Stupid Speed Limits

Yesterday, when Henry and I drove back from Virginia, where we spent Thanksgiving with Henry's parents, I had to think about how much faster our trips would be if we were driving on the Autobahn. I'd say the average speed on the Autobahn is approx. 85 mph. Though you can obviously usually go faster I'd say for most people it averages out around there. Our 8.5 hour trip would have taken us less than 6 hours on the Autobahn. Visiting Henry's brother would only take about 4 hours...

Once I put it the driving times to various places into "German Driving Time" I got even more frustrated with the speed limits everywhere. What really bothers me is the pretense of safety. Ok, so let's assume there are speed limits because we want to keep people safe. I'm all for safety. I like safety. Safety makes me feel safe. It's a good thing. But if we are soooo concerned for safety, how come that almost any teenager, after a few rounds around the block can get a driver's license - no need to prove that you can handle a vehicle safely in various driving conditions. How come roads are in such bad conditions in most states? How come many things that other safety factors such as tail gating, driving while talking on a cell phone, following too closely in bad weather or not turning on your lights in bad weather aren't enforced as vigilantly as speeding. What I think is really the issue is money. Speeding tickets are a convenient way of revenues. And so there are limits and speeding traps in the most ridiculous situations and places. It bugs me sooo much. So much indeed, that if I had a voice in this country I'd probably try and see if that can get changed - changed in the sense that those who write speeding tickets are not the ones benefitting financially from writing it. That way I feel more confident that they are doing it for the sole purpose of safety.

And why do I think it's not a safety issue?

A. People drive fast in other countries and do not have higher accident rates
B. Speeding traps often are often set up in places where a lot of people are caught, not where speeding poses the greatest danger. An example for this would be my speeding ticket I got in Las Vegas on July 4th. It was on the free way. I was going 75 mph. So, technically I was 10 miles over. Badbad. However, I got pulled over going 20 miles over. I was actually in a working zone. Was anyone working? No, because it was a holiday. Was it a visible work zone. Nope. Bad road conditions or anything that posed any potential danger. Nope. But hey, pulling people over in a work zone is a better money maker than just pulling people over.
C. I can't remember...

All I have to say is I'm just annoyed with all the speed limits. I'd rather have more rigorous driver's education, enforcement for responsible and good driving, good roads, and then going 85 miles really isn't a big deal anymore.

P.S. I wanted to make a list of all the States I have driven in/through:

• Alaska
• Washington
• Oregon
• California
• Nevada
• Arizona
• Montana
• Idaho
  
• Utah
• Wyoming
• Colorado
• New Mexico
• Nebraska
• Kansas
• Iowa
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Ohio
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Maryland
• Missouri
• Wisconsin
• Pennsylvania
• New York
• New Jersey
• Conneticut
• Delaware
• and briefly Massachusetts

Not bad, eh? At least now I feel that I'm semi-qualified to make any claims to nationwide driving. Hahaha...