Countless hours of my life have been spent on the road, traversing many miles at inhuman speeds. While an endless flow of asphalt and landscape rushes by like a roaring stream, my mind tends to dwell on bizarre, and generally trivial, concepts.
This intermittent series will share some of the most meaningful and thought provoking of my thoughts while on the road, hence road thoughts.
The first road thought I have to share is about our speed limits; I have not driven in any other country, therefore I am inexperienced with the way other nations regulate the speeds of motorists. This post will be focusing on American speed limits.
Why the haste?
Our roads are all either clearly marked with signs indicating the allowed speed or, if unmarked, are assumed to be the state’s allowed highway or residential speed.
The way in which the allowed speeds are posted is with a sign denoting the speed limit. A limit specifies the maximum amount that is allowed, in this case, the greatest speed allowed; by the definition of speed limit, as long as no minimum is posted, any speed equal to, or less than, the limit is permitted. This raises the question: why do we almost always drive the fastest that we are allowed?
When lacking a speed minimum, nothing legally prevents us from driving five, ten or even twenty under the speed limit, yet, as a nation, we generally regard the speed limit as a suggested, or even minimum, speed.
What if we applied that concept to other aspects of life? What if your friend wanted to share a maximum of five cookies with you, and you took six? What if you took a 35 minute break when you were allowed 30 minutes? What if you camped at a site for three nights when you reserved two?
Why do we drive the maximum speed? Why do we take the shortest route? Why do we run faucets at the fastest speed? Why do we spend the least time on a meal? How did our lives become so rushed?
I am not reprimanding or accusing anyone, for I also live my life in a haste. Perhaps our hastiness is a strength, though it could be our downfall; maybe a combination of the two.
Have you ever noticed this phenomenon?
Onward American 