The popular Mercury News roadway columnist Mr. Roadshow declared today,
June 29th, Drive the Speed Limit day. The idea was to have one day where everyone drives the speed limit. I know that is a funny sounding idea. Silicon valley might be the biggest speeding place I have ever been.
The two reasons to drive the speed limit are safety and fuel consumption. Safety one is a hard idea for people to get there minds around. Most people think it is going to be someone else who gets into an accident. They will drive a speed that feels safe with their car and the road environment. It is really hard to tell drivers their speed is not safe, I have heard people try. I think the problem is that it is a risk that people cannot get their mind around. It is not easy for the average person to figure out how much an extra 5 or 10 MPH will effect the odds of them getting into an accident.
When it comes to using fuel, speed had a whole different sent of issues. It becomes a question of how I spend my time. Is a little extra gas worth a few extra minutes. If I am getting those extra minutes back every day. If those minutes are extra minutes with family or friends, it is easy to say it is worth the money. It is one of the few ways money can buy extra time.
My answer to Drive the Speed Limit Day was to work from home. It made it very easy not to speed. Today is a big getaway weekend so I will be staying off the roads tonight also. I saved a lot of gas today.
Labels: mercnews, Mr. Roadshow, safety, speed limit, time
