by Dave Russell | published February 21, 2007 12:15 am

Most everyone who travels to Atlanta comes back talking about how fast they drive down there before mentioning anything else.

“I was doing 65 in a 55 zone and like to got run over” or some variation thereof is possibly the most common comment, followed by, “And they just get a few feet off each others’ bumpers going 75, all in a line like they practiced it or something…” It’s no exaggeration; Atlantans indeed rank among the nations’ fastest drivers, averaging 75 mph in the 55 mph zones in the metro area, according to the Georgia governor’s office. And should you find yourself on

Interstate 240 with a car 12 inches off your bumper, let them pass and it’s quite likely you’ll see a Georgia license plate from Fulton, Gwinnett, Dekalb or one of the other counties feeding the Atlanta Speedway System.

Earlier this month, Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue announced a plan to tax the folks he dubs “super speeders,” those traveling more than 85 mph on Georgia’s interstates or those doing 75 mph on other roads.

Anyone caught speeding in super fashion will be ticketed an additional $200 over and above the current fines. The bundle of new traffic safety initiatives also includes additional fines for DUI, racing, leaving the scene of an accident and a host of other high-risk driving practices.

The funds collected — preliminary estimates indicate as much as $25 million to $30 million annually — will go toward funding Georgia’s trauma care system.

The concept, which I think is a good one, brought up a host of questions.

Why is it that we humans drive the fastest in the more crowded, dangerous places? It seems that sheer numbers would keep Atlanta’s traffic bunched together and driving a steady pace. “The denser the traffic, the higher the speed” seems to be the norm everywhere.

It’s universal — the same in California, New Zealand and other places I have driven extensively. Our own

Interstate 40 and Interstate 26 bear this out. I-40 traffic travels slower than traffic on the more-crowded I-26, though I-26 is not quite in Atlanta’s league in terms of speeding — yet.

Would a super speeder crackdown be a good idea for North Carolina? I don’t know that WNC has the super-speeding problem, but fines levied to deter people from dangerous behavior that are then used to tackle a problem the offenders create is good law, in my book.

Am I the only one who thought, “OK, so next Georgia trip I can set the cruise control at 84 mph because the cops are going to be looking for super speeders, and I am just a common, run of the mill speeder?” Is that thought a product solely of my deviant mind, or is every Atlantan (and I am a recovering Atlantan) going to think the new speed limit is 84 on the interstate and 74 elsewhere?

A few updates

on the litter front …

I can’t say that the letter, “Litter detail should be high on new motor mile’s priorities,” (AC-T, Feb. 10), got results, but a week and a day after it appeared, I drove the “motor mile” and instead of litter scattered hither and yon found orange bags of litter neatly tied and awaiting a ride to the landfill. I had driven that stretch (N.C. 191 between I-40 and I-26) prior to the date the letter ran, and the letter writer did not exaggerate. Hats off to the guys with the orange “inmate” vests.

Also, folks might not remember the most awful litter picture (Jan. 20) we have ever run in the Litter Spotlight, but a few weeks after the photo, I went back to the location to find that the City of Asheville had a tractor and crew there to clean it up. Again, I don’t know that anything we put on the editorial page had a hand in it, but thumbs up to the city for the cleanup.

Some letters going online to speed up turnaround

Here in the editorial corner, we’ve gone back to the online-only letter option. Turnaround time for printing letters got out to 11 days, and we’re reeling that in. I worked it down to nine days and hope to whittle even further over the next week. Remember — if your letter is online-only this month, remind me and your words of wit and wisdom will see print and online the next month.