by El Zorro Viejo (aka; Jim)

The automobile has one purpose: to get from point A to point B in the shortest amount of time consistent with personal and public safety. Therefore, speedlimits, especially on Interstate Highways, should vary according to time of day and amount of traffic. Set a base number...say... 65 MPH, and then make all the speedlimit signs electronic. So, at 6am on a Sunday morning, when there are very few cars on the road, the speedlimit on I-78 between Newark Airport and the intersection of I-287 could be raised to a comfortable 80 MPH or even an Autobahn-ish no limit. However, that would mean that the jerks who are uncomfortable above 50 MPH would be restricted to secondary roads.

Actually, I hold the opinion that a large percentage of drivers should actually not be allowed behind the wheel of any powered vehicle. The trouble is that they seem not to think fast enough to deal with decision making at speeds greater than said 50 MPH. Personally, I think that all drivers should be made to take a serious road test, at speed, where they have to make quick decisions about how they will handle potentially dangerous situations. If they don't pass the test, they don't get a license. You get to try the test once a year. Once you pass, you have to retake the test every 10 years until your 60th birthday, and then every 5 years after that. This would open up a whole new cottage industry: professional drivers. It also might force us to rethink development and urban planning. It would also drastically change the composition of our economy.

Consider how much of our economic energy is devoted to the automobile. If, over a 10 year span, we reduced the number of persons allowed to operate motor vehicles by 25%, the impact on the economy would be enormous. Even if you offered that 25% of the population alternatives (such as speed governed electronic vehicles for use in towns and cities), the economic shift would be of epic proportions. Not only would the automobile manufacturers take a huge hit, the oil companies would also see bottom line numbers drop significantly. Suddenly living in towns with centralized services and stores would be much more attractive to large segments of the population. Both public transportation and private livery services would gain in economic importance.

The more I think about it, the more I think this is an idea whose time has come. Personally, I think I will have at least another 20 years of being able to pass such a driving test. And, when it comes time for me to become a pedestrian, I will probably shoot myself...no, just kidding...I hope I will be able to accept aging (and the concomitant slowing of both physical body and mind) gracefully. God knows that the last thing I want to be is one of those elderly drivers who are a danger to both themselves and others. On the other hand, though, my Grandmother when in her 80s, still drove as fast or faster than I did at that same time...and I was only in my 20s. So, I have hope that I have inherited her continuing quickness of mind and reflex. (The two things that finally stopped her were her eyes and her arthritis: came a time when she just couldn't see well enough to drive safely anymore and, even if she could see clearly, the arthritis pretty much left her crippled.)

Yep,definitely an idea whose time has come...

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. ©El Zorro Viejo 2002-2005