One of the less-remarked upon effects of the Covid-19 pandemic must be the demise of the speed limit. Driving California freeways feels like nothing so much as tearing down the Autobahn--or so I imagine: I've never actually driven on the Autobahn. I don't even know what the Autobahn is! Sometimes I just put letters together and see what happens.
Anyway.
But seriously, folks, I routinely find myself hitting 80+ on the highway, and I don't even feel it--don't even notice it until I happen to glance at the speedometer--primarily because, no matter how fast I'm going, cars routinely blow by me on either side. I might as well be driving an Amish buggy instead of my actual car (an Amish Prius--which is like a regular Prius, but with a large family and weird facial hair).
In the early days of the pandemic, this disregard for speed limits made a certain sense. The roads were comparatively empty. I once made it to work from Solipsist Central--about a ten mile drive--in about 47 seconds. Now, however, traffic is just SO February 2020. But people--including me, apparently--failed to get the memo.
I suppose increased average traffic speed wouldn't be the WORST thing to come out of the pandemic. Once we all have places to go again, might as well get there quickly.
