First off, I'm not going to argue with your sentiment on the legality of speeding, it is wrong and unlawful and I'm not condoning it. BUT to play devils advocate if I may, here are some thoughts:

> ...fairly selfish and not very useful crime. It doesn't really speed journey times significantly, but puts other road users at greater risk of injury or even death.

There's no doubt that driving at greater speeds increases the risk of fatality or increased damage in a wreck, but your points about it not saving time and putting others at risk is a little unfounded. Here's why I think that, in a ten minute commute, speeding 10MPH over the speed limit will only save you at best a minute. Depending on traffic conditions however, one could argue the more aware you are of your surroundings and at a faster pace, you could beat out traffic lights and other things that would normally slow down a driver going with the flow.

I would argue that, speed limits and legality aside, good, well trained drivers that go faster than everyone else, are generally safer and more aware of their surroundings because they are more focused on driving. The real risk here would be going 100MPH down an interstate and a person talking on their phone or looking up a song on Spotify (guilty) swerves a little into the other lane. But if the driver is cautious and is paying attention, he should be able to avoid a collision as long as the speed is appropriate for it's surroundings. Going 100MPH (for example) on a six lane interstate between major cities is a lot different than going 100MPH through a very metropolitan (like Atlanta) downtown area, especially when you introduce intersections.

As for time, let's do some quick math. On a 100 mile trip here are some figures based on average MPH, including the speeds stopping/starting and in between: 90MPH = 1.11hrs; 50MPH = 2hrs; 30MPH = 3.33hrs; So there is an obvious time saving factor at travelling at a higher rate of speed over long distances travelled. Let's take 2500 miles for laughs: 90MPH = 27.77hrs; 50MPH = 50hrs; 30MPH = 83hrs; Even if you spread out your commute of 2500 miles a year, traveling at a faster pace would save you hours of time each year of driving.

I will also include a reference to some of the cross-country NYC to SF underground races that have occurred over the years. The Cannonball Run occured in the late 70s/early 80s and had a record of no accidents. The drivers were carefully picked and had the upmost care in their races. It was very illegal, but they achieved a huge feat. Alex Roy went on in 200X to beat the record. There's a documentary about it that's worth a watch. He too did it with no accident, and many since. These guys were averaging 90+ MPH across the country. It's pretty crazy. I AM NOT condoning such behavior, just stating the fact it was done and the results.

Below are some links to studies about speed and crash risk, they are interesting as well. As I mentioned, there is no doubt the more speed the more likelihood of going out in a flaming glory, but the crash risk associated with higher speeds isn't certain to the driver more so than it is other drivers.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=26729407
http://www.swov.nl/rapport/Factsheets/UK/FS_Speed.pdf