Imagine it is 8:04 on a Wednesday morning and you are just now leaving your house for school. You know that the bell will ring in four more minutes regardless of whether or not you are there. You don’t want to get the mandatory thirty minute detention associated with showing up even a couple of minutes late to first hour. What is the conclusion many of us will come to in this situation? We will speed a little bit just so we can get to school on time. Now fast forward two days. It is a Friday night and you have been hanging out with your girlfriend. You lose track of time and all of a sudden it is 11:49 and you still have a fifteen minute drive in order to get back to your house. How will you make it back in time to meet your midnight
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In reality, people have known this for quite a while. In 1974, when there was an Arab embargo on gasoline, the national speed limit of fifty-five miles per hour was introduced as a temporary measure to conserve fuel. The government knew that if people were forced to drive slower their vehicles would use less gas. In 1975, this law was made permanent because it seemed like driving slower was safer. In 1972 and 1973, highway fatalities had reached an all-time high. It is estimated that nine thousand one hundred lives were saved in 1974 because of the reduced speed limit. This law stuck around until 1995, when it was dropped altogether, allowing interstate and some highway speeds to be increased above fifty-five miles per …show more content…
However, it can also be very dangerous to yourself and others. When you speed faster and faster, your reaction time, the time it takes you to react to something, increases dramatically. For example, when you are going twenty miles per hour, it takes you six meters, or about twenty feet to react to something and decide what kind of action you want to take, such as stopping or swerving. When you double your speed to forty miles per hour, your reaction distance doubles to twelve meters, or about thirty-nine feet. When you triple your speed, your reaction distance triples. That means that if a deer or a person runs out in front of you when you are going sixty miles per hour, it would take you triple the time to react than if you were going twenty miles per hour.
As you go faster, your braking distance also increases. This is the distance it takes your car to stop from the time you actually apply the brakes. Because of the inertia of your vehicle, you cannot stop on a dime. When you exceed the speed limit, your stopping distance increases because your vehicle has a greater inertia. For example, at thirty miles per hour, it will take your car fourteen meters, or about forty-six feet. When you double your speed to sixty miles per hour, your stopping distance increases to fifty-five meters, or about one hundred and eighty
In reality, people have known this for quite a while. In 1974, when there was an Arab embargo on gasoline, the national speed limit of fifty-five miles per hour was introduced as a temporary measure to conserve fuel. The government knew that if people were forced to drive slower their vehicles would use less gas. In 1975, this law was made permanent because it seemed like driving slower was safer. In 1972 and 1973, highway fatalities had reached an all-time high. It is estimated that nine thousand one hundred lives were saved in 1974 because of the reduced speed limit. This law stuck around until 1995, when it was dropped altogether, allowing interstate and some highway speeds to be increased above fifty-five miles per …show more content…
However, it can also be very dangerous to yourself and others. When you speed faster and faster, your reaction time, the time it takes you to react to something, increases dramatically. For example, when you are going twenty miles per hour, it takes you six meters, or about twenty feet to react to something and decide what kind of action you want to take, such as stopping or swerving. When you double your speed to forty miles per hour, your reaction distance doubles to twelve meters, or about thirty-nine feet. When you triple your speed, your reaction distance triples. That means that if a deer or a person runs out in front of you when you are going sixty miles per hour, it would take you triple the time to react than if you were going twenty miles per hour.
As you go faster, your braking distance also increases. This is the distance it takes your car to stop from the time you actually apply the brakes. Because of the inertia of your vehicle, you cannot stop on a dime. When you exceed the speed limit, your stopping distance increases because your vehicle has a greater inertia. For example, at thirty miles per hour, it will take your car fourteen meters, or about forty-six feet. When you double your speed to sixty miles per hour, your stopping distance increases to fifty-five meters, or about one hundred and eighty