I had a friend who was a great drive. He said taking speedometers out of cars would compel people to drive speed appropriate. In the rain they would slow down.
If there was still a speed limit, but you didn’t know what speed you were going, you would drive even slower.
He also said all the safety features in cars makes people drive unsafe.
How would you drive if every car had this for a steering wheel?
You’d end up with more wrecks because the biggest cowards will block everything by driving far too slow, and everyone else will wreck in a desperate attempt to get around them.
The fast cars aren’t the hazard on a freeway, the slow ones are. Its the sudden changes in speed and direction that tend to cause the most problems.
See the Autobahn for further details.
You mean there’s a place where people pay attention to the speedometer? Hmm, sure isn’t Texas.
“While there are many factors that contribute to car accidents, speed is often cited as a major culprit. But at what speed do most car accidents happen? According to research, most car accidents occur at speeds below 40 mph.”
“Traffic officials consider driving too slowly a traffic hazard that can frustrate and confuse other drivers. Slow drivers interrupt the flow of traffic. They are also often culprits of distracted driving, or they might be new and inexperienced. This can create problems for everyone on the road.”
Speedometers or not, Prius drivers instinctively aim for the farthest left passing lane coming onto the freeway and then will maintain 7 mph under the speed limit thereafter. 🤬
“How would you drive if every car had this for a steering wheel?”
I’d find a different car to drive.
Just because I’M a safe driver, doesn’t mean that the idiot behind me is a safe driver.
A statey told me one time that most accidents are caused by driving too fast. Mostly in bad weather or at night.
No speedometer is a mistake.
You’d have drivers going much too fast or much too slow.
It would be worse than now.
I can’t imagine what it would be like around here with the Africans being handed licenses even though they can’t read and then think that lines on the road and signs are only suggestions.
I like speedometers, the physics side of me can calculate how long it will take to STOP.
I rebuild a lot of vehicles. 5 motorcycles in the last 6 months. Step one make them go, step 2 make them stop. Also, on the first test run, don’t go any farther than I want to push it home.
Pay attention to your speedometer while driving through small towns off the interstate. (Especially important if you have out-of-state plates.)
How would a driver set the cruise control? Given how many I see speeding on two lane highways I doubt many are paying attention to their speedometers. It’s all about getting ahead of the person in front of you no matter how soon your turn off is ahead.
^^^^and you never know when the person in front of you is suddenly going to throw it in reverse and back up without looking. I had that happen in a week-old car at a busy intersection. The gal in front of me had tried to get under a stale yellow light, and chickened out. She ended up sitting about twenty feet beyond the stop line.
I saw it happen from a good ways back, and left room for her to back out of traffic, but she stayed put. Then the left turn started for crossing traffic, and she must have panicked, because next thing I knew her trailer hitch was in my grill. Didn’t even have time to hit the dagger—I mean, horn.
Also, I’m pretty sure she was tuning up to tell the cop that I rear-ended her, until I kept her honest with some bullshit about a dashcam.
To eliminate 90% of accidents, put the drivers seat out on the left front fender. The passengers are safe back in the confines of the vehicle.
Unknown comic.
I hope to pass away quietly in my sleep, not like the other screaming passengers my car.
Thirdtwin
That happen to my son as a new driver. He called and all I could think was, dammit, he has damage on the wrong end of the car. But the lady was honest and said it was her fault.
Absolutely think that would be a bad idea.
Might not make a big impact though, since most people view the speed limit as a speed suggestion anyway.
As someone who drives the speed limit, Other cars are constantly blowing by me like I’m standing still. And please, don’t tell me that you’re a “good” driver, so it’s ok if you drive 90 in a 55. The fact that you’re doing that is undeniable truth that you are in fact, a very bad driver.
Sure, if someone is going 10 or more mph below the posted speed it is dangerous. However, it’s the ones who are going too fast who are the problem, whether they are trying to swerve around the “slow pokes” or have an open road. It’s the fast ones who zip through roundabouts or intersections, who are going so fast that other drivers are unable to properly estimate their speed or do not see them in time to react (I was driving once early Saturday on a highway that wasn’t too crowded (traffic speed was around 65). I looked in the review mirror to check traffic before signaling to change lanes. Nothing was coming.
Fortunately, I looked again before I moved over because a person on a motorcycle who must have been doing 90 or more came zipping past. He wasn’t visible when I checked but in the less than 5 seconds before I checked again he was almost on me.
How many people are able to estimate their true speed? I bet not many.
Speed doesn’t kill; delta V does. Having reconstructed over 400 fatal and circling-the-drain collisions, unsafe speed was not a factor. Stupid was. Too, I only saw one (1) collision caused by mechanical defects, and one by tire defect. Several involved inappropriate speed (curves, rain/snow/ice).
One of the biggest problems is the “minimum speed” posted on Eisenhower roadways: see Connecticut, 45 min in a posted 65 mph zone.
@Illustr8r: Here one must drive in the right most lane unless overtaking; $100 fine for failure to be in the right most lane. (it’s the only travel lane …the other lanes are for passing).
@Thirdtwin: she had seized the intersection; legally no one can enter the intersection until she clears it, that is continues through the intersection, not backing up (wrong way operation).
