Should the goverment be more strict on driving laws?

Fujoshi

Some laws need to be enforced with more vigger but some laws are just pointless... Unfortunately the laws are designed to keep the stupid among us safe...

The speed limits are 55mph because there are retarded people that can't control their vehicle.

In the South West they raised the speed limits to 75mph in some areas and it actually INCREASED safety and reduced wrecks because there were no longer 50% going above 55mph and 50% below 55mph.

Either you go 80mph or you stay in the slow lane... Or find another rout.

What I can't stand is that it seems as if some people are physically incapable of using a fooking turn signal.

I don't care if it is 3:00 am and I'm the only person awake for 100 miles... I WILL STILL USE MY TURN SIGNAL.

It is just the smart thing to do.

Also, when I'm on the highway I ALWAYS keep 2 car lengths open in front of me.

No if's ands or buts!

People will take advantage of this and cut me off but screw it, getting angry helps no one so I just back off of him and keep on my merry way...

Unless your doing something SUPER dangerous, the cops in IL won't give you a second look... In fact, if they 'see' you do something but don't feel like pulling you over they will actually look away or hold up a hand to block their view.

They need to crack down everywhere but if you have ever driven though a black neighborhood... You understand why they have red light cameras every other block... They are just the most ignorant drivers I have ever encountered... No turn signals, cutting you off, drivng on the shoulder of the road to get around the wait, and the one's on foot! They are incapable of walking on the side walk... Sometimes they will walk right in the middle of the street, walking DOWN the street, for no apparent reason. Crossing against the light even in rush hour traffic... Then they get pissed off when you almost hit them. ... IGNORANT PEOPLE. This isn't racist... It is a fact of life... If you think it is racist then you haven't had to spend a lot of time driving through the neighborhoods... But then, if the cops actually stop them and ticket them, it is "Racist" and "Racial Profileing". It is so much easer to drop the race card then to have to pay for a ticket.

I have never encountered such driving in any other neighborhood, town, city, state, even COUNTRY as I have here in these neighborhoods of Chicago.

Or all the rich people in Scottsdale Arizona... They run red lights (EVEN WITH THE CAMERAS) because it is eaiser to just pay the ticket then to have to stop at the red light and have to wait like some poor person... The statistics on the driving patterns of Scottsdale are SHOCKING.

It all boils down to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILTY and treating EVERYONE equal...

If you break a law then the cops should pull you over... Of course that means that we would need a LOT more cops because if all of them were busy writing up teeny-bopper Stacy for using a cell phone and not using a turn signal then there would be less cops out there to take care of the REAL stuff like rape, murder, and theft...

It is a give and take...

Take cops away from one area and you leave a void.

What is more important?

logicalgal

There are a lot of good points in all of these answers.
Enforcement of laws is paramount. Trouble is......not enough officers on the roads.....
As humans, we all have talent, we all have skills, but we all lack self-discipline.
No one of us should be too self-righteous because we all make mistakes and take the occasional short cut.
99% of the time we get away with it. 1% of the time we get caught, either by getting into a crash or getting a ticket.
I have seen 4 crashes this week, one causing the death of a passenger in a tractor-trailer unit on early morning winter roads with overnight snow......if people (both laymen an professional drivers) would only slow down and develop some patience.....but that's the world we live in.......a sign of the times.......mistrust in government activity, lack of accountability, living our own agenda without concern for others.......
All one can do is try to keep oneself safe and consider others......despite our frustrations with others.....tough to do!

thud.fan

The laws are there.. We know what they are...It's the enforcement...There are not nearly enough motor officers to flag the miscreants who put everybody around them in jeopardy with their stupid driving habits.

The answer is to equip every vehicle with a transponder that IDs the owner, registration and license no. and reads direction and speed of vehicle..Then install receivers on every non-residential street (at 2 mile intervals) and highway (at 4 mile intervals) to pick up data from the transponder ..Kind of how it is done with aircraft being tracked by radar...When someone exceeds the speed parameters on any given road, a citation is automatically issued to the owner...Dash cams should also be installed in vehicles to record how a driver operates a vehicle - just the way it is done with police vehicles today...Downloaded video can be used as evidence of traffic violation.

