Why do we speed even though we know it's dangerous?

Hi @JGhazal Welcome to Fluther.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t speed for the excitement. I speed (just a little) to get where I’m going faster or to keep up with the cars around me. The freeway speed limit around here is 65 in most places. If I didn’t go at least 70ish, I’d be blocking traffic. Being the slow car on the road can be more dangerous than keeping up with the flow of traffic.

Real speed is such an adrenaline rush. Highway speeding is, like @Likeradar says, a way to get there faster.

I concur. I have a 4½ hour car trip every few weeks and although the fall foilage is pretty, after the first 200 miles I just wanna get home so I do tend to go a bit fast. If only there was a way to shrink the highway..

Because time is money.

Yeah, there are really two questions here. Why do we speed, and why is it exciting. It’s exciting because you are on the edge of control, and that provides an adrenaline rush. That kind of speeding on public roads isn’t just dangerous, it’s stupid.

Most people speed because they don’t want to spend their precious time in the car, they are tired of driving, they can’t get up early enough to get to work on time, and what I think is most common: modern cars make it too easy. With an automatic transmission, sound dampening, a cushy ride, and an engine that is way too big, you just don’t notice how fast you are going unless you really watch the speedometer. My wife got a new car and she now drives about ten miles an hour faster. I drove it for a while and did the same thing. My car is an economy car with a stick shift, a small engine, a bumpy ride, and no sound dampening so I have to consciously decide to speed. My wife’s old car was a sports car with stiff suspension and a loud engine and no sound dampening, so same effect. But a nice luxury SUV, a minivan, or even most mid size sedans now make speeding completely unconscious.

Interestingly, on daily commutes at least, there are studies that show that speeding won’t get you there any faster. You just spend more time stopped at red lights. I’m convinced that cities that time their traffic lights properly can pretty much eliminate speeding and red light running in town. I used to live in a city where if you raced through the yellow light you would certainly have to stop at the next one. Then if you went the speed limit when the light turned green you would never have to stop again. Practically no one sped or ran red lights.

I’m always late.

It is dangerous and I always question myself as to why I speed so much, yet I can’t help it. I like to get where I’m going as fast as possible whether I’m walking, running, bicycling, or driving… it’s just in my nature for some reason. I have been lucky enough to not get pulled over for speeding yet, but unfortunately I can see it happening at some point in my life.

@gussnarp – I know I won’t get there faster but that doesn’t help the psychological thought that I might get there faster.

I have places to be.

I love the scene in Be Cool where Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is driving around in a rented Honda Insight and Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) says to him: “But what about speed?” and Chili responds; “If you’re important, people will wait.” I don’t think this has caught on though.

speeding in itself is not really dangerous, people who go past the point where they can control it is when things get dangerous. And even then its not speeds fault, its the driver’s.

@wenn Maybe, but don’t you think they post speed limits for a reason?

The notion that speeding is not inherently dangerous is, IMHO, flawed. Certainly there are some studies that purport to show that speed in and of itself is not dangerous, but I believe these studies to be flawed. For example, is speed only a factor when the police report says it is? It has been my experience that virtually everyone on the road is going at least five, often ten, and many times more miles per hour over the speed limit at any given time. So the fact is that in almost every accident the driver was probably speeding. In that case, how can you really determine that speeding is or is not dangerous?

I acknowledge that other behavior is more dangerous, such as the tailgating also practiced by virtually every car on the road, but speed limits exist for a reason, they were not made up arbitrarily. Safety is one reason, and it is usually based on the nature of the road and the number of crossroads and likelihood of pedestrians crossing. I don’t know if the limits are empirically based, but is there any empirical basis for individuals to decide that they know more than the people who made the speed limits? Certainly not.

The other argument is that it is travelling faster or slower than the speed of surrounding traffic that is dangerous. So suppose I am travelling at or just below or above the speed limit. I am alone on the road. Suddenly a number of cars travelling 10 – 15 miles per hour above the speed limit appear in my rear view mirror and are soon passing and tailgating me. Am I the safety problem, or are they? Should I be obligated to drive faster than the law allows and I want to because many others have chosen to break the law?

@erichw1504 to keep fuel consumption down.

Genetic program.

@wenn That only makes sense if you are talking about interstate highway speed limits. And even then, only those outside an urban area. Within urban areas interstate highway speed limits are lower because it is inherently dangerous to have the main flow of traffic going 65 – 80 miles per hour while other cars are attempting to merge into that traffic.

Besides, most people speed on city streets too, where safety and noise are serious concerns.

@gussnarp well faster traffic is supposed to stay to the inside, away from on ramps and merging traffic. so if somemone is speeding in the outside lane where merging traffic is its the drivers fault, not speed’s fault.

