What's the Speed Limit? Tales of High-Speed Driving

[Cyrus]

I left my house and got onto the main road. I saw a cop and an SUV coming up the road, (its a big 3 lane road each side), but they were far enough back so I pulled out onto the road and I pushed my puny straight 4 up to speed. So all the while I am looking in my mirror as I speed up. I see this suv being tail gated by the cop. She changes her lane, cop changes his lane and tail gates her some more. At this point there side by side with me. Then the lady in the SUV hits the gas. I’m saying to myself, what the hell did you just do are you stupid!? Then the cop pulls her over and gives her a ticked. I think that was BS, the cop pushed her into speeding. The speed limit is 50, and the road is huge and we were the ONLY 3 cars on the road.
So after this incident I pulled up to the traffic light and there was this nice new blue Porsche carrera in front of me. Naturally we were going the same direction. Eventually we got to a red light and were side by side. Long story short the light turned green and we both floored it. He killed me. I had to look back in my mirror to realize all the cars that were behind us were now a small dot. We were not going ALL that fast, maybe 75-80 on a...40. All I can say was it worth hearing the engine of his car rev up to high RPMs and fly down the road. The sad part is I was trying my best, I think he wasn’t trying at all.


I don't usually drive fast like that. Today was a special occasion. But I usually go ~15 mph above the speed limit when I normally drive. How about the rest of you? (I just wanted an excuse to make a poll thread one of these days, and now I have one )

Oh yeah, and it goes without saying, don't break the law. Always go the speed limit!

 

[Moonbear]

Hey, you left out the choice for people who habitually drive 5-10 mph UNDER the speed limit. I know they're out there, because I'm always stuck behind them in the no-passing zones.

 

[Cyrus]

5 miles above the speed limit is not illegal. Oh, you said under. LOL!

 

[chroot]

Then the cop pulls her over and gives her a ticked. I think that was BS, the cop pushed her into speeding.

Perhaps you're just making crap up. You have no idea why he actually pulled her over, or what the cop actually charged her with. You're just speculating. Maybe she ran a red light a few minutes back or made an illegal turn, and the cop was just catching up with her, trying to find a good place to pull her over. (Cops stick like glue to cars they are following.)

- Warren

 

[Bystander]

... or, get the call back from dispatch, "Yeah, there's an 'armed and dangerous' out on that tag no."

 

[Cyrus]

You don't "catch up" to her by tailgating the woman for a good 1/4 of a mile. He turned his lights on only after she suddenly sped up. (Probably because she wanted that cop to stop following her so close). In any event, I found it to be odd.

 

[Hurkyl]

Even if you ignore all the idiots on the road and are only concerned with legality, I don't think the time saved by speeding is worth breaking the law. (And quite often, time is not saved by speeding and other forms of aggressive driving)

The thing that boggles me is tailgating. I just don't understand it, especially some of the stupider forms, such as:

(1) Tailgating at an on-ramp where you're going to have to merge.

(2) Gain on someone, pull up to their bumper, slow down to their speed, and then pass. (Even though there's no traffic in the other lane)

(3) Gain on someone, and sit on their rear for 10 miles, even though there's barely any traffic on a three lane highway.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Perhaps you're just making crap up. You have no idea why he actually pulled her over, or what the cop actually charged her with. You're just speculating. Maybe she ran a red light a few minutes back or made an illegal turn, and the cop was just catching up with her, trying to find a good place to pull her over. (Cops stick like glue to cars they are following.)

This is true. He may have punched the license plate into the system and have been sticking to her while waiting for information back.

 

[Evo]

She might have done something to anger him before you showed up. She could have had expired tags and he was following her while calling into check her tags out.

 

[zoobyshoe]

She could have passed him miles back and given him the finger as she did.

 

[Cyrus]

Still, the cop should not be tailgating her like that. He could have caused an accident. She was already changing lanes and speeding up because of his aggressive driving.

 

[Bystander]

It is coming up on the "end of the quarter" --- he might be trying to make payroll.

 

[JamesU]

Didn't we already have a Driving Habits thread?

