How Many MPH Over the Speed Limit?

[Greyman50]

From observations, most likely 80 some % of driver today could not pass the driving test in Germany. Not saying they are better, but vehicles there are for DRIVING not drinking, eating, smoking, using some electronic device or shooting the breeze with passengers, not pay attention to the road and traffic. Best way to observe this is simply watch most entering the interstate from an onramp, nuf sed.

 

[NYlakesider]

When safe I tend to drive a bit faster than the speed limit. Have been a fast driver all my like, in fact my wife calls me thirty over Dave. (Thats a family joke) Where I now live other than summer weekends we can move along quite well up here in the mountains. You are more concerned about errant deer than LEOs.

As far a how fast I have driven as I do not know the statute of limitations I will plead the 5th on that. I have owned a few cars that easily can blow past 150 if you have the gonads to push the pedal that far down.

 

[VaTom]

On our trip down south this past March, my wife and I observed that the fastest drivers were in cars with either NY or NJ plates. Didn't seem overly bright to us to be zipping through VA, SC, or NC well over the speed limit with out of state plates.

Ironically, when we got back into MA, the very first car we saw stopped by the police had NY plates.

As a Va. Resident i can attest to that. State Troopers in Va. are very professional and courteous but don't expect any breaks. Cars with Ohio plates on I-77 in Va. are speeders also a!most to the point of being a hazard to others. Live near I-81. Lots of accidents. When you read about the ones with fatalities it is usually out of staters. No offense to anyone-just sying.

 

[smithra_66]

Here in TEXAS, most drivers have no idea what the definition of LIMIT is. They all seem to believe that the word doesn't apply to them, that they all know more about driving than anyone else, and they're the first to complain about "slow" drivers that have the audacity to follow the law, while they drive 10-20-30-40 over the limit and think their hot stuff. They'll also be the one first to complain if a speeder kills one of their family members. I'd love to see governors on all vehicles, just to see egos go down the tube. Now that I've made all the Texas drivers mad, back to our regular programing.

Yikes. How 'bout just enforce the law?

This sounds like a gun control mentality. No thanks!

 

[old bear]

On highways, when I believe it is safe to do so, I generally try and maintain a steady speed between 5 and 10 MPH over the posted limit. I also use the left lanes for passing only. Using this as a guide I have not had a citation in 20 + years. In town, with assorted cross streets and traffic I, generally, stay within the posted speed limit.

I do find though the older I get the more cautious I become, when driving, now if I could get the rest of the trash in my life to do the same

 

[duane_wade]

I have a friend who is retired from the state police and a general rule most of them adhered to in regard to running over the limit on the open highway was "if you're doing 8 your great but 9 you're mine" but he said in heavy or congested traffic anything over was the limit was up to the officer's discretion

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Rob613]

When safe I tend to drive a bit faster than the speed limit. Have been a fast driver all my like, in fact my wife calls me thirty over Dave. (Thats a family joke) Where I now live other than summer weekends we can move along quite well up here in the mountains. You are more concerned about errant deer than LEOs.



As far a how fast I have driven as I do not know the statute of limitations I will plead the 5th on that. I have owned a few cars that easily can blow past 150 if you have the gonads to push the pedal that far down.

The Northway is nuts, it was always fun towing a horse trailer to Painted Pony in Lake Luzerne.

NYS Troopers will rarely write a ticket for 9 over or less. They know most DA’s will plea bargain that to failure to obey a traffic control device.

 

[rockquarry]

Here in TEXAS, most drivers have no idea what the definition of LIMIT is. They all seem to believe that the word doesn't apply to them, that they all know more about driving than anyone else, and they're the first to complain about "slow" drivers that have the audacity to follow the law, while they drive 10-20-30-40 over the limit and think their hot stuff. They'll also be the one first to complain if a speeder kills one of their family members. I'd love to see governors on all vehicles, just to see egos go down the tube. Now that I've made all the Texas drivers mad, back to our regular programing.