Speeding in a city, a downtown area is dumb just because the vastly increased number of pedestrians, but on interstates/freeways i dont have a problem with it. and if you are not an idiot at driving, its no more dangerous than going to speed limit.

And just for another point, the German Autobahn, about ⅓ of the entire network has no speed limit and yet is one of the safest roadways in the world. it really comes down to driving intelligently and within your means.

@wenn All valid points, except that people speed just as much in heavy traffic as out of it, if they can. And people speeding in merging zones don’t keep to the left or inside lanes. Plus, in heavy city traffic on the interstate creating a differential in lane speed to allow those on the inside to exceed the speed limit is every bit as dangerous as them speeding in the right lane. The Autobahn is safe because the Germans are capable of following other rules, unlike most Americans. I expect there are other reasons too. It is much harder to get a driver’s license in Germany, people generally drive less, you can’t drive until you are 18, trucks are required to use the right lane only, speed limits in some areas actually change dynamically with traffic conditions, everyone in Germany is in smaller cars, and while the popular imagination has Germans all driving Mercedes, Porsches, and BMWs, the average German can’t afford to drive one. Opel Corsas and Volkswagen Polos and Smart cars are more common. Try getting one of those up to 130 kmph. I almost blew up a Polo doing that on the Autobahn.

@gussnarp I lived in Germany for 3 months, I know what cars are common there, and I know all about the rules and regulations of driving(lorries in the right lane only), features like dynamic speed limits based on traffic flow, the expense of obtaining your license, being 18, the time it takes, etc.

And I for one, don’t imagine all Germans in Porsches and Mercs and BMW’s, so you don’t generalize me please.

I do agree that Germans are far more obedient to the laws and regulations, which I like, things just work better.

With that, I saw quite a large number of cars that are capable of well over 130kph. Many of them being one of the two VW’s I have owned which were both economical models, but capable of 130kph.

I often wonder the same thing. I always drive at the speed limit, and in my opinion, I will live a longer, happier life because I know how to take it easy.

We live in a world that has crushed most risky activities with rules and regulations to protect us and avoid costly law suits. Speeding on a country back road on a Sunday drive is fun, only endangers yourself, and is a great way to get the thrill of a great car and of pushing things to the limit. In a Top Gear interview with Sir Stirling Moss, he said that he would not be involved in racing today because all the risk has been removed.

Speeding in day-to-day driving is just to get somewhere faster. A study from Germany (that I can’t get my hands on right now) has shown that faster drivers are generally safer drivers, because they pay closer attention to the road. The speed limit does not matter as much as driving to the conditions. A 100km/h winding road through the mountains may be safe for up to 120km/h, but once the road is wet and/or icy it may not be safe at even 70km/h. I have done 50km/h on the freeway before because the rain has reduced visibility so badly, but I have gone over the limit at times as well because on a straight dry dual lane road on a sunny day you would have to have a cardiac arrest to crash.

Speed will never save anyone enough time to justify the risks of accidents or traffic tickets. Doing a simple math will show the validity of the above. In normal city driving the traffic lights are in control of the situation and in most cases no one can make the trip any faster than the speed limit drivers. Finally we are a nation of law breakers and speeding is against the law.

@nitemer If speeding is done intelligently and with regard to traffic and weather conditions, then it is not substantially more dangerous. The vast majority of speed related accidents are a result of people driving beyond their abilities, such as inexperienced drivers in high powered cars or speeding in poor conditions. I don’t condone reckless driving in any way, but going a little over the limit is harmless if judged well. It can also help you get through a set of lights before they turn red, which can save several minutes.

@gussnarp and @wenn – Yes, many small cars can do more than 130 kph, but in some this makes you feel like doing 200 kph while it’s actually less than 150. Using a larger high-quality car doing 200 makes you feel like it’s only 130. That’s the reason why on average the big expensive cars use higher speeds on the autobahn. The drivers don’t feel the speed. It might be true that on average drivers in Germany stick to the rules more often than in the US, but 10% black sheep can literally drive you crazy because of tailgaiting. There’s this unwritten rule for the mob not to use the left lane when there’s only two lanes on one side because this is reserved for nobility. The feudal system is based on horse powers. So if a truck does 90 kph and you want to pass doing 120 only, it’s blasphemy. The BWM driver approaching with 180 might get a heart attack. After all, the left lane means total freedom (for ⅓ of the entire network). Forcing him to slow down a little bit is like taking people’s gun away in America. An absolute taboo. Fortunately many autobahns have 3 lanes on each side and wars are being prevented.

@mattbrowne It’s not just the small cars that make you feel like going 200 when you’re only going 100, but non-German cars in the same categories (but not in the same leagues though) as MBs and BMWs. A Renault Safrane, a Vel Satis, or even an Alfa Romeo 166 shake like a frenchman in a thunderstorm if you drive it at 130 on a country road while an E Class or a 5-series remain perfectly stable and comfortable at 180.

