Quote:
Originally Posted by Piwoslaw
Aspera: Your example of the two drivers, one driving for 5 hours and the other 8h, reminds me of a local politician who wanted to win the votes of both drivers and ecologists by proposing to get rid of all speed limits. He argued that the faster you drive the less fuel you need, because you have less time to use fuel, etc.
Of course, driver fatigue is very important, but I don't believe that driving at 80mph for 5h is safer than @50mph for 8h.
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So you admit that the slow driver will suffer three additional hours of driver fatigue...but still contend that driving at 50mph is safer than driving at 80mph? Operator fatigue can be nearly as dangerous as driving drunk. Naturally, I don't suggest a 16 year old with a fresh driver's license drive 80mph down a hilly gravel road at night in a full sized van. I'm talking about an Interstate like I-70 from Kansas City to (almost) Denver under good conditions with good equipment in good order with a good driver. If there is ZERO other traffic, then both drivers have just about equal risk. If there is NORMAL traffic, the speedy driver is much safer than the slowpoke with the 20mph+ traffic speed difference.
Apples to apples, the faster driver would use more fuel, spend more money, and cause more pollution. But that's why we shouldn't be driving apples.