 

[chroot]

You don't "catch up" to her by tailgating the woman for a good 1/4 of a mile. He turned his lights on only after she suddenly sped up. (Probably because she wanted that cop to stop following her so close). In any event, I found it to be odd.

A quarter of a mile, at 50 miles per hour, takes 18 seconds.

- Warren

 

[Cyrus]

Yeah, it was about that long ~half a minute. It was long enough to make her change her driving habbits significantly. If he was going to pull her over, he didn't have to do it while tailgating her.

 

[chroot]

Still, the cop should not be tailgating her like that. He could have caused an accident. She was already changing lanes and speeding up because of his aggressive driving.

And perhaps he saw her lange-changing and speeding to be indications that she might be about to try some evasive action. He might have waited to get around you because he didn't want you to get involved in what he perceived might turn into a dangerous vehicular confrontation. The bottom line is that you have no idea what really transpired between the cop and the SUV driver, so you probably shouldn't reach any conclusions about who did what.

I generally dislike cops, and have had my share of bad experiences with the traffic-court system in general. At the same time, I feel the need to defend the [perhaps minority of] cops who do their jobs very well.

I was driving (at the limit) down Highway 1 late at night a few months back. The only other car in my immediate vicinity was an old El Camino about a quarter mile ahead. I noticed nothing at all unusual about the situation until a cruiser approached from behind me. He moved behind me, a little closer than I'd like, and did the trick of moving half a lane to the left, watching my response. Before I had a chance to finish saying "what the heck?" he had moved back around me, moved to the El Camino, and did the same trick again. Instantly, the El Camino swerved and started oscillating back and forth across both lanes, leaving the roadway on one side, and almost leaving the shoulder. The cop had just demonstrated, in a split second, that the El Camino driver was completely drunk. The El Camino then tried to dodge onto an off-ramp, and the cop hit his lights and was on him like white on rice.

I'm sure that the majority of cops can drive better than 99% of "civilian" drivers, and they can do some pretty impressive things on four wheels. If the cop was truly tailgating the SUV in what you'd consider a dangerous manner, I strongly suspect there was more to the story that just what you saw.

- Warren

 

[chroot]

If he was going to pull her over, he didn't have to do it while tailgating her.

See my above post.

- Warren

 

[Cyrus]

The cop had just demonstrated, in a split second, that the El Camino driver was completely drunk.

And what if the guy swerved and killed himself or you in the process? I think that cop would be responsible for the accident by driving illegally and aggressively.

The other day there was this idiot cop who was driving up and down the road making illegal uturns. I was driving down the road, there was another car infront of me. All of a sudden the cop on the oncomming lane busts a u-turn. No lights, no sirren. Just makes a u-turn. The car ahead of me had to slam on her brakes. Then the cop just proceeds to drive up the road going past the speed limit. We catch up to him a little bit later, the guy busts ANOTHER u-turn, still no lights. AGAIN the lady ahead of me had to slam on her brakes. This time she gave him a nice long beep (Not to mention there were oncomming cars when he did it). I gave the cop a bad look, like what the hell is your problem you idiot? At least put ur sirren on if your going to do that.

 

[chroot]

And what if the guy swerved and killed himself or you in the process? I think that cop would be responsible for the accident by driving illegally and aggressively.

He did a quite good job of getting between me and the El Camino, tracking its movement across the roadway, and isolating me from the guy in the El Camino with his own vehicle. He gave me plenty of time to figure out something was happening and slow down. In fact, I left with the distinct feeling of wow, that guy's good, I can't believe how surgical that was.

Besides, if the El Camino driver had ended up killing himself (or me, or the cop), he would have taken complete responsibility -- he was drunk. The cop did nothing but change langes behind him, then watch what he did. It was likely that I would have overtaken the El Camino in a minute or two myself, and my lane change might have provoked a similar response. Kind of scary, really.

No lights, no sirren. Just makes a u-turn. The car ahead of me had to slam on her brakes. Then the cop just proceeds to drive up the road going past the speed limit.

I agree with you there -- it's dangerous and irresponsible for cops to make sudden (illegal) maneuvers while not even using their lights to warn other drivers. At the same time, I suspect the cop was looking for a specific make and model of vehicle, known to be in the immediate area, and didn't want his presence to be given away by flashing blue lights.

