[Michael.SF.]

I would think the auto industry would welcome higher speeds so drivers can beat the hell out of their cars on the lousy roads. Good for business.

[cuban leaf]

I see traffic cops as the modern highwaymen. Everyone knows the cops give you a 10-15 mph leeway - unless they really need to meet their quota. So, how about bumping the speed limit by that amount, but reducing tolerance to one or two mph over?

Speeders would really be “speeders”. But revenue would drop like a rock, and they would need a “real” reason to pull over suspicious characters.

[WayneS]

With some exceptions (residential streets, business districts and other areas with high levels of pedestrian traffic) speed limits have little to do with safety and everything to do with revenue generation.

[RightOnTheBorder]

This is a Youtube video addressing the subject in Canada. It's 15 minutes but well worth the time; informative and amusing.

Speed Kills Your Pocketbook

[ratzoe]

...Michigan State Police testified that limits should not be increased, saying there is an epidemic of distracted driving.>

I don't normally agree with police statements but I 100% agree with this statement. I know in MD, accidents caused by texting/phone use (distracted driving) far surpass accidents attributed to alcohol. Yet even tho illegal, I see cell use constantly in plain view of LEOs with no consequences.

[Dr. Zzyzx]

Most of I-15 the length of Utah is now 80 mph. The accident rate has decreased.

[pabianice]

Once a week I have to drive to an early meeting. I leave the house at 0615, in the dark. Most of the roads to and from are rural and poorly lighted. I drive at or a little over the speed limit. On average, on each drive in the dark I have to pull over three times and let a line of angry, speeding drivers pass me.

And who the f*&k designed the new, always on, high beam headlight system? It's almost as blinding during the day as it is at night.

[Svartalfiar]

Examples included familiar horror stories such as “balancing a checkbook while steering” or “driving with knees while eating.”

And Darwin says people like this will eliminate their own problem.

Texas (DFW?) recently raised almost all of the limits around here, from 60 to 70, some 55 to 65. Unfortunately, there's still plenty of drivers who like to get in the left lane and drive 55-60 still. And that's where the big problem comes in, is you get idiots who drive slow, so everyone has to weave around them. I'm not talking about traffic, if the flow is 50, that's fine. But when everyone is changing lanes to get around someone, that someone needs to get in the right lane or just stay on the frontage road.

[aimhigh]

I usually drive the speed limit in the right lane, as it eases a lot of stress. But I’m surprised how often I get tailgated by a bumper bully, even in the slow lane.

[Vendome]

+1

[Vermont Lt]

I recently drove from Western Mass to Mississippi. I set my speed control at 72. Until I hit Mass on the way home I was always the slow guy.

[minnesota_bound]

Politics of speed traps