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| Re: Train was going 80MPH in 30MPH zone (1459455) | |||
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Re: Train was going 80MPH in 30MPH zone |
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Posted by Steamdriven on Fri Dec 22 20:17:06 2017, in response to Re: Train was going 80MPH in 30MPH zone, posted by pragmatist on Fri Dec 22 18:37:42 2017. The cars have improved vastly, mostly in terms of idiot-assisting (ABS brakes, stability control) and crash survivability. In the ol' days, there were either no seatbelts at all or belts that idiots refused to use. Even a 20 mph bump can mess you up if get wrapped around a non-collapsing steering post or whack your head on an unyielding windshield header or steering wheel rim.New cars now, even the cheapest econoboxes, are designed to fold up at a controlled rate, with the engine squashing into, even under the firewall and the seat/belt/airbag combo holding you in place so you don't split your head on the A or B pillar. If you're in good health (i.e, not old like most of us posting here ;-) you could drive a new car at 70mph into the rear of the same model parked car, and be pulled out or even walk yourself out with no serious injuries. Doing that into a concrete bridge pillar would end badly - but now those bridge pillars have barrels of sand or water ahead of them, those are very effective save-your-dumb-axx devices. Posting limits that force us to crawl along at grannpaw speeds suits Governors, bureaucrats and Congressbots, most of whom are fossils themselves, and who usually have someone else to drive them around. For them, car time is an escape from the office in the back of a large, chauffeured vehicle. If it's a long trip they use a vehicle with wings, and some get a winged thing (helicopter) to take them to the airport. Outside areas of heavy traffic or crossovers our Interstates are good for 100+ mph, but decades of treating driving as a background task to talk, text, snack and apply makeup make us unsuited to properly using them. It's a been a long time, but I can say that way back when, I found that 100 on an Interstate in New England was just about right - no drama, no scary moments on the curves - very little turning force actually - and just enough speed that you feel like you're actually covering ground. Felt like the road was designed for that speed. I'm a bit (uhm, a lot) older now and also don't drive, but it's obvious cars are far more capable now than then, and the roads are laid out the same. |
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