Traffic cops always have to balance their effectiveness in catching criminals with the safety of innocent motorists -- and it's definitely a trade-off. For example, I'm happy that many jurisdictions have recently stopped engaging in high-speed chases, as they tend to have a lot of collateral damage.

- Warren

 

[Integral]

It would never occur to me to SPEED up to get away from a cop. The way I usually deal with obnoxious tailgaters is to show them some brake light. Not sure that this is a good idea if the tailgater is a cop.

A tailgating cop is a very bad sign, about the only option you have to to pull over and have a chat.

 

[Moonbear]

Yeah, it was about that long ~half a minute. It was long enough to make her change her driving habbits significantly. If he was going to pull her over, he didn't have to do it while tailgating her.

Or maybe she was already speeding. Since you were ahead and just merging on and they passed you while you were merging, you have no way to know what her speed was. She may have even been driving erratically, just as you saw, going slower and speeding up. You also don't know that she even knew he was there to have changed her driving; afterall, it IS pretty stupid to drive faster with a cop on your bumper, especially if you've just changed lanes and KNOW they are following you, not trying to pass you.

He was probably pacing her to clock her speed to pull her over; that's pretty standard and you'll see it any time a cop comes up on a car from behind when they can't use radar to clock the speed. I've even seen a cop that was a bit ahead of a car quickly catching up from behind pull over, let the speeding car pass, then pull back out to clock them and pull them over a short distance later. They always pull up close before turning on the lights to make a stop. By getting right behind the car, it makes it easier for the car to pull over; when they turn their lights on, the cars in the adjacent lane will get out of the way of both of them, not just the cop, and the driver knows the cop is pulling them over, not turning the lights on to get to something else.

 

[Cyrus]

by the time she caught up with me we were both going the speed limit side by side. But with the cop still tailgating her she gave some gas in what appeared to be an attempt to get him off her back since changing lanes did not help. I saw her looking in her mirror when she did that too. She was not driving erratically.


She was driving just fine until he started to follow her so close. Then she changed lanes so he could pass her if he wanted to drive fast. But he dident just pass her, he just as quickly changed lanes and continued to stay on her rear. She DID know he was there, that's the whole reason why she changed lanes to get out of his way.

 

[Moonbear]

Besides, if the El Camino driver had ended up killing himself (or me, or the cop), he would have taken complete responsibility -- he was drunk. The cop did nothing but change langes behind him, then watch what he did. It was likely that I would have overtaken the El Camino in a minute or two myself, and my lane change might have provoked a similar response. Kind of scary, really.

Precisely. If the driver was overreacting like that to someone changing lanes behind him, better it was a cop than your average driver who would 1) not even be expecting it, and 2) would not have the type of training to avoid a collision.

A tailgating cop is a very bad sign, about the only option you have to to pull over and have a chat.

Yes, if he was already tailgating, he was already planning to pull her over. As Chroot already mentioned, he was probably waiting until they completely passed Cyrus and were far enough ahead of him to give him time to slow down and avoid them as they were pulling over. If he had flipped his light one while still behind Cyrus while Cyrus was merging, the SUV driver could have panicked at the light and run into Cyrus in the attempt to pull over too quickly.

As for a cop making multiple U-turns in a small area, really, it's not a hobby people take up for no good reason. He was looking for someone or something in that immediate area. I remember one night that I was driving through a city neighborhood and noticed a cop driving very "strangely." Pulling over to the side of the road, stopping, pulling back out...I was really unsure whether to stop and wait or pass or what and was getting frustrated wishing he'd put his lights on or just completely stop or something. In the next morning's news, I found out there had been a fight in the area that night and a suspect in a stabbing was on the loose...then it all made sense - the cop had been looking for that suspect, pulling over to look between buildings and down side-streets while other cops were on foot that I didn't see or know about.

And, again, as for people being pulled over for no apparent reason, I had a friend who was pulled over one night and had no idea what she had done wrong. It turned out her car matched the description the cop had of a stolen car. He pulled her over while running the plates, and as soon as they came up clean, she was free to go. Nothing to the drivers on the road around her would have seemed wrong at all, because nothing was wrong other than every red car of that particular make and model in the area was being pulled over to check.

