§After the repeal of the
NMSL, NHTSAÕs legacy of 25 years and
hundreds of thousands dependant on enforcing the NMSL needed new
justification for their very existence. To meet this crisis for the agency and its constituents, NHTSA
hired an ad agency to invent new traffic offenses,
justifications and slogans, including zero tolerance.
§Remember
NHTSAÕs strong objection to
properly engineered speed limits? Well compare its newly
invented zero tolerance threshold to what NHTSA actually knew in 1995, when the USDOT subjugated the FHWA research group that
authored the following;
¥ Samuel
C. Tignor and Davey Warren. "Driver Speed Behavior on U.S. Streets and
Highways." Institute of Transportation
Engineers: 1990 Compendium of Technical Papers, PUB# PP-020 (FHWA and
AASHTO)
¥ ÒIt would be premature to draw any firm conclusions since the
research is still underway. However the findings to date suggest that, on average, current speed
limits are set too low to be accepted as reasonable by the vast majority of the drivers. Only about 1 in 10 speed
zones has better than 50 percent compliance. The posted limits make technical violators out of motorists
driving at reasonable and safe speeds.
¥ For the traffic law system to
minimize accident risk, then speed limits need to be properly set to define maximum safe speed. Our studies show that most speed zones
are posted 8 to 12 mi/h below the prevailing travel speed and 15 mi/h or more below the maximum safe
speed. Increasing speed limits to more realistic levels will not result in higher speeds but would increase
voluntary compliance and target enforcement at the occasional violator and high risk driver.