JohnKSa said:
However, I think you can see why your personal standard of what is "terrible" penetration might not be widely held given that it apparently (I'm still assuming because you haven't said yet what your personal standard is) doesn't agree at all with the (arguably arbitary) standard that is essentially universally accepted by U.S. LE.
Most standards are arbitrary.
Most highways in the northeastern U.S. have speed limits of 65 MPH. Most people drive them at 70, 75, or 80 MPH, and there aren't all that any accidents considering the number of vehicles exceeding the speed limits. But they want a speed limit, and they chose 65 because ... reasons. It's a standard, and it's arbitrary.
I work in the building industry. Building construction is based on codes and standards, just about all of which are arbitrary. For example, a particular class of occupancy might allow a maximum travel distance to an exit of 100 feet. If it was 105 feet, would everyone die in a fire? Would
anyone die in a fire? It probably would make any difference, but they needed a number and they settled on 100 feet.
Snow loads. Different regions of the country use different numbers for roof snow loads and for wind loads. Who says 30 PSF is THE accurate number for a particular region? 35 would obviously be safer. How much less safe would 25 PSF be? If a region were to change from 30 PDF to 25 PSF, would all the new buildings collapse? Probably not. They needed a number, and they picked 30. It's a standard, and it's arbitrary.
That's the nature of standards. Basically, they're all arbitrary.