Distracted driving is, by far, the biggest problem today; refer to human stupidity and cluelessness.
We should teach people to drive in the first instance, rather than teaching them to park. Additional training and license endorsement for use of limited access highways …but that’s a discussion for another day.
Around town, speedometers aren’t really required. It’s pretty simple for an experienced driver to accurately estimate any speed 45 and below within just a couple MPH. Buuuut then again, most people aren’t what I would call good at driving.
The safest driving is going with the flow of traffic regardless of speed limits. That was a hard lesson for my kid to learn. He’d be going along at 55 and everyone flying past him at 75. I told him to follow the flow of traffic and he was all worried about getting a ticket. I said would you rather have a ticket or be dead?
On a motorcycle, the safest speed is just slightly faster than the speed of traffic.
Around here, if I was going 200 mph on the highway, some asshole would be tailgating, trying to pass me.
If you want to drive 5 over here, you’d better be in the far right lane. 10 over is typical and 15 or 20 over is common. Weaving in and out of lanes at breakneck speeds with no signaling is pretty much the norm for far too many.
Six lanes with a median. Coming up to a light the road expands to 8 lanes going in one direction. The added two on the left and the added two on the right are for turning. It’s a once a week occurrence for me to see someone traverse across from the extreme left lane to the extreme right lane at the last possible second to make the light. High speed, Formula 1 type move with no turn signal.
I go to the county sheriffs website every morning to see the arrests (typically between 20 and 40 per day) and 60% or more of the arrests are for no drivers license or never had one. Those drivers don’t need to stinkin’ speedometers.
I’ll keep mine though.
Need no stinkin’ speedometers…
Remove the morons and maniacs and everything will be fine.
Morons – people like those who “park” in the fast lane at 55.
Maniacs – drive like they are playing Mario Kart.
…most people don’t even seem to be aware of their saftey features or how they work, or they wouldn’t do stuff like this…
https://twitter.com/Bran_the_Onion/status/1363095934637273089
You know what is more important than the speedometer?
The WAZE app so you know when you are approaching a speed trap!
George Carlin on driving https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmQDoldiHjk
My personal thoughts and observations.
The Most Dangerous Vehicles:
1) Chevy HHR — A moving blindspot usually driven by senior citizen who can’t see.
2) Prius — To focused on what range they get and not paying attention.
3) Any pickup with a cap driven by a retiree who has a ballcap plopped askew on their head — Retired. No hurry, no worry and can’t see a damn thing other than what is a head of them.
All my accidents (knock wood) have been of the low speed parking lot variety. I drive sedans and can’t see past all the trucks and SUVs. Sometimes when I have to back out of a parking spot blind, I’ll beep the horn like a strobe.
Had a 1982 Kawasaki 1000J which had a 85 mph speedometer.
I never went over 85 as near as I could tell.
@Different Tim — Thanks for that rare (for me) LOL!
IIRC, that bike would do better than 85 in 2nd gear…
drive everything with the pedal mashed to the floor.
Here in Illinois it does not matter what the speed limit is. There will always be someone in the fast lane driving right next to a semi for miles with no possible way to move them over. If you don’t have that, you will have some hillbilly riding 10 feet off you rear bumper if you are going 45 or 75 mph. Since this is a big democrap state, most of the vehicles are junk and the speedometers don’t work anyway.
Uncle Al, I put a lot of money and work into that bike but it never went any faster.
the biggest problem is that people do not drive to the conditions of the road
the second is people texting & yaking on their hand-held phone
had a guy I worked with who insisted on driving the capital beltway (before it basically became a portable parking lot) 55 mph in the fast lane (the beltway has 4, & sometimes more, lanes)
… he was run off the road, into the media at least 3 times that I knew of … twice by dump trucks & once by a tractor trailer rig
… the MEDIAN
@Different Tim
I had the same problem with a Honda 900SS. I went riding with a fried who had a Suzuki 1000. We hit a straight section of highway with nobody else in front of us. He took off and I wound it up to catch up. When I passed him he said he was doing 135 at that moment. I never looked down but I assume the needle on my speedometer had wrapped around and was headed back up the left side again.
Commander Cody was right – the lines on the road look just like dots!
https://youtu.be/MBUfNxfc2w4?si=cH9MDSNv0OfPeFE4
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I have a CDL. When I am in my truck I stick to the speed limit. When I am in my personal vehicle I drive with the traffic. In Atlanta that can be 95 mph on I-85 running through Gwinnett.
FYI: always hire a lawyer for any traffic citation. If it not related to an accident 90% of the time the citation can be changed to a non-moving violation that doesn’t affect driving points which does not affect insurance rates. It is better to pay a lawyer than the insurance company. Lawyers are cheaper over the long run.
50 years ago, I would have been pedal to the metal and everybody watch out. Now, even slower than I usually drive, but always in the right lane.
Let’s be honest: Making all cell phones disable if they were travelling faster than 5 mph would make things safer. Eliminating speedometers? Nope. During the covid shutdown I drove to work very fast. At 5:30 AM I could sometimes drive for 15 minutes before meeting another car. No headlights in your eyes. I could really hammer. It was great! Way less people on the road, way less accidents. The accidents that did occur were much more deadly though because of the higher speeds.