A morning rumination on speed limts

[Cormanus]

I must be feeling particularly contrary today. I started driving cars before all those things were fitted and still wanted to drive them as fast as I could. ABS, air bags, power steering etc made no difference to my hooligan instincts. It was the enthusiastic adoption of the speed camera by Australian police that slowed me down. Probably age too.

[the Ferret]

Sure maybe in some rural spots with no traffic you can get away with that, but imagine the general population in rush hour traffic today with drum brakes, metal dashboards, no air bags and no power steering. It would be war like bloodshed. Those safety features allow the average person that maybe doesn't have stock car racing driving skills to go fast relatively safely, and they know it.

[misterprofessionality]

Others may have already said the same thing but my take on speed is this: it isn't being fast or being slow that's the problem. It's being **different** that's dangerous. If traffic is doing 80 sitting at 60 is dangerous. If traffic is doing 35 speeding past everybody is dangerous.The rock in the stream is the cause of turbulence.

[the Ferret]

good point Mr P

[GoldOxide_imp]

Nice analogy Mr. P.

[Tev62]

Nicely put misterprofessionality, tis true.

[Cormanus]

This on ADVRider this morning, https://www.advrider.com/ntsb-wants-elec...ffic-down/

[the Ferret]

Speed limiting is already on all motorcycles... some high like the mfg agreed upon 187 mph, like the Hyabusa, Ducati Panigale V4 etc and others low like the 112 mph CB 1100 for example. Linking it to a GPS system would be easy enough for the government to mandate and the manufacturers to implement... and we'd have no one to blame but ourselves if they do.

[Gone in 60]

I can see it now.... before Moff Gideon blew up the Razor Crest and I threw my dinner across the room and screamed NOOOOOOO, whenever anyone rode in it, they'd marvel that "Wow, this ship is Pre-Galactic Empire! It can't be tracked by The Republic!"

So, cars and bikes that are pre-tracking will be prized for their ability to skirt electronic remote limiting.
Cars are currently running OBD2 universal computer software. The pundits in the industry tell me that our doom will be on the horizon when we go to OBD3, which will allow the ECU to receive commands, not just send them.
And if you're gonna speed at night, for gosh sake, memorize your headlights, people!
Used to be easy... a Crown Vic had two big white square lights with two jeweled orange lights outboard of them. Newish Chargers have white dots for headlights with C-shaped white surrounding trim lights. Late-model Explorers have those little eyebrow trim lights over the headlights...

Forgot that back in April when it was 1:00 am, I had been flying since sunrise, had three hours of rural North Carolina back road to go, and was on Yellow Jackets just to make it to the hotel. So tired that I let that Dodge stick to my back bumper for a full ten minutes before I realized he was pacing me at 80.

[Whoops]

I can see it now.... before Moff Gideon blew up the Razor Crest and I threw my dinner across the room and screamed NOOOOOOO, whenever anyone rode in it, they'd marvel that "Wow, this ship is Pre-Galactic Empire! It can't be tracked by The Republic!"

So, cars and bikes that are pre-tracking will be prized for their ability to skirt electronic remote limiting.
Cars are currently running OBD2 universal computer software. The pundits in the industry tell me that our doom will be on the horizon when we go to OBD3, which will allow the ECU to receive commands, not just send them.
And if you're gonna speed at night, for gosh sake, memorize your headlights, people!
Used to be easy... a Crown Vic had two big white square lights with two jeweled orange lights outboard of them. Newish Chargers have white dots for headlights with C-shaped white surrounding trim lights. Late-model Explorers have those little eyebrow trim lights over the headlights...

Forgot that back in April when it was 1:00 am, I had been flying since sunrise, had three hours of rural North Carolina back road to go, and was on Yellow Jackets just to make it to the hotel. So tired that I let that Dodge stick to my back bumper for a full ten minutes before I realized he was pacing me at 80.

Your timing is impeccable! I was just telling my wife that I used to be able to recognize the make and model of cars at night based on their headlights and tail lights. She didn't think that was possible (vehicles to her are just a way to get from A to B). I showed her your comments and she at least conceded that it was possible, but that I was a "car nerd". So thank you for at least moving me up one slot from "unbelievable" to "nerd".