[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.