I-285 @ 55

[Roxie]

See the video here (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5366552067462745475&q=meditation+speed)

from ajc.com

Drive 55, try to stay alive
Students tempt the fates, get it on film, and make big news

By ARIEL HART
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/03/06

They knew it was dangerous.

"We could have really been hurt," said one of the Atlanta college students after their experiment.

"I was pretty sure that I was doing something stupid," said another.

That may be true. But, young and brash, they had a plan.

They wanted to go the speed limit on I-285.

In four cars, on all four lanes, the students from Georgia State University and other local colleges paced the entire midmorning flow of Perimeter traffic behind them at 55 mph for half an hour. They call it "an act of civil obedience."

"I get a lot of tickets," said Andy Medlin, 20, the Georgia State student who came up with the idea. "The best way to expose the flaws in the system is by following it."

Thankfully, they survived unharmed, though much maligned. The eight students captured it all on video for a student film competition, and the five-minute piece has fired up the country this week on blogs, talk radio, and national news broadcasts.

"NPR was the first biter," said Jordan Streiff, 21, the group's experienced filmmaker and an Asian Studies major at Georgia State. "Initially, we were going to be on ABC's cable network and Web site, but overnight the traffic to the video spiked so they put it on World News Tonight."

The film, "A Meditation on the Speed Limit," was intended as a drama, but won best comedy for Georgia last month at the Campus MovieFest, a traveling movie competition. It will compete against other states' winners for a national title later this spring, said David Roemer, one of the film festival's founders.

In the meantime, driven by blog attention to the video that Streiff posted on Google, a national discussion has bloomed about what is legal and what is right. One of the filmmakers, Georgia State student Amanda Hunter, was interviewed about it on Neal Boortz's radio show on WSB.

"It's just so overwhelming," Hunter said Thursday, after leaving a midterm exam on Sufism and Islamic mysticism. "Jordan's calling me today like, 'Do you have time for CBS?' I called him back and he said, 'Don't worry about that now, just take your test.'"

David Spear, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said if the students weren't blocking emergency vehicles and were going the speed limit, "they didn't do a thing wrong." Spear added that the speed limit was lowered to 55 because it saves lives. "In Atlanta, the actual effect of it is we expect the people going 75 to move over so the people going 95 can have the right of way," he said.

There was little doubt what the students' companions on the road thought that sunny Friday in January. The video shows drivers' steadily mounting hostility to the blockade. Cars honk. They drive onto the shoulder to speed around the students. Obscene gestures are made. The money shot, however, was captured beautifully by Hunter, who stood with her camera on the Church Street bridge over I-285 to watch the approaching traffic.

What she saw was ... nothing. An empty highway, with one or two stray cars. And then, like the hordes on the horizon, over the rise come the students backed by a phalanx of cars, cars, cars. The film plays it for all it's worth, bouncing the image back and forth to the funky beat of the Guru Fish song "Plush."

"It was so fantastic," said Hunter. "I just started jumping up and down and going crazy. There's beeping horns and craziness."

Then it passed, Hunter said, and a woman driving on the bridge stopped and asked, "What was the point of all that?"

Hunter explained the project. It was to make people think, she said.

The woman amicably rolled her eyes, Hunter recalled. "It was kind of like, 'Oh, you kids and your statements.'"

[that guy]

David Spear, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said if the students weren't blocking emergency vehicles and were going the speed limit, "they didn't do a thing wrong." Spear added that the speed limit was lowered to 55 because it saves lives. "In Atlanta, the actual effect of it is we expect the people going 75 to move over so the people going 95 can have the right of way," he said.

So, instead of actually doing something, a token law was passed?

[Random]

haha, that's great! :D

[Zensouken]

That's absolutely awesome, it's like something out of the hippie movement! LMAO!

[akitaka]

So, instead of actually doing something, a token law was passed?
Pretty much. They kept it ambiguous at the start, and didn't change a thing; "expect to go 75" when they keep it 55? What? Am I going deaf?

(sigh)

Here in Arizona, they have speed cameras to catch highway speeders. It's causing quite the uproar, but honestly, if anyone has to drive 80+ mph to get to work every day, then I suggest waking up earlier.

What these people did should probably happen more often, so that laws aren't full of bull shit speculation, and are understandable. As for myself, I always follow the 65 mph limit.

[Radiance]

While I do agree that going 55 is dangerous and no one goes below 65 i'm pretty sure the law is right two lanes for driving left two lanes for passing. Though I have to admit, I wish I could have seen that for myself and not be stuck behind it.

[MNJetter]

Does anybody know where a person can see a copy of this video, or even a clip of it?

EDIT: I'm blind, and obviously failed to look at the very top line of the thread. :P

[Roxie]

The link, dear MNJ, the link...Or copy & paste the title of the video into Google's video search..:gwitch:

[slinky]

What I find the most interesting is that they're now saying that 55 is the "safe" speed. I was always under the impression that that was the speed that got the best mileage... Or at least that's what was said when that speed limit was enacted.

Frankly, I rather liked the Montana (after the rescinding of the 55 limit) reaction back to the original limit: Reasonable and prudent.

Big, wide open spaces on a bright day with little traffic in a newish/well-maintained car on a multi-lane divided highway? No reason why 100 mph should be out of the question (and wasn't). THe problem was with the out of staters.

"OOooh! Cool I can drive whatever speed I want!" even if it's icy, cloudy, windy roads, etc. The locals were fine - they had to go along with the rest of the country because the out of staters were too stupid to realize that you don't whip around a shadowed bend at 95 and NOT expect black ice.