 

[Moonbear]

by the time she caught up with me we were both going the speed limit side by side.

And she may have slowed down by then. You do NOT know what happened prior to you pulling in.

She DID know he was there, that's the whole reason why she changed lanes to get out of his way.

And all the more reason NOT to speed up. That was just plain stupid if you know the cop is there. If you change lanes and they stick with you, you know they're after you for something, you don't make it worse by adding a speeding to it (if that wasn't already the reason for him pulling her over)...it could have been one of those days when they target the people on cell phones or not wearing seat belts too that he may have been following close enough to see if she was indeed on the phone (isn't that illegal to drive while talking on the cell phone in your neck of the woods?). You don't do anything to try to get a cop off your tail; they're there for a reason. And if he had no reason to pull her over until then, then she would have avoided it by patiently driving the speed limit until he got bored and moved on. That's really unlikely to be the case though. There are enough real speeders around where you live that they don't need to goad someone into speeding to write a ticket.

 

[Cyrus]

(isn't that illegal to drive while talking on the cell phone in your neck of the woods?).

Nope, but she was on her phone too. LOL!

That's why I said to myself, "what the hell are you doing!?" when I saw her try to go a little faster .

Another time I was coming home late from the library at school. The cops along this one road love to sit parked at the u-turn\left turn parts of the road with their lights off and wait for a person to drive past them. This was at like 3 a.m. I was driving with a few cars around me. As soon as we pass, the cop pulls out and starts tailgating me.

The road was 3 lanes and funneled into 2 lanes because it passed under a bridge but then became 3 lanes again after the bridge. at the two lane part, one lane was closed because they were doing night repair construction work. So I went EXTRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA slow for that cop. I was going 5 mph under the speed limit just to piss him off (I knew he wanted to give me a speeding ticket in a construction zone so he could double the fines). Well, the cars behind me were getting mad too, it was 3 a.m. So as soon as the road spread out to 3 lanes, I put my turn signal and changed lanes so that the cop would pass me by on the fast lane. Cop turns on his turn signal, tailgates me some more. I am like, ok, ill go slow for you, you idiot. As I am going slow, the car behind the cop gets angry and is like screw this and turns without using his indicator. As soon as he does that the cop SLAMS on his breaks, goes behind the other car and gives him a ticket...seems like a trend.

 

[chroot]

She was driving just fine until he started to follow her so close. Then she changed lanes so he could pass her if he wanted to drive fast. But he dident just pass her, he just as quickly changed lanes and continued to stay on her rear. She DID know he was there, that's the whole reason why she changed lanes to get out of his way.

I really can't believe the way you argue. We've already explained that, in all likelihood, you don't know the complete story. You've already admitted that you only saw the SUV and cop interact for a total of about 18 seconds, and the cop was tailgating her for the entire duration. You have no facts at all about what happened a mere 18 seconds earlier, yet you feel completely confident in recreating the entire event, even that which you did not see from the perspective of a person you do not know and have have never even spoken to.

It's obvious you just have a personal problem with cops. Don't get me wrong, I pretty much hate cops and the entire law enforcement establishment -- I had to spend $3,500 recently to clear my license of tickets from three years ago that I thought I fixed. On the other hand, I don't sit around thinking that every cop I see is out to get me, or goad me into doing something illegal so he can attack me.

- Warren

 

[Cyrus]

I don't think that all cops are out to get me, but that cop WAS out to get someone that night (and he got the guy who turned without using his blinkers). The guy was tailgating me on PURPOSE. I changed lanes to let him pass, and he changed lanes and was STILL tailgating me. Is he that blind that he can't read my plates from 1 car distance back if that's what he's doing?

 

[Moonbear]

I don't think that all cops are out to get me, but that cop WAS out to get someone that night (and he got the guy who turned without using his blinkers). The guy was tailgating me on PURPOSE. I changed lanes to let him pass, and he changed lanes and was STILL tailgating me. Is he that blind that he can't read my plates from 1 car distance back if that's what he's doing?

