People are missing the point of the article because the author doesn’t understand how cars work. Forget the quote about the gears. The point is that the author is advocating for electronic speed limiters in cars close to the speed limit. As he notes, these are required in the EU in the form of intelligent speed assist.
There’s a reasonable discussion to be had there regarding public safety vs individual rights with respect to cars. Of course highway use is not a right nor is being able to drive at 100+ mph on the highway. Strictly speaking, neither is safety on the highway. But we all expect and demand safe roadways if we’re to use them. On the matter of speed this sub veers toward the individual’s right to whatever speed their car is capable of. But when it comes to vehicle size the sub is nearly unanimously in favor of government intervention to limit the size and weight of vehicles on the road. In practical terms large, heavy vehicles are a hazard at every speed and fast vehicles are hazards only at high speeds. But conceptually, what is the difference? In both cases it’s a question of whether the risk to public safety is worth restricting individual freedoms. If it’s simply that electronic speed limiters shift the balance to individual freedoms, why do people feel that way?
if on a road the average speed goes down from 120 to 119 km/h, the number of road fatalities is estimated to be reduced by 3,8% and the serious road injuries by 2,9%. And if on a road the average speed goes down from 50 to 49 km/h, this is expected to result in 5,9% fewer fatalities and 4% fewer serious road
injuries.
People are missing the point of the article because the author doesn’t understand how cars work. Forget the quote about the gears. The point is that the author is advocating for electronic speed limiters in cars close to the speed limit. As he notes, these are required in the EU in the form of intelligent speed assist.
There’s a reasonable discussion to be had there regarding public safety vs individual rights with respect to cars. Of course highway use is not a right nor is being able to drive at 100+ mph on the highway. Strictly speaking, neither is safety on the highway. But we all expect and demand safe roadways if we’re to use them. On the matter of speed this sub veers toward the individual’s right to whatever speed their car is capable of. But when it comes to vehicle size the sub is nearly unanimously in favor of government intervention to limit the size and weight of vehicles on the road. In practical terms large, heavy vehicles are a hazard at every speed and fast vehicles are hazards only at high speeds. But conceptually, what is the difference? In both cases it’s a question of whether the risk to public safety is worth restricting individual freedoms. If it’s simply that electronic speed limiters shift the balance to individual freedoms, why do people feel that way?
For some obvious data, higher average speed is correlated with higher fatality rates.