Wacky Wednesday--We Shouldn’t Have Speed Limits

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~Everyone breaks them.
~Encourages the habit of lawbreaking and cultivates the mindset that police are the enemy of normal citzens.
~They are so clearly unpopular to will of the majority (based on driving habits) that they cannot be justified.
~They cannot be enforced fairly. Every day tens of millions of people speed enough to get a ticket, but only a small fraction might actually get one.
~Even police acknowledge they are not proper since they aren’t realistic since they won’t give you one unless you’re over 10 over.
~Speed limits are really about generating revenue through tickets, not about safety.
~If people cannot judge for themselves what is a safe or an unsafe speed, should they really be driving in the first place?
~Should we really believe that people will drive recklessly simply because they can, that they care more about a ticket than they do about their own life, the lives of their families and strangers, and their cars?
~We should punish people for actually causing wrecks, not for tending to cause a wreck.
~Limits have created a whole cottage industry around avoiding getting caught, radar detectors, etc.
~It’s a whole lot safer to drive at the speed of traffic than to try to slow down to an artificially low speed amongst fast drivers. Running slower than the herd is dangerous for you and them.

Links:
Q&A: Speed limits by Insurance Institute For Highway Safety
Law enforcement by Insurance Institute For Highway Safety
Speed limits by IBiblio.org
Effects of raising and lowering by IBiblio.org
Speed limit by Wikipedia
Speed limit in the U.S. by Wikipedia
Posted speed limits by Insurance Institute For Highway Safety