Fast vs. Reckless

Fast is when the white lines in the middle of the road become one and the power poles become a fence.Reckless is all of us from time to time when a 300hp rice burner wants a go!

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Originally posted by JackOlsen:


Having said that, I don't want to give up driving my car the way I enjoy driving it. But if you asked me to design a traffic system where I could choose the cars for everyone to drive, and if you told me that safety was the overriding goal you were after, then I would probably give everyone Camrys, or Volvos, or something that other drivers would be able to reliably predict the behavior of, and cars that wouldn't perform better than your average driver was capable of handling. It would be a boring world, of course, but strictly speaking, I think it would be a safer one.

The trouble is, if we were all driving Camrys or Volvos then *we* wouldn't be thinking about driving either!


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Phil Garner
'72 911E Sporto

I rarely drive fast on public roads but almost always drive quickly. In my opinion, fast implies a great margin over other traffic and this is where the fine line with reckless comes in. My drives at about 85 in the Porsche are normal, 100 is quick but the kids in their various conveyances are quick at 85 and at their fast limit at 100 where they are a danger to everyone.

I slow down for traffic, NEVER speed in town (often travelling at well below the limit) but drive quickly elsewhere, using the performance advantage I have to overtake quickly and cleanly without risk.

At the risk of incurring wrath, last year in France I maxed my 88 Carrera - 6000 in top - equates to about 155 but I was on a three lane dual carriageway and there was nobody there to see it and the car felt stable all the way up - Fast? - Yes!, Reckless? - No!

Roy M

MikeZ, You are preaching to this choir! I couldn't agree with you more!
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Chuck Patalive
83SC

Back in the good old USA I often remember that I had to do at least 80 mph just to go with the flow of traffic and who the heck would the guys be that pass my set up little P car? It would be big SUVs and Vans! I remember my brother in law going into work at GM one morning and getting some flack about passing a co-worker who was doing 80 on a Detroit freeway. My brother in law just looked at him in a "get real" kind of way and said, "Yeah, I was going over 80 and a SCHOOL BUS passed ME!

Speed isn't the problem. It's traffic density, vehicle limitations, and inattention. The speed limit enforcement that we know in the US is revenue driven and cops are just caught up in the bureaucracy.

Diverdan

PS During my last few trips to LA I rented the cheapy cars. Ford Aspires which were not stable at anything over 55 and Neons which were peppy enough for the freeways, but were sadly lacking in braking capability. Pretty scary driving that kind of stuff, but I did it for the same reason that the owners of those cars do.......money. Yet, I'll bet that I drive my P cars for a heck of a lot less per mile than the average Escort owner. That is due to lack of depreciation and doing my own wrenching, which also alerts me to any empending weaknesses.