Speeding Doesn’t Get You There Faster

When I talk about speeding, I don’t mean driving 5 MPH over the speed limit.  As far as I’m concerned, 5 MPH over the speed limit is the speed limit.  But, once you get near 15 MPH over the speed limit and you start tailgating me, you’re pushing it.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Speeding.jpg

Let’s do some math.

In the standard 45 MPH zone:

A car driving 50 MPH will cover 1 mile of road in 3600/50 = 72 seconds.

A car driving 60 MPH will cover 1 mile of road in 3600/60 = 60 seconds.

Assuming you live 5 miles away from your school and assuming the whole path is a 45 MPH zone (which it isn’t):

The 50 MPH car will arrive in 72 x 5 = 360 seconds = 6 minutes.

The 60 MPH car will arrive in 60 x 5 = 300 seconds = 5 minutes.

You just saved one whole minute by driving 15 MPH over the speed limit, endangering other civilians and potentially getting a ticket.  Good job asshole.  By the way, you’re still late for class.

You may argue that the time saved from speeding adds up as distance increases.  Using the previous conditions, you save 1 minute for every 5 miles you drive.  The area of Los Angeles is about 500 square miles, making the furthest points of the city about 25 miles apart (1).  Driving a distance of 25 miles across the whole city of Los Angeles, the maximum time you can save is 5 minutes.  If you were already 5 minutes and 1 second behind schedule, you would still be late for class.

In case you forgot, there are also these things called “stop lights.”  They make your speed 0 MPH, so everybody else can catch up to you.

Stay tuned for: “People who drive 50 MPH on the freeway.”

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles#cite_note-1