Comments on: Does Ray Kelly Know the Speed Limit Now?

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:48:18 +0000

I think Manhattan User is probably right about the stopping distances, but the fact that the chief of police doesn’t know the speed limit is pretty absurd.

By: J

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:25:20 +0000

If the speed limit is posted at 25 mph, many, if not most, people will drive closer to 25 mph. This will slow down many of the crazies behind them. Obviously, lowering the speed limit alone is not a solution, but it is a step in the right direction, and it creates a legal basis for enforcement.

By: Larry Littlefield

Larry Littlefield — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:17:19 +0000

I was thinking about how much less likely I am to get into an accident on my bicycle, because of how much control I have. I can stop or turn on a dime, and avoid any accident other than being hit from behind if I am paying attention. It takes me about three feet to stop.

But is it really because I am on a bicycle, or because I am riding at 10 to 15 mph? Does a bicycle actually have more control than my Saturn station wagon?

Aside from riding down the Manhattan Bridge I don’t go over 15 not only because I’m not in that kind of shape but also because it gets scary. I feel the loss of control.

I tried stopping my Saturn wagon at similarly low speeds. It stopped dead in a few feet, almost instantaneously.

By: Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:52:42 +0000

As you often note, its not the speed you post so much as the speed you enforce. In Germany there is no speed limit on the Autobahn but if you go above the posted limit you will find someone knocking on your hotel door with your picture from a radar camera.

Its only a money maker for the State, though, until the drivers learn they can’t speed, then its a money loser. Its like a revers perverse incentive. Go figure.

By: W. K. Lis

W. K. Lis — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:32:56 +0000

Montréal is trying to lower that city’s unposted speed limit from 50 km/h (30 mph) down to 40 km/h (25 mph). Other roads can have posted speed limits higher or lower than 40 km/h.

By: Eric McClure

Eric McClure — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:23:03 +0000

Yeah, but we showed those Critical Mass knuckleheads, didn’t we?

By: Charles Siegel

Charles Siegel — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:26:30 +0000

If Kelly thinks the speed limit is 35 mph, he presumably drives at that speed himself. And, as the old saying goes, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

By: Manhattan User

Manhattan User — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:37:16 +0000

Where did you get the stopping distance data from? It seems increadibly high. 250ft to stop from 35 mph is an entire city block! The table in the link shows numbers that are vastly smaller than what you report.

http://www.accidenttech.com/va_code.html

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:53:43 +0000

Excellent post. It seems like the only enforcement is quota-making enforcement, and that NYPD lacks a systematic strategy for linking enforcement to quality of life anywhere in the city. If the cops can’t even write a citation for an ice-cream truck that incessantly plays “Pop Goes The Weasel,” how are drivers supposed to expect that their transgressions will be penalized?