In general, Mercedes and BMW just give you a sense of being in control, not just of your car but the whole road, that is hard to understand.

By the way your medieval analogy is so spot on I laughed because I’m so guilty of it. Thanks for the chuckle!

@wenn I was not generalizing you, I said the popular imagination. By your use of the word Lorry I now assume you are British, so perhaps I should have said the American popular imagination. That’s how most people in the States view Germany, I never said anything about you. I was just trying (perhaps clumsily) to point out that there are vast differences between driving in the U.S. and driving in Germany that make any statements on the safety of fast driving in Germany invalid when applied to driving in America.

@mattbrowne No doubt about the sense of the right to speed in the left lane. I was driving my little Volkswagen Polo around one of those 90 kph trucks at 120 once with a Mercedes coming up in my rear view mirror so fast it was scary. I floored it, but the Benz just kept coming fast. I finally got around the truck and the Benz flashed past like lightning. I looked down and I was doing about 130 and the tachymeter was red lined hard. But who was I to go only 120 in his lane?

@FireMadeFlesh So you’re actually advocating speeding to get through a series of red lights so you can shave a few minutes off your drive time? I suppose that you include in that speeding to get through when the light is yellow? You’ll only save a minute or two at most, and I hope you don’t live anywhere near me driving like that.

@Jack_Haas – Yes, but the downside of the feeling a Mercedes and BMW can give you is that sometimes drivers should be aware they’re going too fast. Like in residential areas. Children can be very unpredictable. Sensors warning the drivers will help.

@gussnarp – Yes, it can be scary. A culture shock for many tourist or business travelers visiting Germany. Coming up fast is actually very illegal. If the police catches one of those drivers they will lose their drivers license. I have no problem if speed-loving drivers pick a quiet Sunday morning or anytime late at night. They can do 200 are more whatever they want. But when there’s a lot of traffic and smaller cars want to pass trucks, compassion has to be kept in check.

@mattbrowne Well, if I had rented a Golf TDI I would have been fine. It was that darn Polo. Beat the dickens out of the Opel Corsa though. I’d be dead if I’d been in a Corsa.

@gussnarp – Well, I drive a new Ford Fiesta Diesel which is slightly bigger than an Opel Corsa. The reason is fuel efficiency. I’m a commuter and my Fiesta gives me more than 65 miles per gallon. It outperforms the Toyota Prius. See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fiesta#ECOnetic_model

Polo is a bit small, but with all the airbags you’re probably safer than with a BMW 15 years ago. But the momentum conservation law doesn’t go away of course.

@mattbrowne Well, this was about 15 years ago, so I don’t know what the airbags were like then. I expect the Corsa has improved if they still make it.

@gussnarp – Yes, there’s a new Corsa. But the future of Opel in Europe is still somewhat unclear. GM sold the majority of its stake in Opel to Magna. They will only keep 35%. This will also affect Vauxhall in the UK as well as the factories in Belgium and Spain.

@gussnarp All I am saying is that it can save you some time, not that it should be done. It helps to understand motive rather than making sweeping statements. I don’t have a problem with accelerating for an (early) orange light; it is often safer than stopping for the person behind. I do what I can to shave minutes off my commute time, such as choosing the fastest lane, judging traffic patterns at different times of the day to see which route to take etc, but I do not drive dangerously. It just makes the daily jam more entertaining if you feel like you’re improving. If you read my previous posts, I only advocate speeding in the right conditions on empty roads – if the road conditions are right and there is no chance of affecting other drivers, then I don’t see why drivers should be denied a bit of fun.

@mattbrowne It’s only a problem if you come from an unsafe car or if, like I was doing back then, you rent cars and constantly have to adapt to new makes and models. You can be surprised once but then you don’t even think about it, your natural sense of speed adjusts automatically.

Regardless of the car, however, you can easily lose that sense of speed when you exit a highway if you’ve been driving fast. I’ve had a few big scares because of it: you’re cruising at 200–250 for an hour. You exit the highway and drive slower. Your sense of speed says 80 but the speedometer says 150. When that happens, a Mercedes might correct your mistake while a regular car couldn’t.

The culture of speeding is interesting. The number one navigation app on BlackBerry is an app that helps you avoid speed traps. Yet speeding is a road killer second only to alcohol in the US, with 30% of fatalities being speed related. I think aggressive driving and speeding are often due to people running late. Lane hopping, tail-gating and road rage is often traffic related because they have been caught by surprise and are going to be late. A new mobile technology helps people leave early and arrive on time. It’s called Prompt http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/2747