About 98% of my driving is in Texas. It seems we have more self-important, rude, hyperactive, and potentially dangerous drivers (those that attempt to intimidate by tailgating) than we've ever had. Perhaps it has something to do with today's "want it right now" mentality.

Regardless of how fast you are driving, it's a wise measure to stay in or get in the right lane quickly if you see one of these immature drivers barreling down on you at high speed. No action you take on the road will help these persons mature and become courteous drivers.

 

[NYlakesider]

The Northway is nuts, it was always fun towing a horse trailer to Painted Pony in Lake Luzerne.

NYS Troopers will rarely write a ticket for less than 9 over. They know most DA’s will plea bargain that to failure to obey a traffic control device.

Get north of the Lake George exits and the"allowance'' gets better.

I drive that road often, speeders are not tha big of a problem its the person paying more attention to their cell phone/texts.

 

[GaryS]

Our upcoming trip is going to go through the western edge of VA along I-81 until we turn south on I-77. Beautiful road.

As a Va. Resident i can attest to that. State Troopers in Va. are very professional and courteous but don't expect any breaks. Cars with Ohio plates on I-77 in Va. are speeders also a!most to the point of being a hazard to others. Live near I-81. Lots of accidents. When you read about the ones with fatalities it is usually out of staters. No offense to anyone-just sying.

 

[JET4]

I will go 5-9 mph over

 

[JJEH]

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

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk1vbwb6vS8[/ame]

Wait... what was the question?

 

[grover99]

When I was younger I was always 2 points short of loosing my license for speeding. I would take it easy until some points would drop off. I still drive about the same but don't get tickets anymore. Guess I have gotten smarter about it. I drive I 70 a lot and it seems that the default speed is 80. The speed limit is 70 but no one seems to drive that slow except some old dude who seems to be married to the left lane or some trucker passing another truck who is going one MPH slower than he is and taking 3 miles to go around him. Maybe the state is cutting back because I just don't see as many Highway Patrol cars these days as I once did and I drive part of I 70 about twice a week and have been doing so sense about 1967.

 

[Rustyt1953]

A reminder from Junior:

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x_wLVCLPx0M[/ame]

 

[crstrode]

If it was not illegal to throw bricks through windshields of idiots doing 40 or 50 or more on the 25MPH residential street in front of my house, the world would be a safer place.

(Except for idiots)

 

[grover99]

If it was not illegal to throw bricks through windshields of idiots doing 40 or 50 or more on the 25MPH residential street in front of my house, the world would be a safer place.

(Except for idiots)

The street in front of my house is Main Street it is also a state highway. The speed limit is 25 but a lot of these nuts drive like they are still on the state highway and go 55 or more. Our town fathers closed down out little police Department a couple of years ago so we get a country sheriff deputy once in awhile but that has no effect on the speeders.

 

[Jon651]

For me, I admit to 5 mph over the speed limit but will frequently do 10, except for interstate driving.

If the speed limit is 70 then I will do 72 in my truck, for two reasons:

1. My truck will get between 20-22 MPG when doing between 70-72 MPH, but go over 72 and there must be a switch I haven't found that starts lowering the mileage significantly. I guess that's what I get for owning a vehicle with the same coefficient of drag as a brick. And...

2. Here in Central Florida, when I am doing 72 in a 70 area I am still going about 15-17 MPH FASTER than most of the codgers in their Caddy's. Of course, I can easily tell who they are from a distance because they are always in the left lane with their right blinker flashing for the last 10 miles!

 

[BB57]

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

My dad was the same way. He felt he had a constitutional right to stay in the left lane exactly at the speed limit and take miles to pass someone if necessary. In fact he almost saw it as a civic duty to prevent others from speeding and creating a safety hazard.

I thought that was inconsiderate at the time (and I was about 13 at the time). . Seriously...you never know what is going on in someone else’s life. (Probably) well meaning people like you and my dad end up backing traffic up for miles.

