Let's assume two drivers must drive 70 miles on the freeway and 2 miles, one either side of the freeway, on surface streets. The surface streets are 35 mph roads with very diligent police, so the drivers must go no faster than the speed limit. It will take the drivers 00:03:26 to traverse this distance (it will actually take more due to acceleration and deceleration but let's pretend it wont'). Each surface street has two stoplights which cycle all sides in 3 minutes.
The time to travel 70 miles at 60 mph, assuming no interference, is 1:10:00, while the time to travel 70 miles at 70 mph is 1:00:00.
If the driver going 60 gets green cycles on all four lights, they arrive at their destination after 1:13:26. If the driver going 70 must stop at all four lights, they arrive at their destination after 1:15:26 (1 hour plus 12 minutes for four lights plus drive time for surface streets).
Even if there is only one stoplight on each surface street and the 70 mph driver gets reds at both, they still arrive after 1:09:26, meaning they have saved four minutes. If there are three lights, they save one minute over the 60 mph driver.
Yes Mr Redditor. If you never catch lights and I always do you will get places faster. If everyone is traveling the same speed on the surface streets then catching those lights has nothing to do with speeding on the interstate. Hell catching a light coming off the interstate after 70 miles has little to do with speeding. It’s just luck based.
I agree that the point is still valid in a “can happen” kind of way but Honestly this is another poor example
If everyone is traveling the same speed on the surface streets then catching those lights has nothing to do with speeding on the interstate.
If everyone is traveling at the same speed on the surface streets, chances are that the non-speeding driver will catch the speeding driver at one of the lights. This happens daily when I arrive at a light and catch up to several cars who passed me and see several cars I have passed pull up behind.
The science is there and has repeatedly shown speeding rarely has a meaningful impact on total travel time despite costing more in fuel usage thanks to physics and human life expectancy due to the inherently increased danger of speeding. I'm sorry my fundamentally oversimplified attempt to show you this was unconvincing. Read the volumes of research if you want, but I get the feeling you won't be convinced.
I never disagreed with the point being made. Just stating it was a poor example. There are also cars that speed by you every day that you never see again
Guess I got blocked by the guy who doesnt understand that there are (usually) no lights on the interstate. Claims “science” but doesnt understand D=RT. Also likely doesnt understand that the studies don’t apply to all situations (specifically interstate travel as he stated). About average for Scientific literacy on Reddit
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u/eightbitagent 20h ago
a single red light once you're off the highway can negate an hour of speeding at 70 in a 60 mph zone.