Speeding Tickets...

[kelownagirl]

I usually drive just under 10 km over the speed limit but that's about it. I have been pulled over once in the last 25 years and I got a warning, but then I wasn't going all that fast that time.

If I got a speeding ticket, I'd accept it because I believe the laws are there for a reason. I would not like to think people are able to talk their way out of other "crimes", so why should I accept that they can get out of a speeding ticket. Speed kills.

Now parking tickets - that's another thing altogether...

[LBTC]

Kelownagirl, it's interesting. I think the 10km over concept is purely Canadian.

Friends were up from Washington state one time and asked "what do those numbers on the signs mean?" He was trying to point out that he didn't see *anyone* doing the speed limit or under, at least outside of any city, once he got into BC. I do think it's cultural to whatever location you are driving in, so it's a good idea if you travel to find out what the highway speed enforcement is like in the area.

I set the cruise to 10km over and have not been stopped for speeding. Truth be told, in my old hometown, there were several locations in town where I would be passed by the police when I was doing 10km over....and they were not going to an emergency.

All that said, whenever possible, I let DH drive. I get way to stressed out when I'm driving.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Mr. Bloom]

Kelownagirl, it's interesting. I think the 10km over concept is purely Canadian.

In the US, it's common for folks to set a limit that is 8mph to 10mph over the posted speed on the highways...the rationale is that police don't care.

I will never drive to a point of feeling unsafe...but I will commonly exploit the 10mph practice in a rural area. When I go through towns, I meticulously check my speed.

Hang on a second.....I never said I used feminine wiles (is that the word?)

Silver is a very careful driver...which makes it more ironic that she's been pulled over more than me.

For the record (and domestic tranquility), I never said that Silver used "feminine whiles"...

[lph]

In Norway almost everybody drives 10-15 km over the speed limit.

I'm taking my drivers license now and just learning to drive (no exciting reason, just never got around to it before and didn't have a car), and I try to stay about 5 km above the limit. Fast enough to keep up with traffic, slow enough that if I'm stopped the police won't make a huge fuss. Driving AT the speed limit is downright dangerous, as everybody tries to pass you and you cause huge queues.

[East Hill]

I don't know if it makes any difference to anyone, but the speed at which roads are travelled can be influenced by a couple of factors. The first of course, is the spped for which it was engineered to be travelled.

But scarily, in certain states (California for one), if the average speed on a road creeps up over time, the state (or county, I forget which), will adjust the speed upward when approximately 85% of the motorists are exceeding the speed limit.

So, if you started off with a road that was posted at 30 mph, but 85% of the motorists drive at 45 mph, the posted limit will be revised to reflect a higher posted limit (if the engineering of the road permits). I would imagine it can set off a vicious cycle, only stopping when the engineered conditions no longer allow for a higher limit.

That probably doesn't help get anyone over their fear of travelling on the road because drivers already go too fast, eh?

East Hill

[Brandi]

My Dh swears all cops are after him. if they are they have only gone after him three times in the 20 years I have known him. And two of those times he was breaking the speed limit. The third time which was a few years ago we got pulled over with two other cars. And in a double fine zone. My dh was going to fight that one. But the judge let him do traffic school (which he did on line). Well we got a radar detector after that $450 . traffic ticket. In california they are not illegal. He actually drives better now. And every time it beeps we slow down and play find the cop. It makes long drives a little funner. But some times it beeps and we don't know why.
Knock on wood but I have never even got a parking ticket!

[silver]

Brandi, Mr. was using a radar detector last Saturday. It's a good one, I think. It hadn't made a peep, until the policeman zapped him with instant on. The policeman was actually traveling in the same direction as us, ahead of us and we'd just come into his sight and vice versa. He pulled over and when we passed flashed his lights, but we knew when he pulled over.

I also wonder if the fact that Mr. has the radar detector on the windshield makes him more likely to get a ticket rather than a warning.

[Mr. Bloom]

I don't know if it makes any difference to anyone, but the speed at which roads are travelled can be influenced by a couple of factors. The first of course, is the spped for which it was engineered to be travelled.

But scarily, in certain states (California for one), if the average speed on a road creeps up over time, the state (or county, I forget which), will adjust the speed upward when approximately 85% of the motorists are exceeding the speed limit.

So, if you started off with a road that was posted at 30 mph, but 85% of the motorists drive at 45 mph, the posted limit will be revised to reflect a higher posted limit (if the engineering of the road permits). I would imagine it can set off a vicious cycle, only stopping when the engineered conditions no longer allow for a higher limit.

That probably doesn't help get anyone over their fear of travelling on the road because drivers already go too fast, eh?

East Hill

East Hill, I see what you're saying...but what about Europe? I've driven the autobahn at 2-3X the speed as US roads and felt much safer than doing 55 on a US Interstate. I think this supports speeds approaching the engineering limits, not the arbitrary speed limits.

Of course, the standards to get a license in Europe are much stricter and the traffic laws are meticulously obeyed (at least in Germany where I've driven)

[East Hill]

East Hill, I see what you're saying...but what about Europe? I've driven the autobahn at 2-3X the speed as US roads and felt much safer than doing 55 on a US Interstate. I think this supports speeds approaching the engineering limits, not the arbitrary speed limits.

Of course, the standards to get a license in Europe are much stricter and the traffic laws are meticulously obeyed (at least in Germany where I've driven)

Yes, that actually accords with what I've said! The autobahn are engineered for those speeds. They also don't allow bikes!

Sometimes the arbitrary speeds aren't so arbitrary, if you know why they're there. I remember growing up where one of the speed limit signs was posted for 17? mph on a curve. It had something to do with the fact that drivers noticed it because it was an odd number, and would slow down. Apparently a lot of people had had bad accidents at that curve, and yes, it was an arbitrary speed, but for a reason. Same with your side streets--how fast can you go and then stop on a dime when a child runs out in front of you? You don't want to go so fast that you can't stop in time. Even though the streets could be engineered for much faster speeds, would you want to go faster?

Sometimes I think that the last question is purely rhetorical. Obviously a lot of people do want to go faster, even if it's possible to kill or injure a child by doing so.

East Hill