[cybermuda]

To be fair, NJblue, the whole jay-walking argument has been introduced into this thread as a straw man, to be knocked down in the hope of trying to prove that ticketing speeders is a waste of police time.

Most people who have argued here that speeding should be discouraged have expressed no opinion on jay-walking, so it is incorrect to make the assumption that they are also in favor of police spending time ticketing jay-walkers.

I personally am in favor of discouraging speeding, but do not care whether or not people jay-walk. Why? Because if I get hit by a jay-walker coming out of Ambrosia I may get some ice cream on me – annoying but hardly serious. If I get hit by a speeding vehicle…

The initial question in this thread basically asked at what level above the speed limit do you think action should be taken by the police.

Remember that the energy of a collision is a product of the square of the speed. So a vehicle travelling at 40 mph would have an impact energy of 1,600 units; almost double the 900 units of a vehicle travelling at 30 mph. That could be the difference between a broken leg and being killed.

And, frankly, I’d rather have ice cream on me.

[Talk Host]

Originally Posted by cybermuda

To be fair, NJblue, the whole jay-walking argument has been introduced into this thread as a straw man, to be knocked down in the hope of trying to prove that ticketing speeders is a waste of police time.

Most people who have argued here that speeding should be discouraged have expressed no opinion on jay-walking, so it is incorrect to make the assumption that they are also in favor of police spending time ticketing jay-walkers.

I personally am in favor of discouraging speeding, but do not care whether or not people jay-walk. Why? Because if I get hit by a jay-walker coming out of Ambrosia I may get some ice cream on me – annoying but hardly serious. If I get hit by a speeding vehicle…

The initial question in this thread basically asked at what level above the speed limit do you think action should be taken by the police.

Remember that the energy of a collision is a product of the square of the speed. So a vehicle travelling at 40 mph would have an impact energy of 1,600 units; almost double the 900 units of a vehicle travelling at 30 mph. That could be the difference between a broken leg and being killed.

And, frankly, I’d rather have ice cream on me.

What a great, well thought out, well phrased post. I wish I could think, talk and write that clearly and succinctly.