In a recent thread it was suggested that, if the majority of people were doing something, then it should by default be considered legal. Indeed of the fundamental observations of the SS argument is that speeding is practiced by the majority of drivers, therefore we should accept that it is right/legal/justifiable or whatever. The concept is enshrined within the speed limit guidelines of the Arizona Department of Transportation: "The normally careful and competent actions of a reasonable individual should be considered legal."
So I ask, as a discussion point, how much water does this hold?
As a logical fallacy:
The ‘everybody does it’ argument is known as Appeal to Widespread Belief (Bandwagon Argument, Peer Pressure, Appeal to Common Practice). It seems reasonable, but for example, in the 1800's there was a widespread belief that bloodletting cured sickness. All of these people were not just wrong, but horribly wrong, because in fact it made people sicker. Clearly, the popularity of an idea is no guarantee that it's right, but equally the observation of fallacious logic doesn’t prove it to be wrong either.
As recognition of the responsible nature of those concerned:
The argument here is quite simple; all of those normal, rational people cannot be wrong, but why not?
1. Speeding was not once as common place as it is today, drive a 1970s Austin Allegrot (sic) at 70 mph and you knew you were doing 70, anything that rolls off today’s production lines can easily achieve 90mph+ and offers little feedback to the driver. Thus, people now speed because its so easy to, does that mean its right?
2. Why should someone’s occupation or social status be a metric of their ability to drive safely? Driving is a skill very much located in the attitudinal and psychomotor domains of human skills, perhaps unlike most other skills people deploy during their everyday work. Indeed, we could argue that the very people whose motivation is to push their way to the top of their profession perhaps possess quite undesirable attitudes (arrogance, aggression, over-confidence) when it comes to road safety?
By way of comparison with other behaviours with legal implications.
There is very little other activity that can hold a candle to ‘speeding’ when it comes to mass-lawbreaking. Littering, perhaps, comes close if one looks at our streets and waysides; if left to our own devices what would our towns and highways look like I wonder.
On the roads, motorways in particular, tailgating is also quite commonplace and is practiced en-masse (whether people recognise it or not). We know that tailgating is the number one irritant amongst drivers, so why do we assert that speeding is being done responsibly when tailgating is not?
Drink-driving was once quite widespread until the law intervened, not its socially unacceptable.
By comparison to other behaviours
We’re going a bit off the track here, but what about other areas of human activity? Smoking is quite widespread but very few people these days actually deny the links between smoking and a range of illnesses and diseases. Over-eating, lack of exercise, excessive debt and many other issues illustrate just how irresponsible ‘responsible’ people can be at times. So why is speeding any different?
By comparison with the past.
Search the web and you can find a number of examples where the majority would be deemed to be wrong. Slavery for example was once quite widely practiced and there are plenty of other examples of subjugation of minorities by majorities. Of course, it can be readily seen that such behaviour might not, by today’s standards at least, be deemed ‘reasonable’.
Note to potential respondents:
Please recognise the difference between the use of the above examples
as examples aloneand not as matters to be discussed in their own right. The minutae of each is not relevant although their applicability is, there's a subtle difference.
If your gut reaction is to simply say ‘ of course it should be legal to speed if everyone does’ then please don’t reply. Anyone can say that, I want to know why.
OK, as our rifle range instructors would say, at your target in front carry on!
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