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Comment by darchws | Hacker News Reader

I think there is another perspective of the speeding needs. Not everybody drives in high speeds just because they want to be at somewhere sooner. Most of time it can be just the desire to feel of the speed.

For example in the some highways in the some countries, the speed average is calculated between two tolls and people resets their odometer in the first toll and if they above the limit, they pull over and wait until the average goes below the limit. So I am in doubt if it decreases or increases driving in high speeds in the long term.

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> Most of time it can be just the desire to feel of the speed.

Or to not pass out out of boredom (most my friends state this as reason as well). Modern cars, especially the slightly better class ones, make hardly or no sound and do the max speed (120-130km/h in EU depending on the country) without noticing it at all if you don't stare at the instruments. I personally do not enjoy driving at all (and never have), so I want to go from a->b, not 'enjoy the experience'; I find it a boring and wasteful chore (which is why I prefer the train or mtr, but that's not available or possible or affordable everywhere, like in where I live, the only transport is hiking (which I prefer, but not always practical) or by car...). Unfortunately my place will one of the last places where self driving cars will become available (bad, erratically winding roads with many unexpected obstacles after it rains).

> Modern cars, especially the slightly better class ones, make hardly or no sound and do the max speed (120-130km/h in EU depending on the country) without noticing it at all if you don't stare at the instruments.

The other thing I notice around here is that the roads are constantly getting better: wider, better lighting, better marking, curves get straightened out, foliage & trees on the side are cut to improve visibility, etcetra.

All this never seems to lead to an increase in speed limits.

So you can be on a curvy shady narrow road in the dark and rain. Max 100 kph, or 80 at winter. Wide road, good surface, good visibility, no traffic -- max 100 kph, or 80 at winter.

I can't bring myself to understand by which logic both of these speed limits can be right. One must be horribly unsafe, or the other must be horribly slow for the conditions.

Likewise, the danger posed by a bit of speeding is completely different on those segments..

Yes, some of these speedlimits seem arbitrary, making very little sense. There is a curve outside my village where you can do 60; in the summer people miss the curve multiple times per week (luckily that results in them just driving of the road on a flat bit of land; not into a crevice). Far far less sharp curves where you could drive 60 easily, you are allowed 20-40 suddenly... Same for some high quality, wide roads where you can do 50-60 while outside the town limit; 80-100 would be fine there. The gossip (and I have no clue if there is any truth to it!) about those limits is that all places where a serious accident happened at some time in the past, no matter what caused the accident, had the limit slashed and it's not going back up.

I've never seen anyone do that in the UK. It would be illegal anyway but people don't even speed up and slow down. Which countries are you talking about?

France is one.

Speed on a long stretch between boots, go to the gas station. Average speed is ok, still quicker at the destination.

Can't particularly recommend it, but it does happen. Pro-tip: bring enough cash to pay the fine, because the police will drive you (slowly) to an ATM if you don't have enough to pay the fine.

Italy is one country they implemented it, I asked my friend in his BMW if this is the best this bad boy can do and he said with a sad Italian voice, "There's no point Tibor"

Yeah that's exactly what I was saying. People don't pointlessly speed and then stop and wait when there are average speed checks.

To be fair the UK absolutely does have average speed checks on many of its motorways.

Not just motorways they are all over the place, I use Waze on my motorcycle with a blue tooth headset and it announces them as you enter leave and shows a moving average (which I'm always way under, I don't speed but I like to know where they are because they can make cars erratic, same with speed cameras, if I get the alert there is one ahead you can predict all the cars will start braking earlier).

Honestly I'm completely in favour of both speed cameras and moving average zones, the stuff I see on a week to week basis is shocking, same with red light cameras, I wish every major to minor junction had them.

Yes of course. I never said they don't - I was doubting that people pointlessly speed and then stop and wait for their average speed to drop. It sounds implausible.

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