By David Alpert, Washington Post
…
These are indeed the main criticisms. Let’s tackle them.
While most of us break traffic laws some, or even much, of the time, it’s not a good thing. I do it, too, sometimes. I shouldn’t. In some places, nearly everyone is exceeding the speed limit, which creates peer pressure. Most of us also think we’re above-average drivers. Unlike the children in Lake Wobegon, everyone can’t be above-average. Research shows that most drivers believe they are more skilled than they are.
We need to break this cycle. We need to find a way to change a culture in which otherwise law-abiding people consider posted maximum speeds to be suggestions or, at best, assume that the “real” limit is 10 mph above what’s posted. In a residential neighborhood where the limit is 25 mph, 36 is quite fast. Every 10 mph faster a car is moving equates to a 40 percent greater chance that a pedestrian who is hit will die.
Those who watch “Mad Men” know that at one time our society considered drinking and driving perfectly reasonable. It took many years and concerted public information campaigns to persuade people otherwise.
Unfortunately, our discourse about this issue has veered far, far away from safety.
That’s in part because our leaders have gotten used to using cameras to plug holes in government budgets. As taxes go, this is like a “sin tax,” similar to high taxes on cigarettes. But it’s not ideal public policy. Anne McCartt of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently pointed out to The Post’s Ashley Halsey III that if people stop speeding, the revenue will vanish, as it should, since the goal is to stop speeding.
…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/complacency-in-the-face-of-a-rising-dc-death-toll/2013/05/31/5ff9ff14-c953-11e2-9f1a-1a7cdee20287_story.html
Biking in Baltimore