No, you get the new drivers outside their homeostatic reaction to stress, learning their reflexes, with a proper stress reaction to take it easy. They develop and become more comfortable, just like how I used to go 10mph down hill on a bike and now I go 18-20, and some people go 35-45.

Once they reach their comfort zone, the stupidity kicks in. It doesn't matter that they can't handle things like skidding around curves or racing through side streets; that nothing bad ever happened gives them a comfortable feeling about it, even though something bad will happen one day.

I don't drive the speed limit; I drive the nominal speed or the reasonable safe speed, whichever is lower. If traffic is moving faster than the speed limit, I go with traffic flow to avoid creating an unsafe situation with queuing cars and angry drivers making dangerous maneuvers to pass me. If they're going insanely fast, I either exit that lane or make them wait; screw that, I'm not racing down the highway at 100mph in semi-dense traffic in the rain, that's just ********. Plus the speed limit for the highway is 60mph for a reason; 70-80 is usually fine, 100 is not, and even on parts of 83 I won't do above 70 because it's a crazy serpentine course that will hurl your car violently if you start to skid in the least. If people want to go that fast, I'll find another lane; if I'm in the far right lane, they can wait or move into a more leftward lane.

Speed limits are placed low for the road; but what people fail to realize is they also account for other conditions. For example, a 40mph limit urban sprawl road, double lane, surrounded by planes and graveyards, low foot traffic and low traffic, no intersections, is safe at 60mph. A 25mph side street that's decently wide, nice and straight, and navigable at 40mph is not safe above 25mph; I tend to travel these at 20mph, sometimes slower. Why? Because pedestrians, car doors, and sidewalk cyclists can suddenly appear out of nowhere due to visual obstructions. I need minimal stopping distance, and even if I had somewhere to go (i.e. a 2 lane street) it'd be non-ideal. It's not just the chance of suddenly finding a pedestrian in my way: pedestrians are in a much more comfortable light residential zone, and expect the street to be a place they can freely walk and play. In a denser city, they will be looking for more traffic, meaning traffic can go faster; even though there's more pedestrians, they're less likely to enter the street unsafely.

People do not realize this. They either travel as fast as they feel they can go, or they try to take the high ground and stick strictly to the speed limit. These are both dangerous. The speed limit is a guideline: exceed it if it's not safe to maintain it (i.e. traffic flow causes an unsafe situation if you travel slowly), but only approach it if it's not safe to actually travel at that speed (in the rain, in residential areas, etc). It is not a cardinal sin to travel below the speed limit when reasonable; nor is it wrong or inherently dangerous to travel above the speed limit when traffic flow dictates. These things must be judged by all factors, including road traffic (cars, cyclists) and pedestrian traffic, road topology, visibility, road conditions (weather, wear), the condition of your vehicle (tires, maintenance), and your abilities as a driver; most people ignore at least half of these, and overestimate their abilities as drivers.

It's often stated (see Bruce Schneier) that most people fear the ridiculously low chances of their death in an airplane crash caused by terrorists; but completely ignore the risks they take while driving. People have a large amount of control over this risk, however, and we could greatly reduce it (by some degree) by improved driver's education; people actually practicing good road skills (especially good judgment) would drive effectively (not timidly) and yet reduce this risk by 90% or more. Improved education does not equate to improved driver behavior, but it is a large step forward. Simplified laws and strict enforcement of laws would also help, which is why I'm often a proponent of just throwing out what we have and sucking it up while we directly graft Germany's vehicle laws onto our society, signage and all; there will be pain, but who cares?