turbojimmy wrote:
JetAonly wrote:
FWIW, there is some research that indicates that a speed differential from the pack puts you at risk. That is going 10mph slower risks the same accident involvement as going 10mph faster. Google Soloman curve.
Here
If I read that correctly, the "U shaped curve" is a bit deceiving at first. It implies that people traveling under the limit are at about the same risk of an accident as those traveling the same amount over the limit. But reading into it, the explanation is because of unexpected, slower speeds that drivers encounter in traffic congestion or unexpected situations (accidents, construction). Those circumstances skew the data. I would argue that a vehicle or vehicles traveling under the limit in the right lane on a multi-lane interstate poses very little risk to other drivers (as long as you consider the inconvenience of having to change lanes a low-risk situation).
Here are two findings that jump out at me:
Crash rates were lowest for drivers traveling near the
mean speed, and increased with deviations above and
below the mean
Low-speed drivers were more likely to be involved in
crashes than relatively high speed drivers
There are some limitations in the data, such as some of the data involves traffic congestion. No information presented indicates that the right lane is safer to anyone.
The conclusions run counter to the conventional wisdom.
