Quote:
Originally Posted by squiggs96
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So where is the line of what's acceptable or not? 20 over in a 90 zone is fine, but what about 20 over in a school zone? Is 30 over in a 90 okay? 40? 50? Is there a percentage you want to go off of? Why is 20 over acceptable but 30 over is speeding? Why should everyone go off what you think is acceptable, when there are very few people (relatively speaking) that know who you are?
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It should absolutely be expressed in percentage terms. All roads are designed with a certain speed safety factor built in (curves and slopes). This factor varies depending on the roadway but, in general, it is at least 20%-25%. So, yes, if the road conditions are favourable on a stretch of a 90 km/hr roadway, it is perfectly safe to drive 110-115 on it from a technical standpoint. Don't get me started about the 90 km/hr zone of divided 4-lane Hwy-1 between Banff and Lake Louise fenced on both side.
If a "line in the sand" is needed, I would base fines on an advertised percentage of excess over posted speed limit (i.e. 10%, 15% or 20%) and then implement a no tolerance policy after that. I've never heard of anyone
stopped for going 1 km/hr over limit, but there is a fine in law for that exact offense. Stupid? Yes. Each and every driver has committed this offense of going 1 km/hr over the speed limit at one point or another, many times, no doubts. When most normal people inadvertently break the law this way, the law becomes obsolete and must be changed, because it is a simple cash cow and it loses respect.