By Eric Peters
Like almost everyone else – and every cop – I “speed.” That is, I often drive faster than whatever the posted speed limit is. I do so not primarily because I am in a hurry; that is a gas-lighting term used, ironically, by the cops who are often in a hurry to catch up to you, in order to hand you a ticket for “speeding.”
This is an irony lost on most cops.
I “speed” because it’s safer. Because it’s safer to be alert and involved in the act of driving a car.
It is hard to stay awake when you drive the speed limit. It is typically set deliberately low in order to create “speeders” out of just about everyone. Including, of course, the cops who do not have to worry much about getting tickets for “speeding.”
The fact is undeniable. It is why almost no one feels guilty when they are issued a ticket for “speeding.” Everyone knows it’s highway robbery. They may pretend to be sorry for “speeding” – in the hope that maybe the cop won’t hand them a ticket. But behind our roadside mea culpas lies contempt. We know (and they know) we did nothing wrong – morally speaking. Which is why we feel no guilt about our “speeding.” Indeed, we feel affronted – because we know a wrong has just been visited . . . upon us.
This business of mulcting “speeders” for doing nothing wrong has greatly corrupted the relationship between the citizenry and the people who – once upon a time – took an oath to serve and protect.
Remember that one?
It’s one you don’t hear much anymore. Like it’s a free country – and for more or less the same reasons.
Most citizens rightly fear cops – because cops are out to get them. They sit lurking by the side of the road, doing their best to make sure you don’t see them. This tells you all you need to know about “speeding.” If what was wanted was for people to slow down, then cops would make a point of being easy to see. Because people would slow down. But slowed-down drivers don’t meet quotas. They don’t generate “revenue.” And that’s why cops spend so much time trying to hide from their soon-to-be-victims, in order to improve the odds a “speeder” will not see them. And then they “speed” – often much more so – to catch up to and “ticket” the “speeder.”
Does it occur to anyone to ask why it is “safe” for cops to “speed”?
If the answer is they are trained to drive faster than the speed limit, safely – then why does it not fly (in court) when a non-cop “speeder” presents proof – such a certificate from a high-performance driving school or maybe an SCCA road racing license – that they have also been “trained” to drive safely at high speeds?
We all know why.
Back to the why of “speeding,” which means: To drive faster than however fast the government says you’re allowed to drive.
Yes, it’s faster – and that’s not an unreasonable reason for doing it. Time is irreplaceable. How much time is spent – never to be recovered – driving the speed limit every day, every week, for years on end. It adds up to days – if not weeks. How much time on the road vs. at home are you willing – wanting – to spend? Why should you have to spend it?
Why, because it’s safer!
That is the usual ululation.
The logic of it is silly and that is easily demonstrated. If it is “safer” to drive 55 than 65 then – logically – it is even safer to drive 45. Why not 35? Why not walk? That would be safest of all.
Speed limits – in theory – are supposed to strike a balance between absurdity and insanity. To prevent – or at least, make it an actionable offense – to drive 100 MPH through a residential neighborhood, for instance.
But how are speed limits determined?
Chiefly, by setting them according to a least common denominator standard that – per above – turns pretty much every driver into a “speeder.”
Still, it is safer to “speed” than to mindlessly adhere to the typically dumbed-down, under-posted speed limit. For one, because you’ll be driving considerably below the speed of the “speeding” traffic around you. Such speed variance is acknowledged to be unsafe – even though it is rarely the basis for ticketing. But just about everyone knows that it is safer to keep pace with the flow of traffic – which is almost always “speeding.”
It is also safer to “speed” – that is, to drive at a speed that comports with one’s abilities as well as the road and conditions – than it is to drive at a speed well below one’s abilities that is also so slow that driving becomes boring – which leads to inattentive driving. When you’re in the game, so to speak, you are a participant rather than a passive spectator. It is the difference between watching the game on TV (and falling asleep on the sofa) and playing the game.
But we’re supposed to pretend it’s “safer” to just sit there – and pretend to be driving.
Try not to fall asleep.
Eric Peters lives in Virginia and enjoys driving cars and motorcycles. In the past, Eric worked as a car journalist for many prominent mainstream media outlets. Currently, he focuses his time writing auto history books, reviewing cars, and blogging about cars+ for his website EricPetersAutos.com.
Editor’s Note: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the National Motorists Association.
