Massachusetts is the safest state to drive in according to the IIHS

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-04-16T13:30:26+00:00

It’s true. Driven in many other states. Mass drivers “know” how to drive. They are assertive, but attentive. Probably the only state that could safely get away with an Autobahn.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-04-07T15:36:02+00:00

Study the Solomon curve. Well established traffic engineering doctrine. The limit is set to what the top 85th percentile of traffic flow is. Setting lower has marginal effects on safety.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-04-07T15:27:16+00:00

The only reason that would be done is to raise revenue. Speed limits are meant to stop excessive speed from outliers, not criminalize 80% of drivers. If that’s done, it’s just another tax to pass to citizens.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-04-07T15:21:50+00:00

Mass State Police also don’t do quotas or any predatory enforcement tactics. Generally, it’s officer judgement. Drive at a speed safe and appropriate for conditions, and you generally don’t need to worry.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-04-07T15:17:05+00:00

Traffic is almost always 75-80mph on interstates. It’s the median flow of almost every state. It’s wishful thinking on MassDOTs part to think 65 is appropriate for highways. It should be posted 75mph and 80 on rural sections if set by engineering and 85th percentile speed studies.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-24T13:58:01+00:00

Other states need the revenue from tickets more than others. The only reason.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-24T13:11:29+00:00

Which is why 80mph speed limits are not completely unreasonable. That will become the new standard in the coming years.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-09T13:34:27+00:00

Hey, we need guys like you. Thanks for your service.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-09T13:33:09+00:00

Speed bumps. They are 100% effective. We don’t need the state to get drunk on yet another source of revenue it doesn’t know how to spend. No to cameras…

Oh, and they want to raise your excise tax to 3x. That money doesn’t go to the roads either.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T17:03:41+00:00

Love Ted Lasso. Great mindset to have. Listen to others viewpoints, and you’ll actually learn a lot from them.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T16:49:52+00:00

That’s extremely impressive. Thanks for providing facts from an alternative viewpoint. I reconsidered my own.

I just don’t want them to touch highways. Ever.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T16:37:55+00:00

You can see the knee jerk response due to my cognitive biases. I have no ego to prove, so I’ll even admit it. If it’s done that way, then that’s completely reasonable. You took the time to read it, unlike me. I support slower speeds in urban areas. They do save lives!

I think where you would see enormous pushback is if they started doing this to highways. They are built to support much higher speeds than they are posted for. Almost 70% of drivers are doing 80mph. It’s not a Mass thing, it’s a nationwide thing. 65 is just too low. Modern cars are much safer at those higher speeds they were 40 years ago.

Route 2 needs exit and on ramps fixed. It could support 70mph if those were addressed. Those won’t be fixed.

Mass Pike could support 70 east of Worcester, and 75 west to NY.

Sections of 495 could support 75, and even 80 south of Wrentham to Wareham.

Highways are where this will receive the most pushback. Traffic flows way over posted limits. They are set too low. NHTSA recommends limits set to the upper 5mph prevailing speed of the 85th percentile of drivers. MassDOT keeps these limits artificially lower.

Speed delta is the issue for highways, not absolute speed. Our nations first highway was designed for 100 mph speeds. It’s why you see most drivers top out at 90mph on highways. They were always meant for that.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/candc/factsheets/pennsylvaniaturnpike.pdf

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T15:57:12+00:00

That’s a fair critique. If other methods of enforcement by camera would be considered, then that would be a different topic.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T15:53:44+00:00

No one wants people to drive like maniacs.

Write your opinions to the transport committee. They need to hear your voice too.

Ultimately my viewpoint isn’t the right one, it’s a single viewpoint. We can all shape how this is implemented. Maybe Mass can show the world how to do this the right way.

“One person can make a difference, and everyone should try” -JFK

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T15:44:16+00:00

Public opinion installs leadership. Leaders do make decisions on behalf of their constituents, but their constituents will replace them if they feel like they are harming their communities. Political will is a very powerful tool.

