Return to BSD News archive
Xref: sserve alt.folklore.computers:74082 comp.os.386bsd.misc:5513 comp.os.linux.misc:35813 comp.os.os2.advocacy:80733
Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!bunyip.cc.uq.oz.au!munnari.oz.au!constellation!news.ysu.edu!malgudi.oar.net!caen!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newshost.marcam.com!news.mathworks.com!uunet!in1.uu.net!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!news.cac.psu.edu!news.pop.psu.edu!hudson.lm.com!netline-fddi.jpl.nasa.gov!nntp.et.byu.edu!news.byu.edu!hamblin.math.byu.edu!park.uvsc.edu!usenet
From: Terry Lambert <terry@cs.weber.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.os2.advocacy
Subject: Re: Linux thoroughly insulted by Infoworld!
Date: 24 Feb 1995 21:41:14 GMT
Organization: Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
Lines: 63
Message-ID: <3iljpq$r4g@park.uvsc.edu>
References: <950116203411@lambada> <D2L1xn.xy@denix.elk.miles.com> <NICKEL.95Feb9112526@toftum.prz.tu-berlin.de> <5094@dsinet> <3ihnl0$qm9@bonnie.tcd-dresden.de>
NNTP-Posting-Host: hecate.artisoft.com
j@narcisa.sax.de (J Wunsch) wrote:
] We don't speak about 55 mph, but something like 130 km/h (still
] 1.5 times). Still enough to drive to hell, but should reduce
] the current excellent mortal rate to 50 % or less. Ok, i
] realize that you Americans don't really need high-speed racing
] highways for this, since you've got guns. >:-)
The 55 speed limit has nothing to do with minimizing mortality
and everything to do with making it less viable to travel great
distances because of the time involved.
The 55 speed limit in the US was imposed nationally on Jan 2 1974
in response to "the energy crisis" at the time.
In point of fact, interstate highways (and most in state roads)
are designed for 15 MPH over the posted limit. Prior to 1974,
the poste limit in many areas was 75 and 85 MPH. This is why
most states that are signatory to the drivers license compact
(37 of them) have a "prima facia" law (Latin for "on the face of
it") which states that any speed which is a safe speed for
existing conditions is a legal speed. This does not apply to
federally controlled interstates, since they are effectively
nationalized roadways. For well maintained roads that had a
limit of 85, the safety margin means that up to 100 would be
within the saftey contraints. The reason they don't apply to
interstates is that the federal government would withold highway
funds, just as they would if a state refused to pass mandated
laws, like motorocycle helmet laws, or oxygenated fuel laws
(which the University of Denver has shown makes modern engines,
expecially those with oxygen sensors, burn fuel too lean and
actually increases pollution).
Combined with this are the increasingly more stringent
requirements for obtaining a drivers license and the increasing
vehicle saftey inspection requirements.
High speed driving is definitely within the mandated tolerances
for drivers, vehicles, and roadways. Actually, it's much more
reasonable now than it was only five years ago.
Consider also that the agregate rate of closure is still 110 MPH
in a 55 zone and 130MPH in the rare (rural interstate) zones where
the national limit has been relaxed back to 65 to appease states in
the western US where the only other thing on the road is tumbleweeds
for some stretches in excess of 115 miles (Wyoming, Utah, Nevada,
Colorado, and Arizona.
If safety were truly a factor, then the bumper height restrictions
would be enforced, and the bumper speed requirements brought about
by Raplh Nader's "Unsafe At Any Speed" (which killed tail fins and
eventually most hood ornaments) would not have been relaxed to
15MPH. Instead, all speed limits would be 25MPH or less.
Too bad they killed the traffic and civil engineering groups
where we used to discuss this. This discussion really doesn't
belong anywhere any more. 8-(.
Terry Lambert
terry@cs.weber.edu
---
Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present
or previous employers.