Well, maybe it depends on where you live? Our Land transport Authority is always claiming that speed is a problem, more so than other causes of accidents.
I’d say as a frequent road user, especially motorway user, that more than a handful of people drive over the speed limit to well over the speed limit.
Personal freedom is not something that NZers bang on about like Americans - we are not so hyper sensitive to governmental control. I am personally happy to give up personal freedoms - depends how to put it to me!
But the issue is more about law and breaking it and manufacturers knowingly making cars that are made to go very fast (and not on a race track).
The conspiracy is maybe, that this produces revenue?
And yes, lots of cars go over the speed limit, but the high end cars are more than likely going to speed.
I frequently see people doing 120 - 130 kms per hour - in fact every time I drive in non-peak times, especially in country areas.
Well, I’m a Canadian, so practically a socialist by American standards. I happen to live in the US and have had the good fortune to live on both coasts and in some of the biggest American cities.
My driving habits are fairly Canadian however. That means that the posted 100km/h speed limits are basically suggestions. Anything below 120km/h is invisible to radar. Between 120 and 140 is a personal call for the cop. Above that is a damned pricey fine and a couple of demerit points on your license.
Having said that, I’m normally travelling at 140km/h or a little above. I take my chances on open stretches of road and adjust my speed when conditions and traffic volume require it. My biggest pet peeve with ‘typical’ American drivers is that they don’t understand that the left lane is for passing and often like to play deputy traffic cop by loitering in the left lane at the speed limit and refusing to move right for faster traffic.
Having said that, I’m not a road warrior. I don’t get into pissing contests with other drivers or try to teach anyone a lesson. I don’t pick fights with my car. It’s also been my experience that most (but not all) drivers who drive performance cars tend to drive more attentively than the average Bob or Sally out to the shops and the local Bob Evans for dinner. Most drivers with high performace cars also take a bit of extra care to keep their expensive toy out of the ditch and therefore likely more aware while behind the wheel. Many have even taken advanced driving courses and are therefore better trained drivers. Doesn’t help them defy the laws of physics in a crash, but it does help them avoid getting into one.
But I digress… we can debate all day long about good/bad drivers, cars and all sorts of exceptions to the rule. Driving at excessive speed adds risk and I freely admit to that reality.
Never the less, I consider driving a priviledge. Which it undoubtedly is. So if some fiat came down from up on high that limited the top speed to 100km/h on all cars, I’d be miffed but would learn to find joy in driving via other means. Like aggressive cornering and improved shifting and breaking.
See, sometimes in life, some pleasures cannot be entirely subjugated by draconian rules. In fact, some pleasures are taken by breaking a few rules.
The usual disclaimer, Your Mileage May Vary, seems very appropriate about now. 
Wow - I do not believe that a significant number of high end car owners do special driving courses! They may very well want to keep them out of the ditch however. In my experience bad drivers come in all types of vehicles, but fast ones tend to be in top end cars - you may be right that this now includes SUVs.
Last year we inherited a bit of money, and before we got all responsible with it – putting aside college money for the kids and paying off bills – we bought a Fun Car. It’s far faster than anything I’ve ever owned, but I don’t find myself exceeding the speed limit any more than I used to in my SUV. It really is more about the way the thing feels to drive, at least for me. Driving the twisty roads in the Sierras was kind of scary in the truck, but it’s FUN in the new car.
Curate
And? 130kph is about 80mph.
In Norway that would be 40kph above the max speed limit
In Sweden I believe that is 10kph above the max speed limit.
In the UK that is 10mph above the max speed limit.
In France I belive that is exactly the max speed limit
Within the US I seem to recall it would be 5mph above the max speed limit in Colorado and 5mph BELOW the max speed limit in Arizona.
What is the NZ speed limit on these country roads, and what is a safe speed to drive at? If you are talking about twisty mountain roads then 130kph is very dangerous - if on an open road with good visibility, not so much.
Germany also has the autobahn which have speed-limitless sections. No substitute for plane or train really, but if its there, the car makers have a market they can fill.
And to conspiracy theorists, how come its the lower end hatch backs that cater to young men that seem to make up the majority of car wrecks here in Northern Ireland. Pretty much all of the accidents I can remember reading about in papers or seeing on the news were in built up areas where the speed limit is 30mph or involving young irresponsible (probably) men in hot hatches.
How big of a role do commercials play in this? What about enthusiasts?
I say this because most car commercials, especially high end ones, and now even Kia ones, show whoever the driver is zipping around a closed road driving recklessly. By “recklessly”, I mean that if normal citizens ever did it, they’d get the book thrown at them, no questions. How often are you supposed to see images of cars doing 90 miles per hour where normally these roads would be so congested with traffic that doing 35 would be a struggle?
Also, who are these commercials trying to appeal to? Obviously minivan ads don’t do this and appeal more towards the soccer mom, so that means nearly every other make of car appeals to the speed demon? If high end cars have ads that show their cars driving around like mad, then it stands to reason that “lower end” companies must do similarly in order to attempt to move into that market. Is this correct? Is this a good thing?
For your information, I’m 25 and I drive a 1988 Mercury Tracer. It’s quick when needed, runs good, and is great on gas. It’s all the car I need and will ever need in the forseeable future.
Because, statistically, people who drive as if they were planning to cause a fatality are statistically likely to be under 25 and have testicles. Even if you give them their mother’s old 1.1 Vauxhall Nova, they’ll black out the windows, stick a paint can on the end of the exhaust, add some new rims that are worth more than the car, and then go off and race round the shopping centre.