Given your response to the poll option, how fast were you going BEFORE you saw the cop pull out? It could be that he could have picked anyone out of the crowd and you were just the lucky one.

 

[Cyrus]

I was going the speed limit. I don't drive fast at night time, especially on that road because I KNOW cops sit there 24-7.

 

[BobG]

Standard speed around here is about 5-10 mph over the speed limit (except school zones). In fact, theoretically a person can get a ticket for traveling exactly the speed limit in the left lane unless they happen to be passing an even slower car at the time.

I don't worry about the speed limit too much unless I'm the only traffic around. Best bet is just to follow the flow of traffic.

 

[rocketboy]

Since I'm Canadian (eh) I'm going to reply in kph, I don't know mph that well. I voted 15 or more over, I think that's about 30kph?

I just got my liscence last August, and up until last week have been lucky and always noticed cops and had time to brake. But the other night I was driving home from school, and it was dark so I couldn't tell which cars are which. All I see are their headlights coming toward me...until in my rear view mirror I see red and blue flashing lights and a car pull a 180 in the middle of the road to come after me.

My immediate reaction was "oh **** I'm screwed" you see, my parents told me when I got my liscense that if my insurance rises at all they're taking it away, meaning I won't be able to drive. Now, I don't know the system in the US, but here you get demerit points for doing bad things...demerit points mean your insurance rises. If you are 15kph or less over the limit and get pulled over, there are no demerits, just a small ticket.

So I pull over, the cop gets out and I hand him my liscense and registration (he didn't even have to ask...I think he was impressed). He says "sir you were doing 110 in an 80 zone" (kph). He goes back to the car and leaves me for 20 minutes wondering how I'm ever going to get out of it.

So he comes back to the car, and says "30kph over the limit is a $150(ish) fine and 4 demerit points" (that's a lot, I think at my liscense level once I get to 6 I lose my liscense...for fully liscensed drivers it's like 9 or something). then he continues "but I see this is your first ticket, so I have reduced it to 95kph, meaning you won't lose any demerit points and the ticket is 50(ish) dollars. Drive safe."

So turns out my dad was just getting home from a business trip that night, what a nice way to welcome him back eh? He didn't end up caring, he says "110 isn't that bad, I hope you learned your lesson".

I now slow down every time a car is approaching...speed limits suck.

 

[Dawguard]

I now slow down every time a car is approaching...speed limits suck.

The truest thing any human ever said .

 

[jimmy p]

I tend to go about 5-10 miles over the limit, even on motorways when everyone is caning it past me at like 650 miles an hour, and I'll do 80mph tops.

The only time I speed properly is when chasing a cop car with lights and sirens, hell they have a real crime to deal with so they won't pull you over. Tempting fate, but it beats the queues. I hate people who drive too slow. We have a road which is 60 mph yet loads of people insist on driving at 50mph cos there is no speed limit sign. I just want to commit various acts of road rage on them and I'm a sedate driver, I never use my horn, even if jerks pull right in front of me and brake suddenly.

 

[big man]

I'd probably be in the 5mph - 10 mph section. Well I only actually speed in the suburbs (I travel at the old 60 kph limit) so I haven't ever sped on highways or freeways.

110 in an 80 zone though man
haha that cop is extremely nice. If that was here I'd be summoned to court and lose my license for 6 months.

I well and truly wish that we had faster speed limits here (only in some places), but we don't really and we have to put up with some real slow ones...some I agree with and some I don't.

40 kph in a school zone = fair enough
50 kph in the suburbs = bull****! should have kept it at 60 kph.
70 kph on highways = annoying 'cause it used to be 80 kph.
100 kph on freeways = fair enough

They are wanting to change it now so that in the suburbs people have to travel at 30 kph. That's 30 kph! I may as well ride a bike then. They are also wanting to reduce the speeds on highways and freeways by another 10/20 kph.

Apparently they got the idea from people in Europe so I really feel sorry for any country in Europe that has to put up with those sorts of speed limits. I know they want to save lives and all, but I don't think that cutting the speed limit by that much will do anything (apart from make them more money).

