Status: Civil Disobedience Prank
In order to demonstrate the stupidity of the 55 mph speed limit, four Atlanta students pulled a dangerous stunt: they all drove exactly 55 mph on the highway, in a line, thereby blocking the flow of traffic and creating an enormous traffic jam.
Check out the video of it. I realize the students thought they were doing something clever, but as I watched the video I found myself getting more and more angry at them. It was like experiencing road rage while sitting behind a computer. I kept imagining the people in the blocked traffic who probably had to get to work, or wanted to get home, and who were instead being held up by these idiots and their road block.
Anyway, their argument — that their experiment proves the absurdity of the 55 mph law — is flawed. It didn't prove that at all. All it proved is that if you form a rolling blockade, it's going to create a traffic jam. It would have had the same effect at 65 mph. Plus, it's definitely against the law to form a blockade like they did. Only the police are allowed to do that. So they weren't actually obeying the law.
I realize that pranks are supposed to be obnoxious and annoy some people. But delaying innocent commuters, and creating a situation in which people could easily have gotten hurt as anger escalated, just doesn't seem quite right to me. Though this is probably the angry driver inside of me feeling that way. (One more thing: at the beginning of the video they misspell the word obedience.)
Update: Some quick googling, and I found the section of Georgia law (
code 40-6-40, section D) that applies to what they did:
No two vehicles shall impede the normal flow of traffic by traveling side by side at the same time while in adjacent lanes, provided that this Code section shall not be construed to prevent vehicles traveling side by side in adjacent lanes because of congested traffic conditions.
So it was illegal, and they made a video of themselves doing it. Not too smart.
Update 2: David Spear, a spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department, has been
quoted as saying that what the students did was legal:
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 I guess I was wrong. Though I'm still having a hard time understanding how it can be legal, when the code referenced above seems to state that it's not legal.
Comments
They by no means did not break a law. Yes, they drove side by side, but they "couldn't" go any faster by law. The normal flow of traffic should be at, or below the posted speed limit, so there's no way they could impede the "normal" flow of traffic by going the speed limit. If an ambulance or police officer was trying to get through, the people behind them would've had to move over (which they shouldn't have had a problem because the only way they got that congested is by speeding, and they shouldn't have been speeding), and so still, they did nothing wrong.
If I were to do it different, I'd have 9 people. 4 to stay back a little, still going 54-55, to hold off traffic. Then the 5 in front would take up all 4 lanes and constantly pass each other (going 54-55 mph). The 4 in back stayed back so they wouldn't be tailgating, and the 5 in front did not stay side by side, they passed each other.
If somehow someone got a ticket, their argument would hold up in court about the others speeding, tailgating, passing in a non-passing lane, and hit and run for that van. If there was a problem with them doing that, the speed limit should be raised and enforced.
And btw, I by no means do the speed limit all the time, I have gotten 4 tickets. So I think this video is great.
Which is legal.
http://www.amasci.com/amateur/traffic/traffic1.html
People have mentioned that they would have broken the speed limit by accelerating to change lanes, but you can also decelerate to change lanes. Granted, merging might have been a problem. 😊
If the normal flow of traffic was 55, then the obstruction code applies to people who are travelling within the limit, just as it applies to these people. It would apply if they did their experiment at 60, 65, or 70, if they were still impeding traffic.
Raising the speed limit doesn't mean people drive the same speed. Someone driving 75/55 would probably drive 95/75. It doesn't follow that they'd drive 75, regardless of the posted limit. Some people like to speed, and they're willing to take the chance.
This was an unnecessary risk, and we already have too many people taking chances on the roads. They're lucky no one was killed.
I too, have been impatient many times, until as I realized, it causes stress (1. worry about getting tickets, 2. worrying about "moving ahead" of everyone). But, the difference between 55mph and 65mph over a 20 mile drive is only 3.36 minutes (about 9.81 minutes compared to 75 mph). Why put that much stress over such a small amount of time.
Living in LA and Boston, I have learned to be patient, drive the speed limit, relax, and not worry about things I cannot control.
People get upset and angry over these 6 minutes (or so) that is almost laughable, if it wasn't so hurtful in other ways.
