Is it justified to raise the speed limit

Speed and Its Impact on Society

Speed was one of the most important aspects when it comes to hitting deadlines. In most cases, when people are given the short notice, they appear to hurry. This occurs in all aspects of the individual’s psychological, academic and economic life. However, there is no more focus on speed than on traffic (Elvik 649).

The Dangers of Overspeeding

In an effort to fulfill our day-to-day needs, whether it’s corporate meetings, commuting to college, visiting friends, or going to dates, the pace remains on the list. People hurry up when in their cars they violate the laws and regulations, not because they have to, but because it’s often unavoidable. Other than just speed, there is also overspeeding or life-threatening speeding. Over speeding is more dangerous than just speeding. It causes more damage to both the human society and nature (“Dangers of Increasing Highway Speed Limits”). Families have been wasted, lives lost, and hearts broken as a result of over speeding. To avoid this, it is important to know how to avoid speeding or over speeding. This might also require one to know when to speed and finally how to control speed (Elvik 271).

Speed Limits and Their Effectiveness

In many countries, speed is limited or controlled through speed limits, which varies from nation to nation and states. In the United States, the speed limits are different in various states. For example, cars are limited to a speed of 75mph in South Dakota, while in California it is set at 55mph which is considerably low (“Dangers of Increasing Highway Speed Limits”). The laws are set and passed depending on the state itself by the voting. There is, however, a concern in this system since the federal government has no control over the safety of its citizens. This is because a citizen may vote under the influence of mass mentality, not paying attention to what is at stake. Through voting for a higher speed limit and eliminating the other one, a new speed regulation is enforced which might have adverse effects on society. For example, as stated above the speed limit in Texas is higher than that of North Dakota. According to the statistics done on the numbers of deaths caused by accidents, Texas recorded a high number of deaths as compared to North Dakota. Where Texas recorded 3,124 fatal crashes and 3,516 deaths, while in North Dakota had 111 fatal crashes and 131 deaths. This brings the calculation to a 1.36 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled for Texas state, and 1.31 for North Dakota (“Fatality Facts”).

The Role of Speed in the Economy

Nevertheless, raising the speed limit is not entirely a bad idea. Since speed defines success, human beings still need to adjust their daily schedule so that everything goes as planned. For this reason, speed can be a very important factor in contributing to the economy’s growth (\“Cash Flow or Profit Making! What Should Startup Entrepreneur Worry About?\”). For instance, companies need to produce a given number of units per hour set by the production manager. The speed with which this is done determines the number of units they can sell per day and total profits thereof. Thus, the supplies need to reach their destinations, just in time. The way in which this happens relies transit that is done by vehicles. From logic and reason, this can be interpreted as- vehicle speed is equal to processing speed which is also equal to high profits. Eventually, the profits generated translate to revenues for a given country. For high profits generate high revenues. This means that the state benefits through taxation.

Speed Variation and its Impact

The low speed plea made by various governments in all countries is aimed at saving lives. Nonetheless, this is not always appreciated since the reality is different from the appearance. The usual saying ’speed kills’ used by various nations across the globe might not be as effective. This is because speed is not the enemy. The enemy is variance. Reducing the speed limit as it is normally done does not help much, the variation of speed in cars is what causes accidents (“Higher Speed Limits May Save Lives”). If it were possible that all drivers maintain a certain speed, let’s say, as per the speed limit in the erected signboard, there would be no cases of car crashes. It is normally impossible to have a perfect traffic scenario; there will always be some variance in speed for drivers which is the origin of hell traffic. Therefore, instead of the federal government focusing on the speed limit, it can train people on the importance of avoiding speed variance (Elvik 649).

Reasons for Overspeeding

With this illustration in mind, it is important to know the reasons for overspeeding. One needs to know the answers to the questions, why do people need to overspeed? Is it really justified? Before answering this, it is important to understand and accept the fact that speed is not evil neither is it bad. It is the drivers who present the negative results that are caused by speeding, shadowing the real issue and blaming it all on speed. The audience then takes up the presented notion and magnifies it, making speed appear twice a devil than it was originally thought to be.

There are several factors that lead to overspeeding, one of them has been mentioned and illustrations given. The other reasons cut across the board. They are not only centered on making more money or beating deadlines. The rationale behind driving is far much than mere timing. To some drivers, speeding seems fun (“Speed Choice: Why Do Drivers Exceed the Speed Limit? - European Commission”). In that, it tends to appear like a sporting activity for them. This is normally associated with young drivers or teenagers. Teenagers find it fun implementing what they see in computer games. In that, when presented with the chance, they hit on the gas pedal and speed in order to satisfy their desires. This is what causes accidents on roads, and can be referred to as irresponsible driving. Well, this is certainly a bad reason for overspeeding.

According to the SARTRE survey, European drivers enjoy fast driving when boredom sets in (“Speed Choice: Why Do Drivers Exceed the Speed Limit? - European Commission”). This might seem attractive to the eye but it is not in any way different from teenage driving. There are a whole lot of things to consider before stepping on the pedal, chief of all being safety for all including the third party. Some of the other reasons are based on age. Speeding is usually the case with male drivers as compared to female drivers, being that men are naturally more aggressive than ladies.

Finding the Right Balance

Finally, as it has been discussed, high speeds cause most if not all accidents on the road. Ignoring the speed limit is not an answer to saving time. Drivers should strive as hard as possible to ensure that they obey traffic rules. Breaking the law will only result in more court cases which is a waste of useful and productive time. If possible an effort should be made by the states to reasonably set friendly limits for citizens. Nevertheless, On the other hand, establishing very low speeds won’t help also. Time will be wasted as well. In fact, setting speed limits so low is the first step towards encouraging rule breaking. Reasonable speed limits will work for all.

Works cited

“Dangers of Increasing Highway Speed Limits.” Elite Driving School, drivingschool.net/ dangers-increasing -highway-speed-limits/.

Elvik, Rune. The Handbook of Road Safety Measures. Emerald, 2009.

“Speed Choice: Why Do Drivers Exceed the Speed Limit? - European Commission.” Mobility and Transport, ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/specialist/knowledge/speed/many_ drivers_ exceed_the_speed_limit/speed_ choice_why_do_drivers_exceed_ the_speed_limit_en.

“Fatality Facts.” IIHS, www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/state-by-state-overview.

“Higher Speed Limits May Save Lives.” ACCESS Magazine, www.accessmagazine.org/fall-1995/higher-speed-limits-may-save-lives/.

“Cash Flow or Profit Making! What Should Startup Entrepreneur Worry About?” Entrepreneur, www.entrepreneur.com/article/254705.