Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!genrad!mit-eddi!smh
From: smh@mit-eddi.UUCP (Steven M. Haflich)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: re: scott preece on 55mph
Message-ID: <291@mit-eddi.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 23-Jun-83 21:47:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.291
Posted: Thu Jun 23 21:47:12 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 24-Jun-83 22:09:38 EDT
References: utcsstat.707
Lines: 26

FLAME FLAME FLAME FLAME
	"the statistics I have ... "
What statistics?  Where from?  It wasn't even clear from your posting
which conclusion you were drawing:
	1) The same number of people will be killed if more or less
	   everyone drives 75 as 55, or
	2) Chances of being killed in a crash are about the same if
	   one crashes from 75 as from 55.
The first "conclusion" might stand somehow -- arguments about number
of driving hours increasing have already appeared on the net -- although
I doubt it.  The second "conclusion" is very strange. You doubt that
the curve relating liklihood of injury/death per accident and speed
is smooth?  Whatever the shape of the ciurve, it is unlikely to be
particularly discontinuous!  The question is whether there is a
significant difference between 55 and 70 or 75.  Again, the old
engineering terminology -- "finding the knee in the curve" --
comes to mind.

You might at least make clear which of the two assumptions you
are flaming^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hsupporting (sic).  But remember, the
distance you travel after deciding to panic stop (or whatever)
goes up (in first order approximation) with the SQUARE of speed
(or rate of velocity, or speed of rate of integral d^2x/dt^2, or...).
Try typing "scale=4 \n (70/55)^2" at bc some time.
				Steve Haflich
				genrad!mit-eddie!smh