Danny Jimenez
Dr. B. Jones
ENC1102
20 April 2010
Freedom for Freeways Many of us have little or no time, especially dealing with work, school, gym and many other errands at the same time. Sometimes time is just not enough and we have to rush ourselves in order to make it to our commitments on time and to make things worse, traffic and speed limits get in our way. In moments like these a speed limit becomes more of an annoying suggestion rather that an enforced rule. Not necessarily by increasing or removing speed limits freeways would become dangerous, but also is not a matter of just take away these limits. Society should be better educated and trained in order to create a safer and more efficient road environment giving chance to reach longer distances in a shorter amount of time and why not, put our powerful line of super-vehicles to the test. In America, the average Maximum Speed Limit ranges between 55-75 mph. as a community, it’s necessary to create safety parameters in order to maintain a controlled environment and reduce the risk of fatalities, injuries and/or property damage since it’s believed that speed is one of the greatest killers out in the roads, it gives less reaction time and also in a vehicle traveling at a high speed, any defect or anomaly on the surface tend to be a high risk of loss of control of the vehicle. Also environmental issues have been part of the opposition and there has been an ongoing debate between environmentalists and fuel consumption. A car’s fuel consumption increases with speed and fuel conservation is a key factor in reducing air consumption. I love speed and I drive pretty fast as well. I know for sure I am “breaking” the law, but I also know I am not the only one who does it every now and then. Psychologically, a repeated behavior becomes a norm. As Robert Farago explains in his article The Speed Limits of Democracy, “Depending on each person’s predilection for automotive velocity, "from time to time" easily becomes "all the time."” Also he defines speed limits as “a guideline rather than an absolute indication of safe speed which don't reflect variable conditions.” such as weather, road surface or traffic making them “relatively unimportant, compared to inattentive, reckless or drunk driving.” Accidents involve many factors that are not directly linked to speed; inexperience, imprudence and lack of training also take great part of the issue. Just as a comparison, according to 2006 crash statistics by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), careless driving leads as the major cause in accidents by 50.88% of the total accidents reported that year (See table 1), while speeding incidents only took a bit over a tenth of the same percentage (6.1%). As we can notice the leading accident incidents are caused by relatively young, inexperienced people, filled up with the vague sense of “adulthood” that one feels when reaching the age of 18, but maturity is not a matter of a number, in order to be mature and responsible, a person should first gain a lot of experience. Not only vague confidence is a factor of a possible crash, also there should be a lack of attention and defensive attitude which could be omitted by emotions or other personal issues. In this case I would like to recall as an example the Nicole Catsouras’ incident in Orange County, CA on October 31, 2006. 18 years old teen Nikki Catsouras had an argument with her father and when Mr. Catsouras left for work, his daughter “borrowed” his Porsche 911. Approaching a tollbooth, Catsouras rear-ended a Honda at 70 mph creating an incident that made her lose her life. Which bring us to the question why Miss Catsouras–a young, inexperienced driver— is legally entitled to drive a vehicle with such power and, at the same time, complexity as a Porsche is? And even yet, why take a car in an attack of sudden negative emotions? Throughout most of the twentieth century, fast cars were a specialty item, mostly owned by professional, mature and experienced drivers. Obviously there were also plenty of accidents in low-speed cars, and not much in the way of passive safety, but there was a clear difference between an average driver in a “normal” line vehicle and “piston heads” in high performance machinery. It happens in 1964 when, as Mr. Terry Sutherland explains in his article The Case for Power-to-Weight Graduated Driver’s Licenses, “The muscle car era was born. Engine power increased, to the point where the Tempest (a.k.a. GTO) offered 360 horsepower at 5200 revolutions per minute, 424 pounds per foot of torque at 3600 rpm and a zero to sixty sprint of just over six seconds.” These types of vehicles became affordable to “the pimply-faced nerd pumping gas at the corner Texaco.” By this era, the so called muscle cars were pretty affordable to any type of driver, but the intention of a safer driving environment was ignored by the sole purpose of marketing and profit.

Table 1. Contributing Causes of Drivers in Crashes, Florida highway safety and motor vehicles Traffic Crash Statistics Report 2006. When you can buy a 400 horsepower motor the size of a sewing machine and put it in a street Honda Civic it’s time to evaluate the guy behind the wheel. When a dealer hand the keys of a 500 hp Mustang to a twenty-something enthusiast with a basic down payment, it would be prudent to ask if he should have a license proving the basic ability to handle the horses. No matter the age, it is merely a matter of training and experience. If a mandatory performance-driving course makes a difference for bikes, would not make a difference to automobile drivers as well? But for now, why enforce a law which the majority of people don't obey? This paradox brings us back to an America that lived under the strictures stated on the First Section of the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution:
“After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.”
