How Many MPH Over the Speed Limit?

[Onomea]

How fast do you typically drive, assuming traffic allows for speed? Or do you try to maintain the speed limit?

My rule of thumb is five MPH over the limit is probably not gonna get me a speeding ticket. As a teen I lived in Virginia, the 5 MPH over rule seemed to work pretty well, although rumor had it that in Maryland they'd ticket you for being even a mile or two over. In my 20s and early 30s, I lived in NYC and used to drive 95 down to VA using the same rule.

I then lived abroad for many years and have only been consistently driving in the US again since last September. I am curious what others assume, and if it varies by state.

I guess the other rule of thumb I have is if I am driving over the limit, I try not to be the lead car in the caravan. In that case, long caravan of cars, I will exceed 5 MPH over. If I'm the only car in sight, I generally maintain the 5 MPH over.

What say you?

 

[sigp220.45]

I’m boring. I drive the speed limit.

 

[Truckman]

My Cummins is most efficient at 65 MPH...If the posted limit is less than that, I'll drive at that limit and stay in the right lane when I can...If the posted limit is higher, I'll stay on 65 and in the right lane when possible...If I'm passing someone doing less than 65, I stay at 65 with my cruise control on until I'm past and then I move back to the right lane...I really don't care how mad people behind me get; if they're in that big of a hurry they should have left the house sooner......Ben

 

[Muss Muggins]

I’m boring. I drive the speed limit.

Me too. I would rarely be allowed to drive by coworkers when we were out in the field . . .

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Sometimes the road is straight and dry.
The only man made object I can see is the Road.
No traffic .
That’s when I speed up.
And that’s what I was doing when I almost hit that Elk that jumped into the road.
I love to run the backroads in NM and I haven’t done it enough lately.
It’s not always Elk. Last week a couple of Antelope ran across the road in front of me.
Then they stopped out in a big pasture, Nini Nini Nini Nini.
I hate it when they do that!

 

[quikdraw67]

A few miles over, 68 in a 65, 57 in a 55.

I've noticed something. When I go by those radar sign showing your speed I'm usually a little slower on the radar gun than my speedometer. The sigm will say 54, my speedometer will say 57. Who knows?

Last speeding ticket was in August 1989, in my Mom's car which I wasn't used to driving. 71 in a 55.

None since then.

 

[Onomea]

...I really don't care how mad people behind me get; if they're in that big of a hurry they should have left the house sooner......Ben

I'm patient with folks like you, trucks and RVs, etc. Actually, I think I'm patient with everyone. I typically leave more space between me and the vehicle ahead than most people do, so often cars will pull into the gap ahead of me. But I don't mind as I think it makes so little difference in terms of when I will get to wherever I am going. And I'm not normally in that much of a hurry anyway.

But, when it's an open road, safe road conditions, and traffic allows, I enjoy cruising above the limit.

 

[Absalom]

In town, I have always obeyed the speed limit. Too many pedestrians, kids running, people on bicycles, texting teenagers, and other potential disasters waiting to ambush you.

Out in the wild, I have an affinity for 100. Kilometers/hour, that is. Must be my European heritage. Comes out to 62 mph, which has never gotten me in trouble yet. Also my old van gets loud at speeds much over that

 

[Greyman50]

When I last talked to a State Trooper/ LEO about speed they all said SLOW people in the Fast,Left lane are the cause of Most crashes. Used to be around Atlanta if a Ga. Trooper caught someone holding up traffic THEY would get a ticket, don’t know about nowadays. I usually drive at or about 5 over depending on where. Clear interstate about 8-9 over, again depends on location. 18 wheelers are a Huge Problem now, IIRC they are involved in many crashes and the smaller vehicle always looses.

 

[smithra_66]

5 or so MPH unless I'm passing, then it could be up to 20.

 

[smithra_66]

When I last talked to a State Trooper/ LEO about speed they all said SLOW people in the Fast,Left lane are the cause of Most crashes. Used to be around Atlanta if a Ga. Trooper caught someone holding up traffic THEY would get a ticket, don’t know about nowadays. I usually drive at or about 5 over depending on where. Clear interstate about 8-9 over, again depends on location. 18 wheelers are a Huge Problem now, IIRC they are involved in many crashes and the smaller vehicle always looses.

Yes. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, don't drive in the passing lane UNLESS YOU ARE PASSING! Then move over!

It seems like half the population doesn't understand this very basic rule of the road.

