[adc]

The thing is, the 55mph Interstate limit is most definitely an arbitrary number these days. There are numerous roads in this country where the quality of the road surface, the visibility, the weather patterns and technological advancements of the cars in the past decade have conspired to make people feel safe driving well over the speed limit.

It is obvious that the majority of people will travel at the speed they are comfortable with, no matter what the actual limit is set to. On many roads in the area where I live, that seems to be around 65-75 mph when traffic is moving. When I was driving in Europe on derestricted sections of the Autobahn, the average speed seemed to be around 75-85mph, with very few vehicles traveling at higher speeds - despite the fact that is was legal, the road was excellent and visibility good for miles. :iono:

And being the arrogant prick of a BMW driver that I am, I feel very confident that trundling along the Interstate with my fellow drivers all going a happy 70 mph, I am much better prepared to handle an emergency situation than the vast majority of them. After all, I put time, money and effort to ensure this is the case and I'd be very disappointed if I weren't any better than the rest at all...