DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - What you think right before you might get into a car crash

**YonkFiorc** · 01-15-2011, 09:09 AM

I'm all for driving for the conditions but generally it's the over-cautious drivers that make things even more dangerous by crawling along and dithering.

That is true, said driver in clear/dry/mild traffic conditions doing 50mph in the right hand lane when the flow is averaging 65 is a problem. They are causing traffic to bunch up.

The same can also be said for the man doing 75mph when traffic is averaging 65mph and there is no clear path ahead of him. Aka, he's "pushing" people out of the way with aggressive driving.

Both forms are dangerous. Overly aggressive is just as bad as overly cautious.

Nothing is unsafe with doing 75mph on a 4 lane highway with little to no traffic on a clear, sunny day. A highway like that is perfect for it. Limited access, clear views of the edges of the road. But 75mph down a 4 lane city street with cars parked on both sides blocking the view of pedestrials. People and cars everywhere trying to cross the street, or merge...etc.

The road conditions determine how fast you can go.

Driving normal speeds limited visibility conditions is stupid. There isn't enough time to react. Driving normal speeds in limited traction conditions even when there is good visibility is also bad because even if you can react quickly enough, the car cannot stop quickly enough.

Here's an example. If you can stop a car from 60mph in 100ft (super car territory), that same car will take at about 300ft to stop from 120mph. Doubling the speed, triples the stopping distance.

So lets take the traction and throw bad weather into the mix. You have half the traction. So instead of stopping in 100ft from 60, it takes 200ft. Now your stopping distance from 120mph will be closer to 600ft, nearly 1/8th of a mile.

We aren't saying you can't do 55mph on a highway in winter. That depends on us knowing for a fact what the traction is, visibility..etc we don't.

What we are saying is that a driver must take into account the conditions of the road and weigh the risks.

There are days I've taken a half day, because I didn't want to be an idiot and drive through a zero visibility blizzard, or a rain storm so bad the car is hydroplaning all over the place because of the water puddling in the depression where cars usually tread.

01-15-2011, 09:09 AM	#20
YonkFiorc Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 425 Senior Member	I'm all for driving for the conditions but generally it's the over-cautious drivers that make things even more dangerous by crawling along and dithering. That is true, said driver in clear/dry/mild traffic conditions doing 50mph in the right hand lane when the flow is averaging 65 is a problem. They are causing traffic to bunch up. The same can also be said for the man doing 75mph when traffic is averaging 65mph and there is no clear path ahead of him. Aka, he's "pushing" people out of the way with aggressive driving. Both forms are dangerous. Overly aggressive is just as bad as overly cautious. Nothing is unsafe with doing 75mph on a 4 lane highway with little to no traffic on a clear, sunny day. A highway like that is perfect for it. Limited access, clear views of the edges of the road. But 75mph down a 4 lane city street with cars parked on both sides blocking the view of pedestrials. People and cars everywhere trying to cross the street, or merge...etc. The road conditions determine how fast you can go. Driving normal speeds limited visibility conditions is stupid. There isn't enough time to react. Driving normal speeds in limited traction conditions even when there is good visibility is also bad because even if you can react quickly enough, the car cannot stop quickly enough. Here's an example. If you can stop a car from 60mph in 100ft (super car territory), that same car will take at about 300ft to stop from 120mph. Doubling the speed, triples the stopping distance. So lets take the traction and throw bad weather into the mix. You have half the traction. So instead of stopping in 100ft from 60, it takes 200ft. Now your stopping distance from 120mph will be closer to 600ft, nearly 1/8th of a mile. We aren't saying you can't do 55mph on a highway in winter. That depends on us knowing for a fact what the traction is, visibility..etc we don't. What we are saying is that a driver must take into account the conditions of the road and weigh the risks. There are days I've taken a half day, because I didn't want to be an idiot and drive through a zero visibility blizzard, or a rain storm so bad the car is hydroplaning all over the place because of the water puddling in the depression where cars usually tread.
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