 

[mmande]

My wife and I usually do our vacationing and traveling before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. I set the cruise control at 5 over the posted speed limit almost everywhere we go. It has been my observation that some states may enforce speeding better than others. In most states, at 5 over, I am among the fastest vehicles on the road. In states like Texas, Tennessee, Michigan and our home state of Iowa 5 over will get you passed by every type of vehicle known to man! Of course in very large cities speed limit signs mean absolutely nothing.
Just my 2 cents worth;
Mike

 

[hittman77]

+5

… but that answer is too short LOL

 

[muddocktor]

skip...I really don't care how mad people behind me get; if they're in that big of a hurry they should have left the house sooner......Ben

As long as you don't take forever to pass and clear the lane I have no problem. But if you drive in formation like you are a member of the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels, then we are going to have a problem. The passing lane is for passing, not riding in formation with another slower driver!

As for me and the speed limit, I generally drive around 5 mph over the speed limit on 4 lane roads and generally right around the speed limit in towns except for a few that are known speed trap towns. One such town is Golden Meadow, LA and has been known for speed trapping since before I was born. If the speed limit says 45 mph, set your cruise control at 44 mph there.

 

[BAM-BAM]

Home to the Lake is 70miles (mile markers 39-109) on the Pa. Pike.....speed limit is 70.

I set the cruise control at 70mph (based on the roadside radar's the State has going into work zones... my speedometer is off /low by 4mph) ..... one hour on the Pike.
Speeding will save me 5 minutes at best, and costs me about about a dollar in gas mileage ($2 round trip). So why risk a +$100 ticket?????


Driving down I-95 going to the Outer Banks...... I drive with traffic to avoid being run over!!!!!!!!

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Old cop who broke me in years ago expressed it like this:

They take 5, then I give them 5. Anything over 10 and there's no real excuses.

I try to keep it at about 2 over the posted limit, but I get tired of people trying to drive up my tailpipe and following so closely I can't see their grill in my rear view mirror.

Years ago I noticed vehicles driving below the speed limit and paid attention for other signs of intoxication (weaving especially). Lots of chronic drunk drivers will try to avoid detection by meticulously obeying the speed limit, and that can make them stand out in the crowd.

Note: Very few speedometers are really accurate. The best will usually be off by 2 to 4 MPH at highway speeds. My GPS unit displays my speed as determined by multiple geosynchronous satellite links so I am pretty sure that 53 MPH displays on the speedometer as 55, 63 displays as 65, and 72 displays as 75.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Wwhen regulating authorities set speed limits by a speed study, they assume that, left to their own devices, most drivers will drive at a speed they find to be safe and comfortable. They then set the speed limit at the 85th percentile, meaning 85% of drivers will naturally settle at a speed at or below that limit. Left to my own devices, I will usually settle at a speed which is probably somewhere around the 95th percentile, running a little faster than traffic, usually by no more than 5 or 10 mph. Running a little faster than the flow cuts down on surprises from overtaking vehicles.

If I find a gap that gives me an unobstructed view for a good distance ahead, I may settle there to preserve my view for as long as possible.

There are a lot of factors that affect my driving speed. The speed limit is one of them. Sometimes, I will drive slower than the limit, depending on my vehicle, weather, my own level of fatigue and attention, visibility and deer movement.

There is a book that I found helpful in developing my approach to avoiding speeding tickets. I tried looking it up, and I am pretty sure this is it:
“A Speeder’s Guide to Avoiding Speeding Tickets”, by James M. Egan, a former New York State trooper.

I used to drive (and ride) a lot faster than I do now. I got stopped about three times a year, but didn’t get very many tickets. After reading this book, the tickets dropped almost to nothing.

It has been years now since I have even been pulled over, so I must be driving slower.

 

[muddocktor]

snip...........

Note: Very few speedometers are really accurate. The best will usually be off by 2 to 4 MPH at highway speeds. My GPS unit displays my speed as determined by multiple geosynchronous satellite links so I am pretty sure that 53 MPH displays on the speedometer as 55, 63 displays as 65, and 72 displays as 75.

All a speedometer does is measure how many rpms the drivetrain is turning and converts it into a "speed" number. So many things can make your speedometer vary from true. Changing aspect ratio on your tires changes the reading, unless the replacement tires have exactly the same circumference as the old ones. Heck, you get a minor difference between a new set of tires and a worn set. And if you go with some aftermarket rims, you also stand a good chance of changing the installed tire circumference if the rim is any wider or narrower than the stock rim.

 

[tops]

I drive the speed limit but I stay in the right lane. When I run up behind someone going slower I get in the left lane to pass then get back in the right lane. When passing a slower car and another car is coming up behind me I speed up so I can get get out of their way and get back in the right lane as fast as possible. I think it is rude, arrogant, narcistic and just plain bad manners to ride in the left lane and hold up traffic. Larry

 

[Absalom]

All a speedometer does is measure how many rpms the drivetrain is turning and converts it into a "speed" number. So many things can make your speedometer vary from true..

All correct, but then again, I’ve had some type of GPS device in my vehicles for at least the last 20 years, and nowadays most cars have one built in, so there is little excuse not to be aware of any speedometer variance