Georgia Code 40-6-40 states:
No two vehicles shall impede the normal flow of traffic by traveling side by side at the same time while in adjacent lanes, provided that this Code section shall not be construed to prevent vehicles traveling side by side in adjacent lanes because of congested traffic conditions.
Funny thing is...The law on the road states, the normal flow of traffic shall be 55 mph. By going 55 mph they weren't impeding the flow of traffic. Maybe everyone's flow is 75mph, but the normal flow as stated by law is 55 mph. Guess everyone else is breaking the law, not them!
That's not good enough for some who want to convene a moot court about whether the kids broke the law or not. Hint: it doesn't really matter. They weren't prosecuted. They won't be prosecuted.
And the message of the film is clear.
I believe that 55 mph on Interstates and highways w/out intersections (i.e. exits and not traffic lights) is outdated. And the vast majority of drivers do not obey it anyway. People in my local area also rarely use their turn signals or follow the rule of the left lane (don't be a jerk and yield to the faster vehicle.) The turn signals issue really perturbs me because it can very easily cause an accident. It's as if the people in Maryland weren't taught their use in driver's ed (or they were sleeping during that lesson.) The drivers here are also extremely rude in general.
As someone who does occasionally make long drives (my drive home to Tennessee is over 700 miles), I don't want to be stuck cruising at 55 mph for a 700-mile drive. I'm aware that not everybody drives a performance vehicle and that at least 60% of drivers wouldn't have a clue about double clutching, apexing corners, drafting and outbreaking. However, when I'm driving long distance I'll usually set the cruise at 80 or better on the interstate b/c I've been driving for a while now and I can easily handle my car, manoeuvre around the slow pokes and local traffic, and at around 80 mph my car settles into a nice comfortable groove and starts to just purr. I'm sure she'd find another such good groove around 120 mph if I wouldn't be thrown in jail if caught.
Although for most people driving is nothing more than a means of getting from place to place, it's really more than that. It's freedom. There's just something about getting in the driver's seat and hitting the open road, feeling that magical connection between man and machine. It's sort of a passion that some people just can't comprehend.
Well, that's my two cents worth.
Minimum Speed Limit: I. No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.
"If I'm reading this correctly....what the student in the fast lane was illegal, assuming the cars behind that student had intentions to go faster than 55."
should be...
"If I'm reading this correctly....what the student in the fast lane DID was illegal, assuming the cars behind that student had intentions to go faster than 55."
As I have searched until Iam sick in Georgia code,annotated,and on line noone seems to know its rather an abstract thing it seems.
Would perhaps one of you here know?
Is 55mph an appropriate speed limit if the vast majority of drivers exceed this speed? All in all, this video does a wonderful job of visually demonstrating how many drivers would choose to drive faster than 55mph (if not physically prevented from doing so by a rolling blockade).
The students have come and went. The speed limit remains. C'mon people, see the forest.
How can respecting the law to the letter can be construed as "dangerous stunt".
You mean that each time a car, bike respects a speed limit it is a dangerous stunt ?
So if the law says that I cannot shoot people in the head in the streets, which is the case, it is a dangerous stunt to go around in streets without shooting people in the head for no apparent reason ?
What the fuck is wrong with you ?
My point is, if everyone followed the damn speed limit, there would be noone who would risk others' lives and limbs because they're road-raging over this 'blockade'. If there are no speed limits, do you honestly think more people will drive courteously and safely?
Would people drive courteously and safely? YES. Because most people aren't suicidal. Danger is all around us. Only children and crazy people need to be protected from themselves. Most adults are capable.
And finally, if you want to mosey on down the road, it is courteous to get out of the way. You're not being a hero by slowing people down. You're being an @$$#073. You want to save lives? Use your blinker when you change lanes and turn your lights on when its raining.
If the rolling blockade was travelling 150MPH, no one would be behind them. People are stacked up behind them because almost everyone drives faster than 55 when able. NO ONE is in front of them because EVERYONE has traveled away at speed faster than 55. Not only was this not a hoax but it was an outstanding demonstration of the point they were making.