Speed kills. 55...too slow.

[Apple Hobo]

There's nothing wrong going a little over the limit in the right conditions (say 80 MPH in a 70 zone on a dry, open-for-miles-ahead highway). I'm more concerned with the idiots:
• speeding, tailgating and weaving like crystal meth-crazed psychos during heavy rush hour conditions.

• driving at obscene speeds with no headlights in a blinding rainstorm.

• speeding, as in 100+ MPH speeding. Regardless of whether you or your car can handle these speeds, you're still at the mercy of any idiot who pulls into your lane without looking, and <smash> you're dead and the paramedics are shoveling your guts off the road.


Anyway, whatever your views are on speeding, keep them to yourself; in other words, stay the hell out of the passing lane if you are not going fast enough to pass. I don't care if you're doing 55 or 95 in the left lane...if you're not passing, stay out of the left lane! There's no need to be a self-righteous traffic hazard parked in the left lane because you can't mind your own business or follow simple traffic rules.

 

[macartistkel]

Well if the law ever goes to three strikes and your out with speeding tickets then I am screwed. I probably have more speeding tickets than everyone in this thread and then some. I get about 4 a year somewhere--usually on some stupid highway when NO ONE but a cop is sitting there! It is the small a** town I live in...every time I go to a bigger city I am getting passed even though I am speeding!

 

[jbernie]

Just because I like speed doesn't mean I like ****ty drivers. I get more worried about the morons, loons and *******s then the speeders. In Denver the drivers aren't mean or stupid, they're mean and stupid

Can't argue with that, i think i see more violations in one day than i could see in a week when i was in Australia.

Let alone the thin up here seems to cause vehicles to suddenly land on their roofs, i mean drivers are going along and suddenly woah! i'm updside down. Nothing to do with their idiotic driving, speeding excessively, no use of indicators, following to close, not paying attention to the surroundings etc.

Need too much time on this subject... better stop

 

[aquajet]

thats a bit harsh.

Attaching high-voltage electrodes to your scrotum as punishment for speeding is harsh. I think revocation of one's license to drive is perfectly reasonable if someone is cited three times within a short amount of time. It's not difficult to not break the law.

Are you kidding?

Most speed limits are set too low. We've got giant interstates that go in straight lines for hundreds of miles with reflective markings and huge shoulders on both sides. Setting the speed limit to 55, 65, or even 75 on these roads is a waste of time.

Have you ever driven through Kansas? Texas? Wyoming? 75 is a crawl.

The idea that 55 mph is too slow for any road is ridiculous. It's a perfectly reasonable highway speed that was established for several years in the US. I think it's also important to note that most vehicles operate at peak efficiency at about this speed.

I certainly wouldn't trust you to decide what is an appropriate speed limit for any given roadway. Especially when you consider 75 mph "a crawl".

 

[IJ Reilly]

The premise of the video and this thread is that the speed limit is set too low in some places. Hence, if some cop gives you a ticket, perhaps to fulfill a quota, that it's not really so valid because everyone should be going over the limit.

Yet, you advocate harsher penalties for people who get speeding tickets...

Sorry, I didn't realize I was bound to agree with the premise of the video.

Again, the frequency of the tickets doesn't have any bearing in this discussion, as the validity of receiving the tickets at all has been questionned. If something is being misenforced, then the number of times it has been misenforced has little reflection on the driver.

Or are you saying that these harsher measures would come into affect once the speed limits were rectified? That's the only way I can wrap my head around this...

What do you mean by rectified -- raised so high that hardly anybody could violate them without the use of jato packs?

In many places in the U.S., a person faces a mandatory life sentence for petty theft if the crime is the third committed. Hardly anybody seems to worry about the justice of that. But speeding, that's another matter -- risking other people's lives for your own pleasure and convenience should be not only tolerated but encouraged.

 

[p0intblank]

Though the audio was bad, that was a really cool video. It just goes to show you that everyone is in a rush these days... including myself.

 

[MacsRgr8]

Speeding...

Everything is just so relative.

Here in Holland the max is 120 Km/h
Belgium and France: 130 km/h
Germany: NONE!! cool: )

So, doing 130 Km/h in Holland is illegal (and according to IJ Reilly, do it 3 times, you loose your license, and supposedly your job as a result.... ), and yet it is not illegal in Belgium and France, and doing 130 K's in Germany means: stay in the slow lane!!
All these incidents can happen on identical roads, under exactly the same conditions.

As for these idiots in the movie, they are purposely annoying everyone else. I'll take iGary's shotgun and shoot the one in the fast lane.
The hard shoulder is mainly for the police who have caught those speeding so they get the chance of booking them.