 

[Astronuc]

I now slow down every time a car is approaching...speed limits suck.

Well, they are necessary, particularly in populated areas. It's alright with a 10 mh (16 km/h) differential in vehicle speed, but much above that accidents are more likely.

When I was in high school, several kids were killed in car crashes because they were racing or otherwise driving way too fast, lost control and hit trees or utility pole. One kid lauched his Vette airborne off a slight rise in the road. His car hit small tree, which tore through the car severing his right arm - he bled to death.

I have seen the results of high speed crashes, and the results are not pretty. Wearing seatbelts doesn't even matter, since the passenger compartment is usually crushed (and the g-forces from stopping suddenly are horrific), and sometimes the engine finds its way into the passenger compartment.

I have had a car up to 220 km/h (137 mph) but on a 4-lane German autobahn with very little traffic around. The car handled smoothly, and it was designed for that, particularly the tires. Most commercial tires are not rated for such speeds to I would not consider high speed driving on a US highway/freeway.

Drive safely!

 

[Moonbear]

Well, they are necessary, particularly in populated areas. It's alright with a 10 mh (16 km/h) differential in vehicle speed, but much above that accidents are more likely.

It really depends. Some speed limits don't make a lot of sense...those are the ones that are somewhat arbitrary and you'll see vary state to state. For example, in NJ, the speed limit around school zones was 25 mph, which was plenty slow enough (and heavily enforced usually...you weren't going to go 30 or 35 mph without getting a ticket, especially if it was during the time when kids were arriving or being dismissed from school). But, the speed limit was the same all day long, because in reality, kids are around the school at least during daylight hours, either on the playground, some are "escaping" when they shouldn't be, some are there for afterschool activities, some are getting picked up early or dropped off late by their parents because they had a doctor's appointment, etc. When I moved out to the midwest, in both MI and OH, the speed limit was 20 mph. That got a bit painfully slow. Plus, in OH, they had yellow blinking lights, so the limit only changed from whatever the normal limit on the road was (which could have been 45 mph) down to 20 mph ONLY when the light was blinking, which was when schools were opening in the morning (kids arriving) or being dismissed in the afternoon. Despite children being in the area all day long, you could drive 45 mph past the school until it was time for dismissal! None of it made sense to me.

Then there are speed limits that make sense even if you don't see it at first. Again, when I lived in Cincinnati, one of the neighboring, more rural areas had a road that was usually pretty empty, just bordering a bunch of fields, but had a fairly slow speed limit after a long stretch of no marked speed limit. The teen drivers would get to that road and do 45 or 50 mph, or more, on it...and then hit the sharp turn at the end of a few gentle curves, so you don't really see it coming, but that's why the speed limit was posted and slow for that section of road. There were frequent serious accidents on that stretch of road, usually teen drivers, and all too often, fatal for someone in the car.

 

[rocketboy]

110 in an 80 zone though man
haha that cop is extremely nice. If that was here I'd be summoned to court and lose my license for 6 months.

lol, where is 'here'? In Ontario I think you lose your liscense if your 50kph or more over the limit. And since I have my G2 I'm not sure how long I lose it for...full G it's 6 months I think.

I well and truly wish that we had faster speed limits here (only in some places), but we don't really and we have to put up with some real slow ones...some I agree with and some I don't.

40 kph in a school zone = fair enough
50 kph in the suburbs = bull****! should have kept it at 60 kph.
70 kph on highways = annoying 'cause it used to be 80 kph.
100 kph on freeways = fair enough

I agree...except 100 kph on freeways is way too slow...that's my average speed in 80 zones. Nobody goes 100 on a freeway, well, there are a few but the average freeway speed around Ottawa is probably 110-120. They should make freeway speeds 120...but that'll never happen.

 

[AngelShare]

I usually drive the speed limit-- I'm still a new driver, going any faster wouldn't be all that smart, especially what with how the roads are around here. Just a few weeks ago, a girl (19 yrs. old) was driving somewhere and hit a bank. The kid in the back seat (16 yrs. old) was thrown out of the car. He died not long after, in the hospital I believe. The girl who was driving is in critical condition and the guy in the front seat was banged up but in better shape than the other two.

