Nobody's saying you have to speed if you don't want to.
Yes, so far nobody has said that people have to speed if they don't want to. This is clear simply by reading all of the posts in this thread. This is of no relevance, however. Similarly, nobody has said that people have to eat bananas if they don't want to, for example. There is little point in listing all of the things that nobody has said so far in a discussion.
I want operate my vehicle in which I feel is safe and expedient.
Multiple studies show that speeding is a factor in approximately one third of motoring fatalities. I would imagine that the speeding drivers who caused these deaths did not think, "I am operating my vehicle in a non-safe manner" before they were injured or died. The point is that believing that one is driving safely has little to do with whether or not one is driving safely. If you speed then you are statistically at higher risk of injury or death, or causing injury or death to others. It's as simple as that.
That the law may disagree is between me and the justice system.
But evidently it is not only between you and the justice system, though - you posted your speeding exploits on a public forum for comment.
You don't get to post your actions on a public forum and then say that it's got nothing to do with the people who comment on it. That's not the way this works.
Regarding your practical question. Did you know that male Uber drivers make 7% more than female Uber drivers?
It is common knowledge that breaking the law and committing unsafe acts can allow one to make more money than people who do not. Government benefit fraud, tax evasion, street robbery and many others come to mind. I don't see how this point strengthens your argument.
It's because male Uber drivers, on average drive faster, so end up with more fares and paid miles. Some of it also has to do with being willing to drive at night, but lead foot is a big factor.
On page 5 of the study the claim is made that speeding accounts for "... nearly half of the gender pay gap [in rideshare]". So, speeding nets speeding drivers around 3% more pay. For me personally, the risk:reward ratio in the increase in risk of hurting myself or others, damaging my car, getting a speeding ticket, having my insurance rate go up for just 3% extra money is certainly not worth it.
It's similar to what I told my son when he started driving. I had the drunk driving talk with him. The way I explained it was that if he drives drunk instead of catching an Uber or taxi, on the plus side, he would save himself maybe 20 bucks. On the risk side, if he crashed drunk and and killed someone, he would be going away to prison for approximately 5 - 10 years. So the risk:reward would be $20 savings against 5 - 10 years in jail. I told him that if he wanted to risk that amount of jail time, then he should make sure it was worth it with a crime that could net him $500,000 to $1,000,000 plus. Not for 20 bucks.
Now, the risks of speeding are, of course, much lower than committing a major crime. But so are the rewards. Everyone's attitude to risk is different but, for me personally, the risk of doing it for 3% makes no sense.