Come up with a device in a vehicle that could read the speed limit for any street or highway...when the vehicle exceeds the speed limit, a voice will warn the driver to slow down.

Just some ideas

not

Thats the problem we have with all laws. They are not being enforced. Government is coming up with new laws to fix things that wouldn't be broken if the current laws where enforced. I like that you see a problem besides speeding, somehow people are brainwashed into thinking speeding is the only infraction. On my less than 20 miles driven everyday I will ALLWAYS see someone cross the double yellow, block an intersection, fail to yeild right of way,pass on shoulder, no signals and very often I see people run stop sign, run red light. Cops are allways hiding near a common spot that he'll catch speeders(AKA a spot where the majority of society speeds.). It seems to me if they enforced the other laws that people would be losing their licenses for all their infractions. Everything about driving would be ironed out if people that didn't know how to handle a car were off the road. Half or more of the people that are catagorized as road rage have just cause to be pissed off; how long can anyone that actually know how to handle a vehicle stand to drive with these idiots before getting mad. Of course people are brainwashed into beleiveing the mad person to be the cause of the problem so new laws were made and no progress towards fixing the problem. You're right these ignored laws need to be enforced and followed, fact is it's not gonna happen. You need to ignore problems such as this, the average person doesn't even know there's a problem. If you don't ignore these problems you'll end up labeled a road rager and become a target. This country is all about what is fair not what is safe and sensible, just so happens it's fair to let everyone drive.

politicallyincorrect

Absolutely. On the autobahn in Germany the speed is unlimited. You have cars going 120mph all day long and their safety record is better than any interstate in the US.

Why? because they strictly enforce traffic laws! Its that simple. If you so much as tailgate, you get a ticket. If you drive slow in the left lane, you get a ticket.

UCANTCME

Yes they should but not just over fifty, every age once every two years.

MARCH 2008

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year olds.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,490 drivers in this age group died in motor vehicle crashes in 2006 and an additional 272,000 were injured.

Drivers age 15- to 20-years old accounted for 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes.

Twenty-five percent of teen drivers killed were intoxicated. In 2002 (latest data available) the estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 was $40.8 billion, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov ).

Among licensed drivers, young people between the ages of 15 and 20 have the highest rate of fatal crashes relative to other age groups, including the elderly. In fact, the risk of being involved in a fatal crash for teens is three times greater than for drivers age 65 to 69.

Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two main factors leading to the high crash rate among teens.

terrellfastball

Too many drive while distracted, don't use dignals, tailgate, and drive aggresively. Stricter enforcement of traffic laws is called for. Additionally, states need to be more aggressive in revoking the licenses of habitual offenders, and confiscating the vehicles of those caught driving with a suspended, revoked, or no license.

Turtle 6

NO -- Enforce the ones we already have. I have heard that the increase in speed limit in the southwest has increased safety; maybe it's time to do it elsewhere.

Where I live, I'm lucky if I see 1 out of 200 people make a legal stop:

1. Behind the wide white line -- lets walkers through crosswalk.
2, Behind the STOP sign if no white line.
3. Come to a discernable COMPLETE stop.

I see them slow down, then take off. I even see them just rolling through without slowing down.

And they REALLY need to enforce the noise ordinances -- it's 75 feet here. I've had the windows rattle in my house, and the car is at the other end the block. If you even think of asking them politely, they threaten you with bodily harm.

As a sidelight, we should adopt the old Soviet Union limit for drunk driving -- 0.0; you get caught, you get shot.

loco_tech85

Absolutely, especially with regards to speeding tickets where an individual is charged with travelling at or more than 100mph. There is no legitimate reason to be travelling that fast #1, and furthermore, a lot of roads are not built/designed or maintained properly enough where that would be safe. In essence that car is travelling @ 150 ft/second, that's not driving that's aiming and it's a 3,000 lb. bomb waiting to explode. More often than not, these vehicles are being driven by individuals between the ages of 18-30.

In NY, where I live and work, the minimum fine for something like this is only $180 + a $50 surcharge, it needs to be higher and have a mandatory suspension.

bungee

I think everyone under 30 needs to be retested every year to see if they are safe.

Boosted 2

I think over 50 need to take a more extensive test to make sure they are suitable to drive!!

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