🚀 go-pugleaf

Oscar Voss wrote in message <36C2DFF9.37B9@erols.com>...

>More offensive is the continuing failure of the Legislature to up the
>rural Interstate speed limit to 70 (and allow speed limit increases on
>some urban freeways, too).  The latest proposal, I understand, died in a
>tie vote in a House of Delegates committee.
>--
>Oscar Voss, Arlington, Virginia, ovoss@erols.com


Oscar, or anyone, could you tell us which Virginia politicians voted which
way?  I am sure they would like to see their names, so that the people know
which way to pull the voting lever at the next election day.

As I recall, the bill to raise Virginia's rural interstate speed limit to
only 70 mph died because (as I recall) the pro- 55 mph forever forces got a
traffic accident crash survivor to appear.  I don't know the exact
particulars, but in examples of "people killed by speeders, etc, etc,"
insurance companies will find the evil 80 mph driver who ends up killing one
or more people, usually children, the accident in question involves 80 mph
on 25 mph residential streets.  The Insurance Institute as I recall, pulled
this very tactic in a newsletter about 2 or 3 years ago, where 2 children
were killed as their Mom made a left turn into their own driveway, and were
broadsided by an idiot on a motorcycle doing approximately 80 mph on a
residential  street.  The Insurance Institute quoted a police officer as
having said something to the effect of "those kids would still be alive if
the bike had been doing the speed limit."  Nowhere in this article was there
any mention of what the speed limit was, though given the residential
setting (killed as their Mom  was making a left turn into their driveway)
that it was probably well under 55 mph, unless perhaps it was a rural 2 lane
road- though the article did not say.

It should be interesting to see the tactics of the 55 mph foreever crowd in
the wake if Maryland's increasing their rural interstate speed limit from 55
to 65 mph, and the resulting drop in the fatality rate that accompanied
this.

Douglas A. Willinger
Takoma Park Highway Design Studio