Guess that explains all the high end exotics..

Furious_E wrote: Meh. I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of us here have probably done those speeds on the street on at least a few occasions driving cars 1,000,000% sketchier than even the lowliest of that group.

Yeah no kidding. I don't see the big deal really. If it were a bunch of civics I imagine the tone of that completely over the top article would have been different, but more than likely it wouldn't have been written at all.

I hit 90 in my 85 300sd this morning.....come at me with the pitchforks!!!

The dangerous factor is the other traffic driving down the road at slower speeds not expecting some sports cars to be going by 30 mph faster than everyone else. All it takes is one person not using their mirrors or changing lanes without signalling. But that never happens...

Related story: A new Corvette blasted by me the other day going at least 90 in a 55. I was able to see him coming from a long way off but it was still unnerving how quickly he closed the gap in the time it took me to signal, check blind spot, and move over. The Corvette sure sounded good

While a Ferrari might have the chassis dynamics and braking power to make 100+ mph safe, you can't get past the physics. That Ferrari at 110 is carrying four times as much kinetic energy as a Honda at 55. If something goes wrong, it's going to be a whole lot more dramatic. And when you've got a half dozen of them playing tag in slower traffic, something will go wrong. Heck, look at the number of times an LMP1 car has been destroyed by a Ferrari GT3 car at Le Mans due to speed differentials.

Having just finished a five day tow across the country with a 50' rig, I've been reminded that the average driving public is simply clueless. They settle in to blind spots beside semis. They tailgate. They cut off vehicles that weigh an order of magnitude more than they do. I had a Cherokee force himself off the road beside me by completely failing to merge properly - lots of visibility, consistent speed, no vehicles ahead or behind me. But based on the rage in his face, he had no idea that it was all up to him to speed up or slow down so he ended up in a gap instead of beside a trailer. I couldn't move over to help him due to a car beside me, I just got to watch as the merge lane disappeared and he took to the shoulder at 75 mph with a 10,000 lb wall of metal beside him. The average driver on our interstates is frighteningly poorly equipped to deal with what's going on, and they're distracted at the same time.

I generally ignore posted speed limits when riding a bike and ride at a speed that is safe for the roadway, traffic, and weather conditions. Thus far have been stopped twice, discussed my view with the officers and didn't even receive a written warning. Sometimes it is much safer to be going faster than everything else. This story referenced however shows how stupid some people can be. Through traffic is one of the dumbest thing you can do.

I see this as being unsafe for other drivers primarily if it comes to lane changes - you glance in your mirror and the lane is open so you get over. Turns out the guy who was 5 car lengths back is now on top of you. Getting hit by a car doing 40 mph more than you is the same impact whether you're doing 70 or you're doing 5. It's what happens after that matters more, and I don't know many vehicles that are more stable at higher speeds. My .02 (Of course I'm not denouncing high speeds completely, but come on. There are times and places.)

WilD wrote: I think I agree that the gotcha nature and outrage of this story is overwrought, likely due to these cars being exotics. I suspect there are pockets of "normal" traffic that exceed 100mph in many metro areas every day. Anecdotal evidence I have observed behind the wheel certainly suggests it every time I get on the highway.

Maybe in other locales, but traffic in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area by and large sticks within 5mph or so of the limit. There's always traffic on that particular stretch of road where these guys were driving, so they were running at a speed differential of over 70mph with other cars. It would maybe be different if they were out in the middle of Montana or someplace, on a straight road where there wasn't another vehicle for miles, but doing it in a major metropolitan area is just plain stupid.