Regardless of the popular support for the "prohibition" against the sale and distribution of alcohol, Americans kept on drinking. In the same way, American motorists keep driving over the limits established under the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act which decrees “maximum speed limits on their highways of 55 miles per hour.” (Par. 2) One of the most notable differences between Prohibition and speeding infractions is that the second mentioned is self-financing. It’s questionable if Prohibition could have succeeded if the government agencies in charge had received the financial fruits of current Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statutes (Title XVIII, Part I, Chapter 96 of U.S Code). Besides, police who write speeding tickets use the money to pay for police who write speeding tickets, becoming in not quite straight forward government revenue. Speeding tickets fall under local and state jurisdiction; the revenues generated are often subject to be “misplaced” by corrupt local legislators. Many of whom have suffered personal losses from traffic fatalities, rely their faith on police force misinterpreting and misunderstanding a personal desire of “justice” and “personal satisfaction” converting it in a more important matter than speed-related road safety. “When a law criminalizes a behavior practiced by the majority of its citizens, it criminalizes its citizens.” Says Mr. Farago, hence creating a resent from the public when police rigorously and hypocritically enough, enforce this law. Also, it has to be kept in mind that people rarely have encounters with police and receiving a ticket relatively when “I wasn’t really doing anything wrong” will not help in order to engender a relationship of mutual respect. Contrary to Prohibition, there is no obvious way to “repeal” speed limits. Little to no disagreement would be obtained by people when asked if police should write speeding tickets only in situations where a motorist was driving “faster than was safe for the prevailing conditions” or “jeopardizing the other’s road safety parameters” which would be every fast driver’s ideal concept. But that kind of policy would require judicious human enforcement by officers prioritizing road safety, rather than revenue collection. It would involve a sense of personal judgment but this would be far more expensive that a passive device snapping off tickets to anyone and everyone that is violating an inflexible predetermined speed limit. Speed enforcement aggressiveness varies widely. Certain states experiment with speed cameras, recalling directly into the old accepted principle that those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Our state relies mostly on speed traps and constant patrolling. But there is a curious detail I’ve noticed by most of our so beloved law enforcers, especially by our greatly appreciated Florida Highway patrol. Most of these patrol cruises tend to drive around at speeds greater than the one posted. There is no doubt that a hypocrite behavior would make us lose faith on our highway’s finest and furthermore, in our speed limit enforcement. Taking as an example European driver’s licensing parameters, culture and foremost respect towards velocity, in super-highways as the well-known Autobahn systems (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) there is a suggested maximum speed limit of 130km/h or 80 mph. regardless of the sense of freedom, parameter must be met in order to achieve such privilege. As described in the book The German way: Aspects of Behavior, Attitudes, and Customs in the German-Speaking World by Hyde Flippo, Germany is a country that takes its driving very seriously. This is understandable when you realize that a German driver’s license costs (over $2000), after a minimum of 25-45 hours of professional instruction plus 12 hours of theory, and such a license is good for life. (As of 2013, the German license must conform to the EU term of 10 or 15 years. German licenses issued before 2013 will become invalid by 2033 and must be replaced by the new European (EU) driver’s license) As noticed, a more complex licensing is required in order to be able to drive in a country where their car lobby (Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, etc) clearly contradicts a sense of speed limit and even though these machines are brought to the States and compared with our premier line of American Muscle (Mustangs, Corvettes, Challengers, Camaros, etc), the driving culture in European countries tend to be more advanced. why not create a licensing course complete enough to be able to take our machines seriously? Of course there are many tips in order to be able to go a bit over the speed limit, in a safely manner, but no matter how safe or how experience a driver is, there will be always the “cop” factor. A factor that could be modified in parameters of judgment and highway safety instead of profit and revenue. In the following paragraph found in the editorial Maximum Speed Explained, contains some obvious parameters in order to temporary go over a speed limit without jeopardizing our or other’s safety:
“To drive truly quickly, you will need a level of preparation and skill roughly equivalent to what is found in NASA’s Time Trial class. Your car needs to have its fluids at the appropriate levels, its tire pressures checked and its suspension components torqued. Your tires need full tread, no plugs, no camber wear… You, as the driver, need to be alert, sober, rested, and ready to look all the way down the road. The trained fast-road driver scans the horizon and looks to the end of his available vision.”
What I am trying to show in this short paragraph is that preparation and experience are the top subjects to keep in mind when a person tries to speed. I am not trying to instigate a revolution nor a movement against law, but what I want to promote is conscience between the drivers of this nation in order to create a sense of responsibility behind the wheel. Numbers do not lie; statistics prove that speed is not the main factor in fatal accidents and crashes, instead of being looked as an enemy, speed should be considered not only for microprocessors, but also for our machines that paradoxically have the tempting capability of achieve the goal of traveling from Miami to Atlanta in less than six hours. Same as guns, speed does not kill people, ignorant people kill people. But until there is no conscience of this, people will still fall in the same hole. Of course we have top of the line machinery and these babies are capable to reach exhilarating speeds, but if we can’t handle it, why risk our lives? In order to run, you first have to learn how to walk, not always it’s all about the meanest machine or whoever has the bigger engine, just because a person wants to compensate something, it gives him the right to jeopardize other’s life. To thing about speed, the nature of speed should be understood. Basic physical parameters as Sir Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion could change the forecast regarding how to handle a vehicle, especially Newton’s third law “For every action, there is an equal-opposite reaction” which strongly suggest being ready and alert to any unexpected incident. Time is definitively against us, but only time would tell how wise we get. Speed limits should be at least considered in a populated area, but there is a contradiction in the so-called “freeways”. Speed limits should be removed in these systems creating free roads to the land of the free.