The assumption of the RADAR lobby is that enforcing posted speed limits will make roads safer. Not true.
Their assumption is based on the belief that the posted limits are the safest speeds. Also not true.
The posted limits are politically arrived at numbers to placate misinformed citizens who are told “everyone speeds!” which is not true, and to make it easy to write tickets.
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Senator Vogel says local municipalities only make about $12 per speeding ticket. Tickets approach $200, so where does the rest of the money go? The Legislature has a huge financial incentive to pass RADAR legislation.
People drive at a speed they feel safe regardless of the posted limit (Federal Highway Administration study). These safe speeds are 8 to 16 mph over the posted limits 90% of the time (Federal Highway Administration data). This turns most drivers into “speeders” who will get a ticket.
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Aggressive enforcement of posted limits will stick safe drivers with expensive tickets. Aggressive enforcement will not make the roads safer, bit it will take tens of millions of dollars from drivers who are doing nothing unsafe and who are endangering no one.
The safest speed limits are those set at the 85th Percentile Speed, a time-tested highway engineering principle, arrived at by engineers whose motivation is maximum safety, not raising revenue.
Tell your Representative to vote NO on all RADAR legislation. An enforcement-for-profit-not-safety racket is not a proper function of government.
Archimedes
