What do you guys think.....should we eliminate speed limit laws?

After nearly getting hit by a car going 150 miles per hour on I44 one night... No way!

We might as well. When I get on any interstate or highway system, the speed limit is normally disregarded by the majority of the motorists, and it is certainly evident that the speed limit laws are not being enforced very much by law enforcement officials.

Every once in a while, you will see OHP or OKC Police motorcyle officers doing a "sting" in a certain area, however, that is only a bandaid to the problem.

In all actuality, we do need the speed limit laws in order to protect all drivers on the rode, however, we also need more law enforcement presence. It would not bother me to go along a mile stretch of the interstate and see cars lined up on the shoulder waiting to be cited for speeding. If OHP and OCPD would enforce the law, maybe motorists would slow down.

Reasonable speed limits would help. 75/70 on some stretches of absolutely open road is just not reasonable considering the abilities of cars on the road today.

I'd say 85/80 would be far more reasonable -- and in some places, any speed limit at all is pretty unreasonable. Anyone ever been on I-70 between Wichita and Denver?

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No we should not get rid of the laws.

Anything over 80 is way too fast, even on an open road. Can you imagine what would happen if you blew a tire out going that fast? It would not be pretty. Not having a speed limit is totally ridiculous.

I normally don't agree with you on very much, but on this one I do. going over 80 is very dangerous. We need stricter enforcement of the law. Unfortunately, many officers speed in their patrol cars because they can get away with it, and they are the ones that are suppose to set the example to other drivers.

How to you argue that 80 is too fast? In Germany, certain sections of their highways have no speed limit (unless it's raining) and the accident rates simply haven't skyrocketed.

How much worse is a crash at 80 than at 60 or 55? There's such considerable force in either situation that in terms of threat to life, I just don't see that large a difference.

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In Germany, though, you're expected to know how to drive. Around here, they hand out drivers' licenses like party favors: you have to be woefully inept to miss out.

I don't start getting really antsy on the road until I get over 90 or so, but I'm way more comfortable in the 80-85 mph range. This does not mean, I hasten to add, that I'm going to go Zoom Zoom up the Lake Hefner Parkway at 85.

The German Autobahn is almost twice as thick as our normal highways and is a heck of alot smoother and is maintained better than ours is.

As windowphobe said, you have to go through a series of classes in order to get licensed to drive, and you have to be 18.....I think...it might even be 21. I was in Germany back in the early 90's, and I thought the Autobahn was great.

One thing Germany did different. The Autobahn did have a speedlimit on the right lanes. It was the far left lane that didn't have a speedlimit. In Germany they enforce the notion that the left lane is for passing and fast drivers. If you're in the left lane driving slow, and a driver comes up behind you fast, and flashes his lights at you, you better move. If you don't move, the driver is legally entiteled to run you over...seriously. Also, the far right lane is for entering and exiting the highway ONLY. This is highly enforced.

Speed limits and red lights in Germany are enforced with cameras. That prevents the need to pay so many offices. In fact, my dad was stuck in an intersection in Germany when the light turned red. He was driving his brother's car. His brother got a ticket in the mail about a month later. The cameras apparently take a picture of your license plate. License plates are much larger over there, and are on the front and back of the vehicles.

Ok I know, I know this is a little off topic, but talk about setting an example. This guy needs to be thrown in jail and fired.

The comment before the article is not mine, it was in the e mail my buddy sent me.

ON DESK DUTY??? Anyone else would be in jail! If he runs the Drunk Driving task force he should be
jailed, fired and heavily fined. Ya wonder why I hate Cops. I bet he would treat you like crap if he pulled you
over while drinking and driving yourself. I supposed Bruce and the rest see no problem with this either?


Police Report: Deputy Had Alcohol In County Car
POSTED: 8:05 pm EST January 17, 2006
UPDATED: 8:19 pm EST January 17, 2006
DETROIT -- Records show a Wayne County sheriff's sergeant had a nearly empty bottle of rum and four unopened beer cans in his cruiser when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. Timothy Olszewski is an 18-year sheriff's department veteran who runs a drunken driving enforcement unit. The state police gave him a ticket for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated last month. An arraignment is scheduled next Tuesday. Police reports show Olszewski's blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when troopers arrived at a one-car crash in Plymouth Township.The rum was found under the passenger seat, while the beer was next to Olszewski. He was alone. The sergeant has been placed on desk duty.

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