[djmcmath]

Speed limits already _have_ caught up to reality. The only problem is that the reality isn't safety, it's revenue generation. Small towns are absolutely the worst -- speed limits are often set artificially low based on inaccurate engineering surveys. Worse, small town cops have been known to totally falsify tickets. I've heard stories of municipal officers locking in a signal from known interference (like a 41mph signal from the defrost fan, for example), then waiting in a 30mph zone to get somebody. Similar tactic, lock in one 41mph speeder's signal, then use the same reading for another half-dozen people. Of course, it's only a short step down on the integrity ladder from there to just totally making up a ticket.

Of course, the reason I'm so hot on this right now is because in November, I got pulled over for overtaking in a legal overtaking zone. He cited me at a speed that I would have needed to violate the laws of physics to obtain, and that would have exceeded the specifications of his radar unit. So yes, I've got it out for small town cops.

OTOH, many of the other cops I've known have been pretty cool. California Highway Patrol? Yeah, those guys are alright. Just watch out for the backwoods, that's all...

Dan