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Originally Posted by Rayner
But sadly, neither idea will be used. Thus the debate will never end.
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Democracy works. Contact your elected officials. They have the power to change the law. You have the power to remove them from office.
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Originally Posted by brtaus
The laws aren't arbitrary; how they are enforced is arbitrary.
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Laws are written not by scientists or researchers but by the individuals we elect to run our government. Many of them have a history in business or politics, not law enforcement. Their main objective is to keep their jobs, just like us. In order to do that, they tend to do things that they feel are safe, and then they campaign that they did the right thing by being hard on crime or giving back to the community or earning more public earmarks or making the community safer. The latter point is the one that gets us low speed limits. They think that 35 is safer than 45 on a road with 4 lanes, no traffic signals, and outside of a metropolitan area simply because it is slower. This is a fallacy. The speed shouldn't be 100 in such an environment, but it can be higher than 35. Elected officials claim this as an accomplishment in the name of safety just like they claim CAFE legislation is an accomplishment in the name of environmental protection. Neither is true.
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Originally Posted by RAdams
Testing periodically is essential because people seem to be mis-remember the Rules of the Road. I believe that so strongly that I download the state driver's manual and read through it every few years. Examples:
After a few miles on the highway, a fellow white-knuckled passenger finally asked the driver to stop tailgating the car ahead. The driver was under the impression that proper following distance was 1 car length. Period. She was surprised to learn it's one car length per 10 MPH so, yeah, we were a little close at 60 MPH.
I've noticed on my drive to work that people seem to believe you can never pass a school bus - even when the lights aren't flashing and the bus is in motion. Periodically someone else gets angry and passes the "convoy" driving 25 in a 40 MPH zone by passing in the oncoming traffic lane when it's clear. Also, it's becoming common that people are stopping and waiting for the city mass-trans busses as they pick up passengers.
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The rules must be put in front of drivers regularly. This small inconvenience makes the US a safer driving environment.
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Originally Posted by Skyman 08
Think about it, if everyone was doing the speed limit there would be no tickets and none of this arguing about speeding tickets or going slower or faster than traffic around you... Set an example, don't be part of the crowd...
Did your father ever ask you if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump off too?
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Is this the advice you would have given Rosa Parks? Just because a law is there does not mean it is good.