Would you like to have the opportunity to get a special license to go a little bit faster on the road by car?

Why? People drive well over the speed limit already. Why get a license?

But more to the point, how would a policeman doing speed enforcement know that you had a special license? He wouldn’t – he’d pull you over anyway.

Why would you think a person who held this special license would be any safer than anyone else?

I think your premise is faulty.

I don’t think that people drive too fast. They drive too close at any speed.

They make unsafe lane changes at any speed.

They don’t come to a complete stop at stop signs unless absolutely necessary.

They don’t come to a stop at red signals before turning right (unless heavy traffic stops them).

And most people don’t know how to turn left during a green signal. You start your slow roll out into the intersection and wait for traffic to clear. Then turn when it’s safe (green, yellow or red light).

Absolutely.

@elbanditoroso “Why? People drive well over the speed limit already. Why get a license?”
– Because we also get tickets, even when the speed limit is set lower than it should be, and/or when we’re not really endangering anything.
– Also, because if a speed limit is supposedly safe for a 1950’s land yacht, or a giant Winnebago mobile home, or an 18+ wheel truck, or a barely legal learner or infirm person, then a significantly faster speed would be (and is) entirely safe for a skilled and safe driver in a car with good performance characteristics. The one-speed-fits all law, and the low limits in some areas, is a self-contradiction.

“But more to the point, how would a policeman doing speed enforcement know that you had a special license? He wouldn’t – he’d pull you over anyway.”
– Because (in my opinion) officers should only be pulling over people who are actually doing something problematic, not just technically illegal.
– And licensed faster drivers could have a sticker or other indicator. But really, if officers only ticketed people doing something that’s actually a problem, it would handle most of the issue.

@gondwanalon “I don’t think that people drive too fast. They drive too close at any speed.”
– Some do, especially on highways. I think they’re the ones who should be getting ticketed, far more than non-reckless speeders.

@Zaku Last year I got caught in a speed trap. It was on a wide open country highway (dry, daytime, flat surface, no traffic). I was told that I was driving 56 mph in a 45 mph zone. At busy times cars generally cruise at 55 or faster along that highway. I tried driving 45 once and quickly had a line of cars backed up behind me while being passed when possible.

I’m a very safe driver. I stop at all stop signs and follow at safe distances. The previous “moving violation” that I received was in 1985 in downtown San Francisco because my wheels were over the cross walk at a red light. I went to driving school for 8 hours as a result. Fortunately because I have such a good driving record I was able to “defer” the latest ticket which means that I’m on driving probation for 7 years. If I get another ticket within 7 years I pay double and the two tickets get reported to my insurance company.

Having a special license to drive faster is a contradiction to the “Basic Speed Law”: “you may never drive faster than is safe for the current road conditions.” In California, the state where driving is a fundamental part of life, that law is ingrained in the Motor Vehicle Code.

So a “special license” would be inherently unsafe.

Germany has special classes of vehicles for Autobahn, VW Passat one speed and Ferrari much much higher speed because better brakes and tires . . . .

@zenvelo Except, that is not how things work in practice, as @gondwanalon just mentioned, and as I have experienced repeatedly, and as we have all experienced in general practice.

The city bus drives the speed I was going when I got a ticket from a speed trap, on that same stretch of road, when there were zero cars ahead of or beside me, in either direction, with 7 lanes of open road for two blocks.

You’re just wrong. There are many roads where it’s utterly and undeniably safe for a car to drive well over the posted speed limit, in the right conditions. The enforcement used in many places is illogical nonsense.