My Dad always told me to ignore the *******s who want to push you up the road, good advice really, because everyone wants to fly up the road. Shocker when they hit something. I'm not a slow driver, I'm just one of the ones who knows her limits and won't push it to look "cool".

 

[Dawguard]

I usually drive the speed limit-- I'm still a new driver, going any faster wouldn't be all that smart, especially what with how the roads are around here. Just a few weeks ago, a girl (19 yrs. old) was driving somewhere and hit a bank. The kid in the back seat (16 yrs. old) was thrown out of the car. He died not long after, in the hospital I believe. The girl who was driving is in critical condition and the guy in the front seat was banged up but in better shape than the other two.

My Dad always told me to ignore the *******s who want to push you up the road, good advice really, because everyone wants to fly up the road. Shocker when they hit something. I'm not a slow driver, I'm just one of the ones who knows her limits and won't push it to look "cool".

Good advice for sure, but there is nothing more fun then taking a fast car to a deserted spot (think the salt plains of Utah) and just flooring it. When I first got my liscence I did the same, rigorously following the speed limit, but over time when you learn how to judge traffic, know the limitations of the vehicle, etc., it starts to feel more like a hinderance. Unfortuantly it needs to exist, so I usually try to keep at least close to it. I usually drive about five to ten MPH over.

 

[moose]

On average, if there are cars near me, I drive 4-6 over (common courtesy I suppose). If the road is clear, I drive exactly the speed limit... I think that the gap from 5-10(10 excluded) is far too large to work in this poll. You can get pulled over at 9 over, but almost never at 5 over.

 

[AngelShare]

Good advice for sure, but there is nothing more fun then taking a fast car to a deserted spot (think the salt plains of Utah) and just flooring it. When I first got my liscence I did the same, rigorously following the speed limit, but over time when you learn how to judge traffic, know the limitations of the vehicle, etc., it starts to feel more like a hinderance. Unfortuantly it needs to exist, so I usually try to keep at least close to it. I usually drive about five to ten MPH over.

As far as I know, there are no places like that around here. How fast I go depends upon the area, really. There's a road near here that I always go about 5 mph under the limit on, it's the same road that accident occurred on. It's really bumpy and has a lot of turns on it, I still don't feel comfortable there. Hell, my sister in law is about 35 or so years old and she wrecked on that road. There's also a restaurant about 25 minutes or so from here that I tend to slow down in front of because my Mom got into a wreck there (She was rear ended after a guy turned off without signaling.). People tend to turn off at the last minute without using their turn signals there. That causes an accident to occur because everyone behind the guy who turned off was speeding and tailgating...SMASH!

Then, of course, I slow down when I go through town...

 

[Jelfish]

I don't drive too often in the city (and not at all in Boston..), but when I do, I usually am at the speed limit or above. Most of my driving is done on the interstate, where I'm definitely going above 15mph above the 65mph limit. It's hard to get a real average though, considering toll stops and such, but I try to stay at or slightly above 80mph. Sometimes a bit slower if the traffic is heavy. I haven't been stopped yet. I think as long as you don't look like you're driving dangerously (i.e. constantly cutting in and out of lanes to pass people), you're not too likely to be stopped.

 

[rocketboy]

Good advice for sure, but there is nothing more fun then taking a fast car to a deserted spot (think the salt plains of Utah) and just flooring it. When I first got my liscence I did the same, rigorously following the speed limit, but over time when you learn how to judge traffic, know the limitations of the vehicle, etc.,

I agree...for about the first week after I got my liscense last summer I found the speed limit fine, I don't think I went more than 2kph over. But as Dawguard said, you begin to learn your vehicle, and once I was comfortable with the car I drive (my dad's) speed limits became extremely annoying.

I can't say I've had the opportunity to take a fast car to a deserted highway in Utah...but I fully agree that there is nothing more exhilerating than pushing the car to its limits, providing you don't go too far past your own limits. Is that an "S" turn in the road ahead? Awesome, let's see how fast I can take my dad's Jetta around it...

