Misnomer

We call them speed LIMITS - those signs posted on our roadways telling us how fast we are allowed to drive. But drivers look at that number as a bottom limit, not a top one. If we can drive 55, God forbid we should go 54! And in fact, the expectation is that you will go somewhere around 10 mph OVER the speed LIMIT.


Mind boggling to think that the first official speed limit was 10mph! (The second speed limit reduced it to 4mph in the country and 2 in town!). Can you imagine how difficult is would have been to assign a speed limit to dirt roads traveled by horses, pedestrians, and model Ts?


I am careful to let those crazy drivers by when I see them zooming up on me from behind even when I am already doing the requisite 10 miles over the posted limit. Just because they are speed demons does not require me to be one. Besides, if they can't get themselves going in the morning and place themselves in a position of having to speed in order to get to work on time, that's not my concern. My concern is that their stupidity does not cause me damage.


Some places do post lower limits - not under 40 mph for example. But I wonder how angry people would get if someone was out for a leisurely drive, preferring to actually take the time to see their surroundings instead of focusing on arriving at a destination. What if they reverted to driving 10 mph? Do you think they would be allowed to reach their destination alive and in one piece?


In this day and age? I suspect not. Speed limit is a misnomer. There are no limits. We can do anything we want, legal or no. Or can we? Or should we?