Should cars have built-in speed limits? Some think it’s time

[Westside Guy]

I think it is time to put a speed limit on this thread, 0 mph.

[chris_1001]

No, But Friday edition.

Seriously despite the possible misuse, this country is about personal freedom. The whole point of the constitution and the founding of the USA was to limit government involvement.

I will admit people do stupid things all the time and that is a risk we must accept to be able to have freedom.

We have let the government go to far as it is, and there is probably little to no undoing it, but we can try and stop more involvement and laws.

If you do not like the laws and freedom we have here. Feel free to find and move to a country that has the laws, restrictions and oppression you seek. Feel free to send me a post card... Bon Voyage!

[Car-Addicted]

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Abraham Lincoln

[meccha]

To reduce speed, how about just better enforcement on speed limits? They seem to be simply suggestions in most parts of this country. Speed cameras work fine in NYC. Drivers seem to know how to behave when they are approaching them. Now just give the illusion they are everywhere.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by meccha

To reduce speed, how about just better enforcement on speed limits? They seem to be simply suggestions in most parts of this country. Speed cameras work fine in NYC. Drivers seem to know how to behave when they are approaching them. Now just give the illusion they are everywhere.

During my lifetime in Texas speed limit enforcement was a fairly regular part of life. On the city surface streets you were pretty safe at nine miles over the limit, but at ten over you were likely to get a ticket. In the major cities with lots of freeways you could push it up to about fifteen over the limit.

Since I moved to Chicago and Chicagoland I virtually never see any speed limit enforcement on city streets. I think the Illinois highway patrol does some enforcement. There are generally two types of drivers here. Those who drive with no intentionality, like they have nowhere to go and drive 5 - 10 miles under the limit and those who have absolutely no regard for any speed limit. Those make up about 10% of the drivers. Most of the other 90% fall into the slow category. This is on city streets. My thought most of the time driving here is these drivers would get run over in Texas. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago is a controlled access road with on ramps and off ramps on most of the road except the part that runs right downtown, but it’s not up to the standard of an actual freeway and it’s pretty busy most of the time. It is four lanes in each direction on most of it. The speed limit ought to be at least 45 and on most of it the limit could be 50. But, the limit on the whole thing is 40 mph. All that said to say, it makes absolutely no difference at all. People drive as fast as they want and the Chicago police do absolutely ZERO ENFORCEMENT EVER!! It is not uncommon to see drivers going between 70 and 80 mph. For my first twelve years here I tried to limit myself to between 50 & 55, closer to 50. Recently I’ve stopped doing that. I now routinely drive close to 60 and sometimes up to 65. I finally gave in to “if you can’t beat them join them.”