The idea is sound. The practice (or, more to the point the people) are not.

Speed limits are arbitrary - 65 in blinding snow or rain? Please. Doesn't reasonable and prudent make more sense? Sadly few drivers actually make sense with regards to their actions.

[c-rex]

You can ticket the student on the left lane for failure to pass. If you sit down and read the law, at least in the states of PA and MI, legally your ass is to be either to be passing in the left lane passing or in the right lane. Technically the cops can ticket you for hanging around in the left lane and not passing the car on your right.

God bless Michigan, where the State Trooper will tailgate me I'm doing 85 in a 70 and angrily signal me to hit the gas. True story. As soon I cleared the truck I was passing and moved over that guy was gone, he had to be doing at least 95-100 mph.

[SDSUMarcus01]

People do that shit all the time in california. I can't tell you how many times some old ass fucktard will drive 55 in the fast lane while the "slow lane" is going 60 on a two lane highway. Without slow cars there, people usually go 80-85.

[Mechs]

We really should do like the German do for the autobahn.
Despite the widespread belief of complete freedom from speed limits (and a lobbying effort that has the same power and deep pockets as the American gun lobby), some speed regulations can be found on the Autobahns. Many sections do indeed have posted limits ranging from 80 to 120 km/h (50-75 mph), particularly those with dangerous curves, in urban areas, near major interchanges, or with unusually constant heavy traffic. In construction zones, the limit may be as low as 60 km/h (37 mph). Also, some sections now feature nighttime and wet-weather speed restrictions, and trucks are always regulated (see table below).
Still, about half the Autobahn system has no speed limit, but there is always an advisory limit of 130 km/h (81 mph). This recommendation is generally seen for what it is-- an attempt by the government to cover itself without having to upset millions of Porsche and BMW owners (AKA voters.) However, if you exceed the advisory limit and are involved in an accident, you could be responsible for some of the damage costs even if you are not at fault.

If you ask me, that system sounds perfect for the United States :D. You have a High, 80 to 90 MPH, in between city areas with little curves. Then you have a speed limit for 50-60 MPH in city areas.

[Ironfrost]

Thanks for your interest in Google Video.

Currently, the playback feature of Google Video isn't available in your country.

We hope to make this feature available more widely in the future, and we really appreciate your patience.

Anyone got a mirror?

EDIT: found one. For anyone else that has this problem, there's a copy at http://homepage.mac.com/campusmoviefest/.Movies/2006/atlanta/ameditationonthespeedlimitaroundtheperimeter.m4v

[Radiance]

As a side note on this subject, i'd also like to note they're angry at the state but the 55 mph speed limit was set by federal regulations. A state can choose not to abide by the law but if they do they lose federal funding for roads. So despite how much I agree with them, or how interesting their test was, the state will not change the speed limit.

[Napsterbater]

I live in Atlanta, how could I have missed this?

Nuts, even though the video wouldn't pull up, I've driven 285 enough to know exactly what would have happened.

[conners]

Let me guess, one of the kids got a speeding ticket and wants to show the man?

I'll second that god bless Michigan state troopers and their complete lack of interest in enforcing speed limits. Also thank you Michigan drivers for supplying Ohio with steady speeding ticket income. Keep coming down to Cedar Point!

[Kass]

Montana used the reasonable and prudent statue for about one year after the 55 mph standard was lifted, then because of the highly unreasonable and imprudent driving habits of the population, put 65 mph speed limits in place. I drive through the state on a regular basis to visit family.

Driving 55 is NOT dangerous. It's inconvenient if you happen to be driving like a bat out of Hell with your tail in fire. I've never seen a car going 55-65 mph spin out and hit a wall on dry pavement. I've driven by dozens of cars going much faster than that flattened against a barrier wall. Gotta love traffic radio. When you're an idiot, everyone else on the road knows it. I'd like to point out that the people who think it is dangerous are the ones NOT driving 55 and making other unsafe driving decisions like swerving around traffic, onto shoulders and passing on the right. Those are unsafe. It isn't the person driving 55 causing the hazzard.

The simple fact is it is unsafe to do two things: speed and make unsafe lane changes. If you do the former, you're much more likely to do the latter.

In the six years I've been commuting on I66 and the Beltway in DC, I've seen more stupid people whip in and out of traffic, then get pissed when they cause a wreck, like it was the person's they hit fault. You don't have the God-given right to go as fast as you want. You don't have the right to endanger others.

As much as people complain, traffic on I66 flows at 65 mph very nicely until some moron causes a wreck. The same applies to the Beltway. If everyone is going the same approximate speed, say 65 mph, traffic flows beautifully. It's when people start speeding, changing lanes recklessly and causing others to brake to avoid them that traffic backs up.

Now, the preemptive Germany doesn't have speed limits on the autobahn argument.

No, they don't have speed limits on all sections of the autobahn, but a significant amount of their highway system DOES have speed limits. They also have much stricter rules regarding passing (no passing on the right) and traffic flow.

What they do have is a much higher rate of FATAL traffic accidents. If you wreck on autobahn, it is highly unlikely you will survive. It actually would be quite astonishing if you lived. The first responders probably wouldn't know what to do with a survivor.

There is no reason for anyone on a public road to go 80+ mph. If you have a wreck at that speed, you will die.

People miss the point of the 55/65 mph speed limit. It isn't to prevent accidents. It's to increase the survivability of the accidents. Fewer people die in wrecks at those speeds.

And no, I don't go 55 most of the time, but I rarely go over 65. I'm not in such a rush that I'm willing to die to get to work. It isn't that important. Nothing is.