Yesterday, as we drove up to Kingston, NY to celebrate a belated St.
Patrick’s Day with Dad & Karin, we were strafed by a bald eagle.
Now, I had no idea that there were any bald eagles in the Hudson Valley
area; but after doing only a minimal amount of research I find that
they have been making a come-back since about 1997.
It seems that the Hudson River area has become a popular winter spot
for them: they can feed on fish in the river (all those chemicals must
be an acquired taste) or on animals killed by trains (yes, eagles are
often scavengers). And because activity along the river drops
dramatically during the harsh NY winters (can you say frozen
river?) the eagles are relatively undisturbed.
This is so cool.
Of course, my camera was in the trunk and I was in the middle of
traffic; so I wasn’t able to make a photograph of our assailant.
The other day I was driving up to Kingston, NY to meet with a
potential client when I had an interesting revelation regarding the
folly of exceeding the speed limit. Now I know some will simply say I’m
finally growing up a little; but I don’t think that’s the case. Since I
bought the Miata, I’ve been really cautious about exceeding the speed
limit, because I know I’m a target for police officers trying to meet
their ticket quota. But now I have another reason not to exceed the
speed limit: it doesn’t save much time.
Most of the drivers on the local highways exceed the speed limit by
no less than 10 miles per hour. They drive 75 mph in the 65 mph zone
and frequently 75 mph in the 55 mph zones. I never allow myself to
exceed the limit by more than 5 miles per hour. This means people pass
me all the time. This made me think a little bit about why they are in
such a hurry and then to wonder whether they’re actually saving any
time.
After a little mental mathematics, I came up with the following
formula to determine how many minutes it takes to travel the same
distance covered when driving at the speed limit for 1 hour:
X = speed limit in MPH
Y = driving speed in MPH
M = trip duration in minutes
(X * 60 min) / Y = M
Using this formula, I was startled to discover that drivers who
travel at 75 MPH in a 65 MPH zone take 52 minutes to travel the same
distance as they would were they driving at 65 MPH. This equates to a
savings of 8 minutes per unit distance travelled.
However, cowards like myself — who aren’t willing to brave a
possible speeding ticket — would only save 4 minutes per hour
because we’ll only exceed the speed limit by 5 MPH. Therefore, over the
entire 2 hour trip to Kingston, I saved 8 minutes!
Of course, if you’re expecting to drive all day, a 10 MPH difference
can save you some substantial time: 64 minutes for an 8 hour drive. But
you have to add the increased risk of getting a speeding ticket into
that balance, and also add the increased level of stress you’ll
experience over the course of 8 hours.
This really only works for highway driving where you don’t encounter
stop signs, traffic lights and other impediments to speedy travel.
However, anyone who thinks they are saving time by speeding on local
roads is obviously an idiot. Many traffic lights are timed to minimise
the number of actual stops… if you are travelling at or below the
speed limit. Also the number of traffic cops skyrockets in villages and
towns where the speed limit is lower.
If you won’t save any time, you stand a much greater risk of
collision, and you have an increased chance of earning a speeding
ticket, why do you exceed the speed limit?
Anna has a new favourite movie. It features Charlton Heston and is
set in post apocalyptic Los Angeles. What movie is it?
The Omega
Man
I’ll be buying a copy of this movie for Anna’s birthday…
She once warned me that she might be forced to run away with her
previous idol, Bruce
Campbell; but now I suspect that she might run away with Heston.
