Quote:
Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz
Okay, but you're wrong.
Here's a thought experiement to determine if you will hit more deer or less deer by going faster.
I am driving on a road going at 120kph.
You are passing me doing 150kph.
At this exact time, at some point along the next 10 km of road a deer starts to cross the road. It takes the deer 1 minute to cross ther road.
Now lets assume that the sight of a deer on the road will cause the driver to panic and crash. Who is more likely to panic and crash, the guy who is on the road longer? NOPE.
Examples to illustrate.
Case 1)
The deer is crossing the road 1km down the road.
In that one minute it takes the deer to cross the road I would have gone 2km if I had not seen the deer at km-1 and crashed and died. Unfortunetly you also saw the deer, crashed and died.
Case 2) The deer is crossing 10km down the road.
In that one miute I've gone 2 km, and am happily oblivious to the close brush with death I have just had. You have traveled 2.5 km and are likewise happy and safe.
Case 3) The deer is crossing 2.25 km down the road.
In that one minute you would have traveled 2.5km if you hadn't had an unfortunate run in with a poor deer. Meanwhile about 15 seconds later, I pass by and wonder what caused all the carnage.
So who is more likley to run into a road hazard? Not the guy who will be on the road for a shorter period of time as you suggest.
Some road hazards are stationary (such as potholes and rocks), they will be the same no matter how fast you go, and others depend on the chance of you passing an event when it happens, and the faster you're going, the greater the distance you travel and the better the chance that you'll run into one of those hazards as they happen.
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I will not assume that, because I have seen hundreds of deer on the road an have never crashed. I have also been a passenger for hundreds more deer and we have never crashed.
Let me add a case 4)
A deer comes out 2 seconds after I pass, I drive away, you crash into it.
Your last point doesn't make sense either. The chances of me being in the same spot as a deer at any point in time (a necessity for hitting it) are less than the chances of a slower driver being the same place as the deer at the same time, because a slower driver is in the same place for a longer time. It's not a significant difference, but it is in the opposite direction that you are professing.
If there are 3 deer on a 10 km stretch of road ever 10 minutes, I spend 9 minutes on the road, you spend 10, I am only sharing the road with 2.7 deer, while you are sharing with 3 deer. Who is in more danger?
(the bold part is intended for CI as well)