Safer or not safer, if you do get into trouble, the 75 speed will result in a lot more damage than 60.
You asked what you were missing. I think the increased risk of an accident at 75 mph compared to 60 mpg is in the 20% range. So, that negates the advantage of less actual time on the road.
What you are missing is that the forces in a crash at 75 mph are more than 2X the forces of a 60 mph crash. Therefore your chances of injury and/or death are much greater at the higher speed. So, if the chance of have an accident did balance out (I’m not saying they do, as I have no hard data to support it) the chances of surviving the crash are still much in favor of the slower speed.
All this assumes so many other factors that contribute to accidents and survial of accidents is all equal which is never the case.
I don’t know if any of you recall the 55mph speed limit change to save gas and increase safety,
WIKI
Safety impact
It was believed that, based on a drop in fatalities the first year the limit was imposed, the 55 mph limit increased highway safety.
Other studies were more mixed on this point, and a Cato Institute report showed that the safety record actually worsened in the first few months of the 55 mph speed limit, suggesting that the fatality drop was a short-lived anomaly that regressed to the mean by 1978.[14] After the oil crisis abated, the 55 mph speed limit was retained mainly due to the possible safety aspect.
In 1986, the highway death toll was roughly half that of 1966. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which normally favors increased restrictions on drivers, said that credit for this “mainly” goes to laws passed 8 years before the 55 mph speed limit went into effect. Joan Claybrook was in “deep agreement.”[15]
Other studies were more mixed on this point, and a Cato Institute report showed that the safety record actually worsened in the first few months of the 55 mph speed limit,
Oooops; Cato, a libertarian think tank can hardly be expected to support govt. intervention of any kind, let alone “slowing everyone down for their own good”. Whether we believe it or not, let’s quote a few major institutions who are really independent. Any physics major would agree that the slower you travel, the fewer deaths are likely to occur. It doesn’t take a much of a study to show that unless you want to pay someone to say otherwise. How uncomplicated can you get ?
The question has never been whether it’s safer or not, but how much the public was willing to slow down before they started to politicize the situation for the sake of getting home in time to catch Vanna White. Vanna won out, the speed went up.
Dude, “I think” is not an argument, therefore it “negates” precisely nothing.
Your second paragraph: F=MA so your physics is wrong, and the force involved depends on the speed of the object with which you collide. No hard data, you say? Hmmm.
Wow! Are there any cops out there that can chime in please?
Reaction times and stopping times seem to be a common denominator here.
On a freeway in Wichita, there is a construction zone and its 50 mph. I check my mirrors in my 1 Ton work truck and see traffic aways behind me so I start to merge over when this Jeep appears out of nowhere and FLYING! I had to get back in my lane and I realized not only is he on his cell phone, not only is he going 70 in a work zone, aside from the fact he’s the 2010 Moron of the year, he’s flipping me off!!!
So come on, have some common sense and courtesy!! My one ton could’ve taken him out!
Please remember, someone’s wife and children are on these highways. Such a tragedy for children to die in accidents.
Too bad I’m not a COP, b/c I’d have a blast catching speeders and nailing them to the wall! No mercy!!
By the way, you need to fix your taillight.
What’s wrong with it?
(SMASH!!)
It’s broken.
(Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in “Walking Tall”)
If You think that the faster you are going, the safer you are - then this insane person must be the safest guy in this world at 186 mph in traffic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShacMAn_HK8
Think of it. 42,6 miles in less than 15 min.
Good God! That had my heartrate up! He almost hit that green van!! Stupid! WHERE ARE THE COPS?! AT KRISPY KREME?
2 words: spike strips.
BTW, the music is GREAT and has a great “video game” feel. I’m a firm believer in karma. He’ll wipe out and plaster all other the “Next Exit” sign.
I don’t know if I should be surprised that there are people stupid enough to do this. Well, at least he was wearing a helmet.
We’ve all done stupid stuff and I will admit that I’ve done something like this, but everytime I remember it I shake my head and wish I’d never done it.
I would never argue that anything she says makes sense… 
IIRC, Cato did not correct their data for the size of vehicle. Not only did the speed limit drop, but people were making a rapid shift to smaller, lighter vehicles, that did not have the safety features of today. The gap in safety between a large vehicle and a small one back then was enormous… Today there still is a gap, but the lines are more blurred than they were, and the gaps, when they exist, are smaller.