Something to consider is that over the years both of you doing that you probably caused someone to miss a few precious minutes with a dying relative, or arriving a few minutes later to comfort a sick child, etc, in situations where there was no advanced notice and no way to “just leave earlier”.

Several years later as an LEO I also came to realize it was not only discourteous, but also unsafe. Folks like you and my dad need to understand that the traffic congestion you create behind you (when you refuse to drive with the traffic flow in whatever lane you are in) has almost certainly killed or injured people. When you force people behind you to slow, as you refuse to get off your cruise control to expedite your pass, it has an accordion effect that leads to chain reaction accidents behind you.

In general we have really poor lane discipline in the US. Some f that is due to impatient people who get frustrated by slower folks staking a claim in the left lane. However a lot of it is caused by fiercely independent (arguably self centered and possibly self righteous - I know my dad was) types like you driving below the normal speed of traffic in the left lane, even if you do eventually go back into the right hand lane.

In short, if you are going to pass, get off the cruise control, get on the gas and and pass expeditiously.

If it takes you more than about 10 seconds to pass a car in the right lane you are passing way too slow and you are putting others at risk.

More to the point, if you are over taking a car at only 1-2 mph and are using the left lane to do it, you should have just slowed 1-2 mph, reset your cruise and *stayed* in the right lane. Or alternatively using your logic: “Oh...you *have* to pass since you can’t go 1-2 mph slower? Maybe you should have just left a little sooner.”

 

[Onomea]

The street in front of my house is Main Street it is also a state highway. The speed limit is 25 but a lot of these nuts drive like they are still on the state highway and go 55 or more. Our town fathers closed down out little police Department a couple of years ago so we get a country sheriff deputy once in awhile but that has no effect on the speeders.

You should lobby for 25-MPH -appropriate speed bumps. There is a 25 MPH cross street with these between two well-used highways in a residential neighborhood nearby my own. The speed bumps are quite effective.

 

[BB57]

How fast is too fast in terms f triggering a stop depends on a few factors.

1) It varies by state. For example in South Dakota the tolerance was just 5 mph. On the other hand SD is a wide open state that has faster speed limits on the first place. Last time I was back home to visit the speed limit on I-90 was 70 in MN and 75 in SD. So 79 mph worked in both states given the 5 mph tolerance in SD and 10 mph is MN.

2) expect less tolerance of you have out of state plates. They know you are not going to stick around and contest the ticket. A possible exception to that occurs in states where tourism is big business. They want you to come back.

3) If you are driving a vehicle that fits a drug runner profile you can expect to be stopped at pretty much any speed over the posted limit. If for example you have a pickup with a cap on the bed, out of state plates, it’s riding low like you have a load in the bed, and you are traveling on a known drug corridor, you’re going to get stopped if they can find probable cause to make a stop.

4) in the south east there is of course the accompanying offense of “driving while ____and in the south west there is the similar offense of “driving while _____***”. In both cases you just won’t have the same range of 5 mph or 10 mph over the speed limit that _____ drivers get. We desperately need to get rid of officers with those biases and attitudes but it has proven to be extremely hard to get rid of them over the last 4-5 decades. They are unfortunately self replicating in many departments.

5) teenagers generally also get less tolerance, in part as some officers target them for stops due to the increased potential for the presence of drugs or alcohol. Again, if they can find probable cause, they’ll use it.

As an example, when I was 16 I was driving home from my after school job at about 1am in the midst of snow on top of freezing rain. I managed to safely stop at an intersection for a red light but noted the car coming up behind me not slowing and then careening wildly. Since there were no other cars I proceeded through the intersection to avoid an accident. It was good judgement on my part as the car behind me ended up in the middle of the intersection and would have not my car.

This was however observed by a police officer a couple blocks ahead of me who then pulled me over and cited me for a stop sign violation. I took it to court and the judge agreed with my necessity defense. He also chewed the officer out for ticketing me, rather than ticketing the person behind me. I got the impression this kind of profiling was a regular occurrence with this officer.