Okay, I'm going to take a moment to reply to the main subject/premise of this thread, which I'll paraphrase as "current US speed limits are, in general, unrealistically low".

What I'm about to say isn't a well-thought-out logical argument, I haven't put much energy into thinking about it yet, but I'll put it here in the interest of sparking discussion. And my opinion here will probably surprise some people here on the BBS.

My opinion, in summary, is: "I think the current US speed limits are, in general, right where they should be".

And this is coming from someone who routinely exceeds the speed limit and has to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to avoid getting a speeding ticket.

Supporting arguments:

- Each time we increase the speed limits, people begin driving X mph faster than what's posted. If speed limits were 125, we'd all exceed those limits eventually.

- Most drivers on the road are mouth breathing knuckle-draggers, and honestly, I don't trust them to drive over 65-75 mph safely. I have very little faith in the intelligence and attentiveness of my fellow man.

- Recently, we did increase the speed limits. From a national limit of 55, it was increased to 65, and now it is even higher (75 or more) on some particularly wide/flat/straight interstates. I think that's enough for now. I think those are realistic limits for the general public.

- The current speed limits are a compromise, taking into account the fact that we know people exceed them.

- The faster we drive, the more alert we need to be. However the current consumer trend seems to be toward adding driver distractions rather than removing them. Cell phones, in-car DVD players, cars so big they need their own zip code, MP3 players with visuals ( ), etc...

- To avoid a speeding ticket, one needs to be an alert driver, constantly monitoring the surrounding traffic, the road ahead, the traffic behind, and the sides of the road ahead. When you are speeding, you should be driving with just enough fear to keep you on your toes. Modern cars are quiet and smooth enough so that you could easily do 100mph as comfortably as you can do 60. So fear of the state police is all that some people have got left to keep them from getting complacent at high speeds.

I'm perfectly happy with the current paradigm, which is: I can speed if I'm being alert enough to avoid being seen by cops, and not so overt about it that I'm causing other problems (such as weaving in and out of traffic, blowing by other cars, etc.).

This basically means most of the general public doesn't speed too much, which would make the roads unsafe. And, it gives the state police a pretty good place to collect the revenue they need to collect. I think they have an important function, and I like knowing that they're patrolling our highways, and I'm happy to let the non-alert drivers support that by getting nailed for speeding tickets with regularity. I think what we've got now is a pretty good compromise, and it rides the "edge" between too-draconian and unsafe-anarchy reasonably well.

The only thing I'd like to see changed, is better enforcement and compliance to the "slower traffic keep right" rule, but that's a completely different discussion.