Paul, at 08:45 on Mar 19 1997, you wrote to David Drummond ...

RH>>>> Speed does not kill, stupidity, poor driving skills, 
RH>>>> inability to correctly anticapate traffic and Volvo's are 
RH>>>> our biggest problems.

PE>>> Doubling the speed limit will increase the number of 
PE>>> deaths, assuming everything else is held constant.  It's 
PE>>> as basic as that.

Educating the drivers would halve the number of deaths.  It's as basic as that.

DD>> Ah, so exceeding the speed limit is NOT the cause, it's how 
DD>> fast one goes?

PE> Think about a 100k zone, where most fatalities occur, and 
PE> you'll realise they're one and the same.

A year or three ago I was ticketed for doing 100kph in an 80 zone.  I was
sure it was a 100 zone, so the next weekend I went back along that way and
looked for the speed signs.

Sure enough there was a 100kph sign.

I didn't pay the ticket and waited for the court case to come up.

In court the prosecuting officer produced evidence that the 80 zone had
been changed to a 100 zone the day AFTER my ticket.

I was declared guilty.

Was I any more likely to have an accident because the sign said 80 than if
it said 100?


David
@EOT:

--- Msgedsq/2 3.10