The real reason for speed limits

I was watching Top Gear, which has become one of my favorite shows, and they were discussing the best roads to drive in the world.

They came to the conclusion that it was a specific road, in Italy, in the Alps, it is a sinuous road with no real enforceable speed limit, and no traffic.

They went on in their discussion and Richard Hammond wondered why there hasn't been an evolution in speed limits since the last 50 years or so. He reflected that after all, cars went from a top speed of 8MPH to 150MPH and more.

But then there are many more cars out there, which at speeds in excess of say, 80km/h, don't handle properly, or they do but then the driver doesn't know what to do with them in order to keep them in order.

And then there's something else: Debris.

Just this morning on the way to work, driving a whopping 95km/h, I had to dodge a pail of some type of white gooey liquid, most likely paint, that seemed to have dropped off...

...a Transport Quebec truck.

Nice.

Other interesting artifacts I've dodged in the past include ladders, shovels, rakes, a lawnmower, several mattresses and other pieces of furniture including an ottoman, animals - both alive and not -, pedestrians on highways and once, I dodged miraculously, three bricks that had dislodged from inside a tunnel and dropped in front of me.

Other times though I wasn't that lucky.

Once on the 132 in the South Shore, I was rudely cut off by a cement truck that was coming out of a work-zone unannounced, and I received a complimentary block of semi-dry cement across the hood of my Tiburon. It shattered my windscreen and redecorated my hood.

Another time still in the Tiburon a windblown, metallic garbage can, blindsided me and hit the passenger side of the cockpit, causing minor damage to the side mirror.

So there you have it. The real reason for speed limits is debris. Just ask Felipe Massa.