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this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2024
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We should only drive 5mph because a kid could run out into any street, theoretically.
The actual answer is that we take calculated risks all the time and trade safety for convenience every day.
You should be going slow enough that someone can step out suddenly into the road suddenly right in front of you. I've had adults do that to me. Guess who didn't drive into them? I was probably going like 20mph because that's the speed at which I could do that if needed.
Drive that slow on a rural county road at night and you're going to have a bad time. There really aren't that many people just stepping out into the road in front of a car at that time, your speed shouldn't be dictated on that one factor alone.
You seem to be missing the point that if any people would be walking or biking down a rural road, they can be completely off the road, likely wearing something reflective or high visibility. Buggies are low visibility by design and take up a large portion of the road even when they are as far over as they possibly can be.
I don't think forcing them to use electric lights is the proper approach, though.
I wouldn't expect someone to drive that 20mph on a rural street. In that case, it was near a shopping center and I could clearly see people walking on the sidewalk along the road. Hence why I was going slow. It was an example of driving a speed appropriate to the situation, despite what speed limit signs might suggest are okay on the road. In rural areas around here, its things like deer that are an issue. If you're lights aren't good enough to see something as big as a cow in time to stop, you are going too fast for the road. Doesn't matter if its a 70mph road and you have to go 40mph to be reasonably safe.
Don’t take any guff from these swine man. I’m glad to see another safe driver in the thread.
People be like “Well sometimes accidents just happen; can’t be avoided”. Like fuck, where did that idea come from??
It can be avoided, but as I said elsewhere we make calculated risks all the time. Individually and as a society. 1 in 5 Americans will get skin cancer at some point but we allow tanning salons. Red meat is linked to stomach cancer. Alcohol. Tobacco. Backyard pools. There is none-to-limited legal or medical protection granted to people from a huge range of dangers to ourselves and others and they are broadly accepted as in the realm of "personal freedoms" or in some way necessary to society, like the dangerous jobs of logging or roofing or firefighting.
I'm not saying safety shouldn't be a goal, I'm saying that risk-free is functionally impossible and people disagree on "acceptable risk."
On a rural country road a person can’t step out in front of your car because the road generally has about twenty or thirty feet of clearance on both sides. If the road is literally so narrow that there’s trees right beside the car, same as a tight city street full of parked cars, then I’ll definitely go 20 mph there.
I’m armed so any rednecks want to give me shit for going too slow next to their kids they can deal with my own inner redneck.
I’m not going to go faster than is safe, period.
You should definitely drive like 5 mph if you’re passing right next to spots where a kid might be.
The only thing that warrants extra speed is when there’s enough visible, open space such that a kid would be visible for a few seconds before getting to the road at a full sprint.
Like the roads in front of my apartment are listed as 30 mph but I go 20 because it’s so tight with cars on both sides. 30 is simply not a safe speed there.
I’m an Uber driver. I grew up in the country and started driving at age 13. I fucking love to drive, and love to race and do stupid shit. I respect driving and I hope it remains. But stopping distance needs to always be less than visible distance. And if you’re three feet from a hiding spot to the side of your car, your car needs to be going very very slow.
I just always assume there’s a suicidal two year old behind literally everything, just waiting to dive out in front of my wheels. That’s my standard for driving speed. A toddler absolutely determined to get hit, and I’m going to thwart him.