this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2025
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No Stupid Questions

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Example: Traffic Speed. Everyone always exceed the speed limit on highways. Why do we still have the limit? Like, either enforce it, or remove it. This stuff doesn't make sense at all.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Traffic speed? If you know where all the speed cameras are, you could dodge them and hope there are no other police checking you.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Oh, about that: China also randomly flies drones that patrols the highways. Of couse, that's getting into the Authoritarian territory, and people in Democracies don't like it, but it is an option.

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[–] jerkface 0 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

just magically "enforce" it with no unintended consequences, please

[–] [email protected] 99 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Because it can be enforced selectively, and if everyone is guilty of something, anyone in particular can be harassed under the cover of a legal justification.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yep. And in some places, one can see the enforcement is against minoritites and other scape goats at a disproportionate level. This also has the "bonus" of being able to make one group look like they break the law much more often and are dangerous

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[–] adespoton 61 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Aside from selective enforcement, some laws (like traffic laws) are there for your protection AND to establish liability if something goes wrong.

If the government sets the limit at 30 and everyone goes 50, when an incident occurs, nobody can sue the city for bad roads because everyone was going faster than the intended speed.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Also establishes expectations. Every on the highway knows what the expected speed is. Going 30 in a 65 is way more dangerous than doing 75 when conditions allow.

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 week ago (1 children)

They exist just in case they need to crack down on you.

I always think of dog leash laws this way. In many places they aren’t enforced and the majority of dog owners let their dogs off leash. However, if the owner loses control of their dog and it gets into trouble, like biting someone or another dog, then the law can always say, you’re liable because your dog was supposed to be on leash.

I think the same goes for speeding and other laws. It basically puts liability on the lawbreaker if they take a certain risk. If nothing bad happens, fine. But, if something does, then it’s your fault.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This has the unintended consequence of people not knowing about the law if it goes unenforced for a long time.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Not knowing the law isn't an excuse before the law in most circumstances.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago

Which makes this an issue since no one will go read the whole list of laws

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 week ago

You seem to be assuming that people would keep driving as they currently do if we removed speed limits entirely. I'd be willing to bet that this is not the case. Most drivers have a number in mind on how much they're willing to exceed the speed limit. For me that is 5 - 10kph, so if the limit is 60kph, then you're not going to catch me going 80. Without speed limits I probably would.

So why do we have such laws? Because they work. Not perfectly but to some extent.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago (4 children)

This sounds like a distinctly cultural problem where the word 'limit' clearly doesn't mean very much to the population in question.

It's a limit, not a target, and certainly not a floor as some USAsians seem to treat it.

Here in Australia you can be fined for exceeding the limit by less than 10km/h. Yes, even if you are 1km/h over, and whilst this would probably get thrown out in court you'd still have to take time off to attend court.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

It's a limit, not a target, and certainly not a floor

It depends what it is. In some nations limits are reasonable and therefore obeyed while in others they are way too low and therefore commonly ignored.

Too strict laws like this lead to people disregarding it. Even worse, it may even lead to other sections of the same subject law being disregarded, because if it is commonly acknowledged that one section of specific law is ridiculous, why not the others.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago

In general speed limits are enforced IMO, just within a certain level. IE yes everyone exceeds the speed limit... but typically by set amounts. IE I know myself I generally go 9 over the speed limit. I expect to get a ticket if I go 11-20 over the speed limit.

That being said, yeah the social construct is probably intentionally encouraged by cops, so that say when they are pulling over random minorities for an excuse to search the car, they have an automatic excuse for why they pulled them over.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago (14 children)

You're not expected to break them. For your example, you're not supposed to go over the speed limit. And it is, in fact, extremely easy to do so. Most people are fine with it. And, no, it's not impossible to do so. There is nothing forcing you to go faster for little to no gain and increased risk for you and other.

You expecting to go over tells something about you.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm too German to understand what's here.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

How do you get your licence in Germany?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

Driver's license? Why?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Do you think traffic speeds aren't enforced? Just because they can't do it effectively because they don't have the resources or man power doesn't mean they don't try.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I live in the south of France. I see cops cars using speed radars once a year. Once a fucking year. They do NOT enforce anything. If they did, half the population would be unemployed.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (7 children)

Anecdotally, I’ve almost never get pulled over in traffic, but the one time I was pulled over, I was doing 76 in a 65 at 5 AM with no other cars on the road and otherwise driving completely fine.

I guess he was bored. Or an asshole. Or both.

Edit: Fixed my paradox

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[–] cyberpunk007 5 points 1 week ago

Take jaywalking for example. Most people aren't going to be bothered by some woman crossing the street when no cars are around.

Is it worth a cops time who's within eyeshot to do anything about it? Waste of resources, she's not endangering anyone.

Same situation but cars are all over, some swerving to avoid or slam on their breaks because she blindly runs out. She gets hit or cars pile into each other.

Cops in eyeshot. Well the drivers certainly are not the ultimate cause of this accident.

That's my guess anyways.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

Tools in the toolbox. You'll often hear about police saying they need more tools in the toolbox. What it means is they want to be able to enforce laws against somebody they don't like selectively.

If you enforce the speed limit religiously, especially around State capitals, the speed limits would rapidly change.

https://archive.org/details/threefeloniesday0000silv

If this topic interests you, I recommend reading three felonies a day, by Harvey silverglate

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