Comment on Why do some laws exist if everyone is expected to just break them?
howrar@lemmy.ca 4 weeks agoIt’s not just a matter of others getting butthurt. It’s actively dangerous to be driving at a different speed from the rest of traffic, regardless of whether you’re going faster or slower.
SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 4 weeks ago
If that’s true, then it would be a good idea to have everybody converge on a particular speed. It doesn’t seem practical to negotiate that speed amongst a constantly-changing set of drivers, it probably needs to be chosen in advance. That seems like a natural function of government, to choose the consensus speed through a process designed to represent everybody in the community.
To communicate to drivers entering the roadway this consensus speed which everybody must travel at—for safety—the government could, say, post it on signs located along the roadside.
But that’s probably just a ridiculous fantasy. How then should all drivers negotiate the consensus speed to ensure safety?
howrar@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
No negotiation is needed. As long as everyone agrees to follow everyone else (i.e. no one tries to overtake and you keep a constant gap with the car in front of you), then everything will naturally fall into place.
SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 4 weeks ago
Given those conditions, everybody drives the speed of the slowest driver.
howrar@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
Yes? I get the impression that you mean to disagree with me, but I can’t tell how.
I don’t know if my explanation of the phenomenon is correct or not. I don’t know much about the science of traffic dynamics. All I know is that when you’re on the road, pretty much everyone ends up at approximately the same speed. That speed can differ relative to the speed limit depending on time of day, road and weather conditions, which road you’re on, etc. and there’s no one to tell me what speed to aim for. I just look at the flow of traffic and follow it. That’s all.