I rarely drive more than the limit anywhere. I don’t have people running me over and I don’t get pushed off the road,sure cops pass me,if they are chasing someone. Now there is a real traffic hazard,a cop mixed up in the morning or evening traffic,that one I can agree with. If we had vehicle inspection programs with some teeth (get those unsafe cars off the road but don’t extort people)I would be much more agreeable to higher speeds.too many people don’t take good enough care of their cars or are too distracted for higher speeds to be allowed.
Raise the speed in your theorum to 100 mph and the flaw in the logic becomes obvious. As speed increases, necessary reaction times to avoid accidents becomes significantly shorter and control of most vehicles deteriorates. Add to that the visability limitations inherant in many driving environments (hills, trees, curves, dips in the road, etc.) and faster speeds can make avoidance maneuvers inpossible. In many area sof NH dangers are upon you over the next rise or around the next curve with very little time to react.
I wish there existed some published data to access. I’d guess that most accidents are caused by lack of attention (include distraction), tailgating, and diminished capacities due to alcohol, drugs, or fatigue.
I’d bet that Twotone is correct, significant differences in speed are also a major factor. Traffic flows like water. Obstructions in the flow create turbulance. Turbulance creats accidents. The person going 55 on a major divided highway where everyone else is going 70 may think he/she is driving more safely, but in truth they’re a moving obstruction.
That’s my belief. I wish actual detailed studies were avilable.
Some people have been prosecuted before after they’ve posted video such as this, since the police now have proof… here’s hoping this guy lives long enough to be thrown into prison for reckless driving…
I suggest everyone join the Fire Dept. and go to motor vehicle accidents.Its not pretty or fun.Especially in a small community where you know everyone involved in the horrific wreck.
If you are pushing the flow of traffic, you are increasing the number of vehicles you are encountering. Since you are passing these vehicles with a sizeable speed differential, any mistake they make that encroaches on your path will require an escape. If you have left yourself an escape avenue, you can slide over there. But you have to be always planning; looking ahead for traps; and possibilities of danger. You have to always be aware that someone may not see you and pull into your lane, maybe while you are there. Therefore, you are faced with more dangerous encounters per mile.
If you are going with the flow of traffic, in a pack or just ahead the pack going at their speed any action by a fellow pack member will have little risk to you. Of course, you should not cruise beside another vehicler or be in their blind spot. If a vehicle in another lane encroaches into your lane, you just back off until you are again cruising with a safe following distance and with the flow of traffic. If some pusher pulls up behind you and flashes his/her lights, signel and gentle pull to the right into the open spot. When the pusher is past pull in behind him/her at a safe distance. That driver will soon be gone and you and the rest of the pack will continue on its way. If a pusher switches into the safe following distance, back off until the safe distance is reestablished. The pusher will soon switch lanes again and you can fill in.
The object of travel is get where you want to go if the safest way possible. That means adjusting your speed to the conditions; always being aware of possible dangers; and leaving yourself an out if things go wrong.
If the mirrors are positioned correctly, you do see what is further down the left lane. You see everything and you do not have to turn your head.
I use this system, but I do have to confess that after 45 years of driving, I still turn my head. Old habits are hard to break.
After doing some quick research for every 1 km/h increase in speed there is up to a 3% increase in accidents. So going from 60 to 75 mph means you increase your speed by about 24 km/h would mean up to an 72% increase in accidents.
?Higher speeds: more accidents
High speed reduces the possibility to respond in time when necessary. People need time to process information, to decide whether or not to react and, finally to execute a reaction. At high speed the distance covered in this period is longer. At high speeds the distance between starting to brake and a complete stand still is longer as well. The braking distance is proportional to the square of speed (v2). Therefore, the possibility to avoid a collision becomes smaller as speed increases. This is well illustrated at a broad average level by Finch [24]. ?
My opinions are subject to change with new facts.
Yes, I have indeed been pulled over driving a police car.
Ah, “quick research”. That’s the very best kind. “Breaking distance is proportgional to the square of speed”? Sounds like your source found a physics article on Wikipedia. “Complete standstill”? A complete standstill is rarely what is needed to avoid an accident at highway speeds, so that entire sentence can be dismissed out of hand.
“Since you are passing these vehicles with a sizeable speed differential” Dude, you might want to get out more. People drive fast like maniacs. In many places, 75 is just keeping up, i.e. being safe.
I take it you didn’t go to the link.
That was one paragraph from the article that sighted several studied done overseas. I can find more if you wish but the truth is the faster you go the greater the risk of an accident.
If you take the extremes say going 1 mph and compare it to 120 mph it not hard to imagine or prove that the faster you go the greater the risk.