You hit the nail on the head. People in the states need to realize that the left lane is for passing only and in most states its illegal to travel in the left lane if not passing, so if you find yourself in the left lane and you find that there is not a car in the right lane next to you going slower then you, then you must change lanes. If people would follow this simple international law of traffic it would reduce the accident rate greatly as well as save lives. Is that what you just said?

Most of my family lives in Europe and I have done my fair share of driving in Europe. My father and his wife were visiting and she saw some old fart doing 55 MPH in the fast lane (I’m sure with his cruise control on doing what in his mind was “following the law”) She asked me “is that man trying to kill people”? I told her yeah their into that stuff here. See in europe they see slow drivers as killers, because thier actions kill people. Here they see fast drivers as killer because the actions of slow drivers kill people.

 

Hmmm, I just came through Atlanta at 6:00 am this morning from Jacksonville, and at 75mph people were passing me and even honking. I picked up to 80, and still more than have the people were blowing by me. It has been this way every time I have ever driven through Atlanta, especially once you hit the beltway.. and from the south end of Macon up through the I685 split, average speed was .... yep, you guessed it, 85mph.

I think that the laws in Fl are aimed at racing/reckless driving. Someone who is just cruising along without attracting attention are more likely to get off with just a ticket.

It is when people are racing, showing off etc, that they attract attention.

And yes I have been guilty of some of these things and yes I am just as wrong as the next guy. That being said, I don't 'race' around in traffic. 99% of the time I am just cruising at as steady speed.

Anyone who says they have never done any of these things does not drive.

Later,
Bill

 

That white FC is awesome!

That black 1983 Pontiac Firebird 4 cylinder on the other hand kinda looks like crap.

 

As a sportbike rider let me say this, I consider everyone around me in traffic to be retarded. Majority of motorcycle accidents involve a car. Why is that? Because people don't pay attention or just don't give a ****. Don't believe me? Ride a motorcycle everyday for a month and you will quickly see what I mean. I don't condone wheelies and speeding through traffic but everyone does it at some point to an extent. So, instead of targeting me who hasn't hurt anyone, why not target the driver on the cell phone who just cut off 2 people obliviously.
Point blank, once this law passes I'm not stopping. My riding buddies and I have all voiced our opinions on this law to the local law enforcement. We even told them we are going to run once it passes. They all agreed that they couldn't blame us for doing so.
I feel the money and time spent on this pile of crap could have been used towards something more productive like bringing back the helmet law and creating fines for drivers on cell phones.

 

Just got back from Florida today and I will say the flow of traffic on almost all the highways I drove on was above 80 MPH where the speed limit was 55 MPH. The whole time I’m driving a minivan @ 86 MPH trying to get the rent a car “confiscated”, maybe get put away for 10 years, but I could not get pulled over because everyone was driving way above the limit and the minivan didn’t really stand out to say the least.. It was not anything out of the ordinary to the average grandmother in her Convertible Sebring. After reading this I was expecting a Police State / Marshall Law situation while driving.

 

I'll make this easy. Teach people how to drive.

Does paying $20 for your license allow you to respect it? No
Does anyone know what the hell they are doing? Of course not.

If you paid $500-$1000, and had to take an intensive driver's training course to get your license, would you not respect your license?

Here is how Florida works.
We gave you your license for $20, and we know you can't drive. Now let's put a pile of laws on you simply because......we don't know how to properly train you in the art of driving!!

I would gladly pay $500 for my driver's license if it meant everyone else also had to do the same and be properly trained, but that will never happen. Everyone here wants it the easy way, and we suffer the consequences.

And for the record, I've hit 160+ on I75 when there was no one around. But I've also driven on the Autobahn and have a decent amount of track time.

 

to quote Jeremy Clarkson from TopGear

"Speed doesn't kill. Suddenly becoming stationary, that’s what gets you."


america is a great country, but we certainly have our heads up our asses when it comes to driving privileges and enforcement.

A 2005 study by the German Federal Interior Ministry (Bundesministerium des Innern) indicated that motorway sections with unrestricted speed have the same accident record as sections with speed limits.

Excert from a 2001 study in Montana (montana did not have speed limits on these roads until the end of 99, after which the accident/fatality rates sharply increased when speed limits were enforced)
BTW, source for the montana info was the DOT and analyzed by the NMA (national motorists assoc)

Here is what the Montana data shows. (chart below) After all the politically correct safety programs were in place and fully operational, complete with federal safety funds, more laws and citations being issued. Here are the results.

1. After the new Speed Limits were established, interstates fatal accidents went up 111%. From a modern low of 27 with no daytime limits, to a new high of 56 fatal accidents with speed limits.

2. On interstates and federal primary highways combined, Montana went from a modern low of 101 with no daytime limits, to a new high of 143 fatal accidents with speed limits.

3. After a 6 year downward trend in the percentage of multiple vehicle accidents on its 2 lane primary highways, multiple vehicle accident rates increased again.

4. With the expectation of higher speed when there was no daytime limit, Montana’s seat belt usage was well above the national average on its highways without a primary law, lane and road courtesy increased, speeds remained relatively stable and fatal accidents dropped to a modern low. After the new limits, fatal accidents climbed to a modern high on these classifications of highway, road courtesy decreased and flow conflict accidents rose again.

rates continued to go up the following year.



Proper traffic flow management (conditional adjustable speed limits in high risk areas such as intersections, dense traffic, or bad weather, and unlimited or higher speed in safer areas/conditions) has proven a lower accident/fatality rate than our
current failure of "one-size-fits-all" approach to highway safety.



next time before you start critisizing people for being outraged at a poorly conceived and rediculous new law, atleast do a little research.

 

great point, i like that idea a lot............it really is rediculous how easy it is to get a license for what is basically a deadly weapon.

the increased application cost for getting your license would offset the revenue lost from reduction in traffic citations (safer drivers get less tickets), and make people respect getting/keeping their license quite a bit more. it would also allow our law enforcement to spend more time on serious problems.

i would also advocate re-testing or re-newing your license with a driving test every 5 years, at a reduced rate of course, maybe $100 every 5 years for a re-test.