Citation

Leonard SD. J. Am. Med. Assoc. JAMA 1990; 263(14): 1916.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/jama.1990.03440140035021

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The article by Gallaher et al is interesting, but I take issue with their conclusion that perhaps the increased speed limit should be reconsidered.The question is not whether the fatality rate increases a bit with higher speed limits. Although various authors have drawn different conclusions, it should be no surprise if it does so. The question is whether the medical profession, reeling under the oppressive weight of Big Brother, has any business endorsing Big Brotherism on the highway or anywhere else.The increased fatality rate that Gallaher et al purport to have identified involved primarily single-car accidents. So drivers who now elect to drive faster are primarily endangering themselves and, at worst, their own loved ones. Each and every one of the benefits of our modern society has with it some attendant risk. If cars were outlawed entirely, 50 000 fewer people a year would die in traffic accidents.