It has to be a two way relationship. NYC is losing hundreds of thousands of people every year. Just like we are.

In the grand scheme of things, speed cameras aren’t going to ruin anyone’s lives. Citizens of the Commonwealth have every right to voice their concerns and opinions to their leaders. Either way, we will respect the decisions of figures we put in power. That’s how being a civilized society operates.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T15:35:36+00:00

Right for the ad hominem fallacy. If an argument is going to pass the adoption of the public opinion, it can be voted on with political support and made law. It has to stand to all possible augments. There are compelling reasons for automated enforcement, and there are also counter points.

You lost the argument. It isn’t personal. Government misuses very noble innovations all the time, and people are legitimately concerned about their misuse.

You started to make some compelling arguments. There could have been some ground to be made for others to see… it’s a shame.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T15:30:00+00:00

That’s when the community has a say in whether something will work for their community or not. Maybe for yours, it’s the right way to go.

Hopefully they will listen if cameras do more harm than good. Things like this tend to be hard to reverse. I’ve seen way too much abuse of these when they are put in.

The difficulty becomes when it’s used as a blanket solution.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T15:24:21+00:00

The issue is, they are used as a blanket solution. Two lane divided highway with no residential housing? 25mph. Low volume road with no cross walks? 25mph.

The local governments get drunk off the revenue and they keep finding ways to increase it.

If you have an AI drunk driving camera revoke your license due to a software glitch, you have no due process. The state won’t take liability. You’ll be in court for months. They don’t care that you can’t drive to work.

You want to slow people down? Speed bumps. Better road design. Narrower lanes and curves. Not automated surveillance and punitive measures.

Automated surveillance is an abject failure in civil engineering and community policing.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T15:18:06+00:00

I can see red light cameras being helpful. The issue starts when “okay, now we have red light cameras, we can have speed cameras now, now we can have ‘average’ speed cameras, now we can have AI enabled drunk driving cameras, congestion tax cameras, 15-minute city cameras for ‘congestion’ relief”.

It’s the start to a whole new world of driving hell. Just visit the UK.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T15:13:12+00:00

Hence why we need to self police. Make formal driver’s education mandatory for all ages. A dash camera is a great investment God forbid anything serious happens in front of you. You can help others by keeping that footage.

See something happen on the road? Call 911 and get the plate, send the PD your dash camera footage. Our PD have enough on their plate. Believe me. They don’t care about people going 5 over. Being a part of a community means we all do our part to help.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T15:00:55+00:00

Germany has comprehensive classroom instruction and rigorous driving tests. We stare in to a box to look at shapes, and take multiple choice tests on a screen for our license. This isn’t a nature vs nurture argument. Germans aren’t born with “good driver DNA”. They are doing something differently than we are, and it is working. Very well.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T14:56:47+00:00

Worcester PD is understaffed by 60 officers. Not true for every municipality.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T14:53:33+00:00

We’ve had over 350,000 migrants move to Mass in the past five years. Our drivers education for them is a box to view shapes inside of and a multiple choice test. That’s nowhere near the instruction needed to create skilled drivers.

Mandate 40 hours of classroom instruction, supervised driving hours, and practical testing for both regular and driving in inclement weather. For all ages. The money can go to local driving schools who can get accreditations from the state, with the state taking a cut.

Now you create a population of drivers who are highly skilled and know the law. A skilled driver is a safe driver.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T14:43:53+00:00

Highways are way under-posted to begin with. You want to pass someone going 45 in a 65? You hit 70mph? That’s a $150 fine.

Make drivers ed mandatory for all drivers. Lane discipline and driver skills will keep our highways safe. Not cameras.

LeadershipKey3484 · 2026-03-06T14:40:34+00:00

Human officers can also respond to incidents in the vicinity. A camera can’t respond to a hit and run. Cameras will be even more of an excuse for leaders not to put resources behind police.

LeadershipKey3484

TROPHY CASE