Unbelievable

[Jeffy25]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3910921

[Steve13]

they shouldnt let people play sports who dont have an IQ over 80...

[actionjackson]

"...and try to keep my kids out of harm's way..."

Umm, by driving 55 mph over the limit (90 mph in a 35 mph zone) with one of your kids (hopefully you are not "blessed" with any more than 1) unrestrained in the car? Wow, you sir have a very different definition of "out of harm's way" than I or dare I say any sane human being: parent or not has. Fine to put yourself at risk, but an innocent 3 year old and the other people on the road? Oye, oh well I guess this is just a natural extension of the culture of entitlement that begins very early for gifted athletes. Thankfully, not all of them turn out this way.

[Arctic Blast]

Absolute idiot.

[filihok]

Wow...looks like SportsMogul forum users are amongst the few in society who never speed.

Let thee who is without sin cast the first stone.

[HoustonGM]

Wow...looks like SportsMogul forum users are amongst the few in society who never speed.

I don't it's the simple speeding that people are taking issue with, but, even so, I think that the number of people that go 55 MPH over the speed limit ARE few.

[BINGLEBOP]

I don't it's the simple speeding that people are taking issue with, but, even so, I think that the number of people that go 55 MPH over the speed limit ARE few.

Agreed, I think the bigger issue here is his unrestrained 3-year-old son in the car. I'm sure everybody has gone over the speed limit before, but common sense would hopefully apply when you have a CHILD in the vehicle with you.

[ragecage]

I have gone 90-110 on a highway (in a truck and a 4 wheeler) on rare occasions, but going 90 in a 35 is just insanity. I have never done anything that rediculous. Kids dont play on the highway, they play in areas like that.

[boomboom]

I have gone 90-110 on a highway (in a truck and a 4 wheeler) on rare occasions, but going 90 in a 35 is just insanity. I have never done anything that rediculous. Kids dont play on the highway, they play in areas like that.

I agree, I used to own an 78' El Camino, the speedometer only goes to 80MPH, I had it going over the limit on the el camino a few times, I believe i was going about 110, but this was a desert highway. It was freaken awesome, I wish I were 16 again

Having your son/daughter in the car, plus they are not in a car seat (depending on age and height) is crazy. If I were the mother, I would want to kill him.

[PhillipMG]

90 in a 35 is beyond idiotic. I hit 100 on the highway, but you don't have little kids chasing balls or dogs running into streets.

[filihok]

I think the issue is that anyone who breaks traffic laws are putting their lives and the lives of anyone who happens to be in the area at the time at risk.

[CatKnight]

Yes, filihok. That's one of the two issues.


I also don't think the issue is speeding per se. It's a matter of degree: Certainly I've sped. I think my lifetime record is 80 in a 65 zone or 45-50 in a 35: Ticket worthy, but not really insane.

The speed limit laws are there for a reason. We're welcome to disagree with the specific reasoning, but if that road was slated for 35, then someone somewhere decided that given the road's condition, its twists and turns, and expected traffic that 35 was reasonable. There is the potential for pedestrians on most roads with that speed limit.

I can control a vehicle doing 45 or 50 in a 35. If I'm the other guy, I have decent odds of getting out of the way if someone going that speed is on the road with me.

NINETY? No, the odds of someone getting creamed are much, much higher when you're going that fast...and despite the best intentions in the world, Richards wouldn't have had time to do anything about it.

Not having the kid restrained was reckless endangerment. Period. If Richards had to swerve, or if he hit something....well, I could draw some gory pictures. Needless to say he wouldn't have survived.

It says in the article he was also cited on 12/21 for a possible DWI. This guy really needs to get his head on straight...

[TheNamelessPoet]

Noone pointed this out

A Scottsdale police officer first saw Richardson driving 67 mph in a 40 mph zone Sunday night and followed him, police said Monday. That's when the officer clocked him at 90 mph in a 35 mph zone and pulled him over.

um why didne they pull him over at 67?

[StreetMedic]

The speed limit laws are there for a reason. We're welcome to disagree with the specific reasoning, but if that road was slated for 35, then someone somewhere decided that given the road's condition, its twists and turns, and expected traffic that 35 was reasonable. There is the potential for pedestrians on most roads with that speed limit.

We often discuss this sort of thing in our trauma and vehicle rescue training and education.

You may be surprised, CatK, to find (I was) that the starting point for a lot of speed limits is simply determined by the 85th Percentile rule. Traffic Engineers apparently note that most motorists are capable, on their own, of selecting a safe driving speed for any given stretch of roadway. (Now I'm the first one to say you sure wouldn't think so, to watch the pandemonium that comprises an average morning or afternoon commute, but, evidently, the data do bear this out.) So, when they're looking to set a speed limit, they use the number at which 85% of the local traffic, along that route, will be in compliance with the limit they set.

Now, that seems, at first blush, to be sort of putting the cart before the horse, no? Yet, as it turns out, it seems that 85% is probably a bit conservative, as there is a pretty decent drop-off in accident frequency between the 85th and 90th percentiles. It would appear, at least in general, faster drivers go faster (however unconsciously) because they are competent to do so.

Obviously, though, these guys must merely start at 85%, and then factor in roadway features, local zoning, etc., to arrive at the final, statutory speed limit.

These traffic gurus have also long acknowledged another observation, which CatK comes very close to nailing:

I also don't think the issue is speeding per se. It's a matter of degree

The issue, in actuality, is not the absolute speeds of the roadways, as much as it is the separation between the fastest and slowest drivers. If everyone's doing 75mph, things are a heck of a lot safer than if some drivers are doing 35 and some are doing 55. The wider that separation becomes, the dicier things get on the roadway. I'm sure most of us witness this dynamic first-hand (pointing at you, Rage , professional driver) when we see swifter drivers begin jockeying to navigate around a much slower driver who's firmly entrenched in the passing lane.

Now, does any of that mean you do 90mph with an unrestrained three-year-old in your vehicle? Hell no!

[haveacigar]

There's a huge difference between putting the public in danger by driving 75 in a 65, and putting the public in danger by driving 90 in a 35. Much like the difference between running with scissors, and doing wind sprints while carrying a loaded gun.

Filihok, I know you are smart enough to understand the distinction, so I wonder what point you're trying to make.