Another fun thing to do is to push the car's acceleration to its limit, taking off when the light turns green, seeing if you can accelerate faster than the guy beside you. My car is gutless but I like to pretend it isn't

 

[rocketboy]

On another note regarding driving habits...I have my G2 currently (in Ontario there are 3 levels of liscenses, G1, G2, and then G. G1 means you can drive so long as there is a passenger who has had their G for > 5 yrs. and between certain hours, and no roads with speed limit 100. G2 means you can kick your parents out of the passenger seat and drive on any road u want, but after midnight you can't carry passengers under 19 or something and you can't have alcohol in the car...and still a 0 tolerance restriction. G is the full liscense.)

So, back to my thought...i have my G2, which means this August I can take the test to get my G. However, that means I have to lose all the bad habits I've developed...the testers will take off points for the following which I tend to do without realizing it...

-driving without both hands on the wheel
-not checking mirrors frequently (i only do so when changin lanes etc)
-speeding (auto fail)
-not doing full stops (stupid...they insist that the car must actually STOP, ie, wheels motionless, at a stop sign)
-signalling to go around bikers etc in your way
-signalling when doing 3 point turns, etc.. (who signals at each step of a 3 point turn?)

 

[AngelShare]

So, back to my thought...i have my G2, which means this August I can take the test to get my G. However, that means I have to lose all the bad habits I've developed...the testers will take off points for the following which I tend to do without realizing it...

That's why my Dad doesn't want me speeding, using only one hand when driving, not fully stopping at stop signs, etc. He wants to make sure I don't develop any bad habits that'll screw me up.

 

[Moonbear]

I agree...except 100 kph on freeways is way too slow...that's my average speed in 80 zones. Nobody goes 100 on a freeway, well, there are a few but the average freeway speed around Ottawa is probably 110-120. They should make freeway speeds 120...but that'll never happen.

Only those of us from the U.S. drive the speed limit on Canadian freeways, and that's because we're already confused enough by KPH that we don't know how much faster we can go and get away with it. (The other half of the drivers from the U.S. are driving 100 mph )

 

[rocketboy]

Only those of us from the U.S. drive the speed limit on Canadian freeways, and that's because we're already confused enough by KPH that we don't know how much faster we can go and get away with it. (The other half of the drivers from the U.S. are driving 100 mph )

LOL

 

[moose]

My dad was driving with his friend in Europe once... My dad looks over and says "Shouldn't you slow down a little bit?" and his friend says "I'm only going 140"... My dad's friend thought it was in kph... it was in mph. I guess they really gave their rented bmw a ride. O.O

 

[rocketboy]

one day I'm going to rent a porsche or ferarri and push it to its limit. actually...no, one day I'm going to buy a porsche or ferrari...

*wakes up*

whoa, where am i?

 

[Hurkyl]

Why do people think the speed limit is a hinderance? What's fun about driving fast? These things are mystifying to me.

I used to go about 10 MPH over the speed limit. One day I realized that I didn't have any reason at all to be going 10 over -- it was just something I'd been doing. So now I drive the speed limit.

As I've become more experienced and perceptive, I notice a lot of really bad reasons to be speeding. Probably the worst examples are intersections with limited visibility: places where the person turning onto the main road has just barely has enough visibility to safely turn when traffic is going the speed limit. When someone's barreling along at 20 MPH over the speed limit, that causes a serious problem.

In fact, I recently almost got into an accident at such a situation -- I look left and there's no traffic visible at all, so I start pulling out as I look right to reconfirm that there was no traffic in that direction.

Fortunately, my passenger was looking left at the time and told me to stop!

It seems the guy had floored it to make a yellow light, completely unaware of the potential problem. (Presumably he couldn't see me either)


Such intersections are more common than one might think -- and I strongly suspect the vast majority of people who want to speed have not given it any more thought than "I want to go fast".


Express ways are, of course, different. But I understand that one of the primary criterion for setting a speed limit is the estimated number of serious and fatal accidents that would occur at the given speed limit. It's ludicrous to think that driving 15 over the speed limit is just as safe as driving at the speed limit! What is so great about speeding that makes it worth risking your and everybody else's lives?