probably have a reason and I will be using the appropriate lane for it - it's a simple as that, if you want to be doing the speed limit or 10 miles over, there's probably at least two other lanes for you to do that
It's page 8.
Not every road has more than 1 lane per direction. I believe this is the right one based on the phrasing that I was taught, which is almost exactly word for word on page 8. But there are many studies that show going at a speed different than the flow of traffic increases likelihood of involvement in an accident.
Skip the actshually speak. Or you want to explain what the words don't walk mean when you're in the middle of crossing a major boulevard?
The flow of traffic is an important easy to understand concept that people need to stop feigning ignorance of.
Sure, at face value a speed limit means don't go faster than that. Contextually it's set lower than needed because it is expected to be treated as a target that drivers go above or below. Thats why states with minimum speed limits are usually 10mph under the maximum.
The arrogance in POVs like that to be in the "right" is why dangerous accidents happen. Changing lanes is what generally starts accidents and when 100s of drivers are forced to swap lanes because of 1 idiot who wants to be different, that's 100 more chances for an accident.
I’ve been trying to tell this to people for ages. Speed Limits are LIMITS not the Target speed. People that go over are speeding and breaking the law. It’s black and white, no 5 or 10 over is okay.
Yeah, I'm not taking driving advice from these people, my responsibility is to make sure I'm running my car safely - if they want to go into the back of me, my insurer would be more than grateful
Most highways interstates have minimum speed limits as well (they're just not posted). 30 under is against the law on a lot of them. It is extremely dangerous to be going that much slower than the flow of traffic. Especially while merging onto the highway interstate.
Edit: Used the word highway when I meant interstate.
Not true, how do you think tractors get from one feild to the next? How do you think cyclist can bike cross-country? How do you think the amish get to town? How do you think people make a 90 deg turn to a side road or driveway?
By milage most highways connect small rural trade centers and villages.
Controlled access highways will have an explicit minimun that's not always posted on every sign. Aside from that specific type of highway you aren't supposed to obstruct traffic, but you can satisfy the requirement by pulling off to the side of the road when traffic builds up behind you. Slow vehicles may also be required to use special signage but they aren't prohibited.
Speed limits have been optional for a couple decades now. (in the us anyway) if you drive the speed limit everyone will honk at you, and if you argue with someone, they'll say "actchually, if everyone else is speeding, YOU'RE the one being safe driving the speed limit"
As child my grandparents picked me up from summer camp because my mom was out of town. It was a two hour drive. When we got on the highway I heard my grandma say, very sternly, “Bob, just because the speed limit is 55 doesn't mean you have to go that fast. SLOW DOWN!” It was a long two hours. This reminds me of that. Hilarious.
I’ve seen statistics indicating that there are more than 100,000 90 year old (plus) drivers on the road in the US. I didn’t say there were millions (your sarcasm aside) - but there are a decent number out there. I can tell you that my family is very lucky that we weren’t badly injured when a 91 year old man smashed into the side of our vehicle - and just said he “was blind for a minute - but still hit the gas to cross the highway.” I’m a proponent of required annual drivers exams after 75 or 80 years old.
You were super unlucky and glad to hear it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. That said, the denominator still matters and the denominator is 243M which means 90 year old drivers comprise 0.04% of drivers on the road. Given your experience I understand your thoughts on the issue… but 0.04% shouldn’t concern the average driver
😂 when my daughter was 3 she told my boyfriend (now husband) "mommy can go through red lights because she has lots of money" (I went on the yellow too late and it turned red and I told her, the cops can give you a ticket and make you pay a lot of money if you go through red lights) her little brain took it as mommy is rich because she just went through.. we died laughing, she's now 10😅😭
We had to ask my grandma to stop driving at 91 because she was pulled over for doing 61 in a 35….on her way to bingo on a Sunday afternoon. She wasn’t late…she was just excited to go to bingo after church.
She would keep her purse hanging from the back of her headrest and apparently struggled with getting her purse brought back around to the front side of the vehicle for a good 15 minutes while the trooper just kinda stood there and tried to not laugh. He let her off with a warning but sent me a message on Facebook later that night (we went to middle and high school together and he was on the cross country/track team with me) asking us to have a talk with her about driving.
My cousins and I then shared the responsibilities of driving her around in her 1991 olds cutlass supreme (our trucks and SUV’s were too tall off of the ground) until she left this world.
I stg i just saw an old lady with that mentality. Turn signal on for 10 minutes, swerving in and out of lanes like she was drunk, and she would shift between 10 over and 10 under. Ik the elderly need to get places to, but it shouldn't be at the expense of others.
I have an aunt who'll be 90 in May. She has always been a terrible driver, but if anything she's gotten less frightening with age, as she no longer applies makeup and nail polish while driving. I hope she doesn't revert....
most old people go slow because they've lived so long, the world seems too fast.
Remember when you were a kid and a year was a decade and a week was a month? All of that goes so much faster when you get older. I just passed the likely midpoint of my life a year feels like 3-5 months, tops.
And not just because quarantine was both 5 minutes and 20 years; I felt a distinct change in my sense of time after I turned 40. I also lost patience for anyone wasting my time, which is why when yo uget old, you stop caring about looking funny.
If your socks and sandals are comfy, who cares? Except your kids and wife, obv. That's the only thing keeping men from goig around in their underpants and ghilli suits, honestly. Or footie pjamas. The fear of losing his wife and being a mockery to his children.
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u/creuter Feb 27 '25 edited Feb 27 '25
Patton Oswalt's bit comes to mind about how every year after 90, one law no longer applies to you. Speeding was one of the earlier ones, I think this guy is able to legally murder so long as he does it with his hands.
https://youtu.be/sbJs-Ul1QFo?si=0QGprQRVOilQifaC