But seriously, speeding is so relative. I have been caught with 9 Km/h too fast: The problem was that I went that speed becasue I had a right turn ahead and this car was sitting right next to my right, followed by a whole bunch of cars. So I just itched my throttle a bit to pass him, to be able to get into the right lane.... and I was caught.
In this situation I could have braked, causing everyone else behind me to break aswell, and wait for all those cars to pass, or hope that someone eventually lets me through after signaling "wanting to go right". Trouble is over here not many friendly people in cars at rush hour.
So, IMHO the easist and safest solution was my slight "speeding" and annoy nobody.

Everyone understands that racing through urban area's is dangerous, and these maniacs should be caught, and you have to draw a line somewhere >> speed limit.

But, if the police catch you speeding, they should take the situation in perspective. Speed camera's can't make that distinction, but human police-people can, and therefore should.
After explaining my situation to the police woman, she simply ignored me, and said: "Just be carefull next time. It is a waist of your money".
Tnx alot.

 

[Lau]

But seriously, speeding is so relative. I have been caught with 9 Km/h too fast: The problem was that I went that speed becasue I had a right turn ahead and this car was sitting right next to my right, followed by a whole bunch of cars. So I just itched my throttle a bit to pass him, to be able to get into the right lane.... and I was caught.
In this situation I could have braked, causing everyone else behind me to break aswell, and wait for all those cars to pass, or hope that someone eventually lets me through after signaling "wanting to go right". Trouble is over here not many friendly people in cars at rush hour.
So, IMHO the easist and safest solution was my slight "speeding" and annoy nobody.

Or you could have not been in that lane in the first place as you knew you were going to be turning soon...

 

[MacsRgr8]

That was my problem. I didn't know... not soon enough.

 

[iGary]

• speeding, tailgating and weaving like crystal meth-crazed psychos during heavy rush hour conditions.

• driving at obscene speeds with no headlights in a blinding rainstorm.

• speeding, as in 100+ MPH speeding. Regardless of whether you or your car can handle these speeds, you're still at the mercy of any idiot who pulls into your lane without looking, and <smash> you're dead and the paramedics are shoveling your guts off the road.

Bravo - my primary complaints as well.



It always amuses me the same arguments come up:

Well I'm a better driver than everyone else, I know how to speed and keep control of my vehicle.

Until you pass on the shoulder and run over someone changing a tire, or hit a piece of debris in the road and end up across the median and hit someone head on.

I used to commute 200 miles a day to work. I saw this stuff happen at least two or three times a week. Guy blows past me and a mile later I see him turned over onthe other side of the highway.

Guy passes people on the shoulder while going 80 and creams a poor guy changing his tire.

Speeding is not anymore dangerous than driving 65.

I can almost understand the "speed limits are stupid" arguments in certain places. We have towns here on the Eastern shore where the limit goes from 55 to 25 in about 1,000 feet. And 25 is just too effing slow. OK, I get that.

And maybe your rationale is "well 80 is no more dangerous than 70 or 65." OK, there are tons of studies that say otherwise, but fine.

The fact of the matter is, at least in this country, speed has been proven to kill people. You can say the studies are all made up and the scientific evidence is bunk, but the facts are against you.

If you want to disobey the law, that's your right, but you'll have to pay the consequences if you get caught. Whether you think its wrong or right, that's the fact.

Also - I don't have to like it. It's become very typical of the "me" generation nowadays thinking they are entitled to do anything they want, and screw everyone else to hell if they don't like it.

Most people used to have some level of personal responsibility when it came to how they acted in public, how courteous they were to others and generally how they conducted themselves in their life. People don't seem to give a **** anymore and it makes life for the rest of us crap.

Think about someone other than yourself (not directed at anyone in particular) a few minutes a day.

 

[atszyman]

The premise of the video and this thread is that the speed limit is set too low in some places. Hence, if some cop gives you a ticket, perhaps to fulfill a quota, that it's not really so valid because everyone should be going over the limit.

Yet, you advocate harsher penalties for people who get speeding tickets...

Again, the frequency of the tickets doesn't have any bearing in this discussion, as the validity of receiving the tickets at all has been questionned. If something is being misenforced, then the number of times it has been misenforced has little reflection on the driver.

Or are you saying that these harsher measures would come into affect once the speed limits were rectified? That's the only way I can wrap my head around this...

A pack of gum is cheap so is it OK to take one from a retail store since no one is looking?

Speeding is against the law regardless of how slow the limit is set. If a town decides that main street should be a 5 mph zone and you get caught doing 10 mph it's not the fault of the town. The speed limit was posted, you didn't obey, therefore it is your own fault for getting the ticket. You knew the risks.

The video tries to make the point that the speed limit is too slow, however it can just as easily be seen as, lots of people speed which is dangerous to everyone, maybe we should enforce speeding violations better or make them harsher. Speed limits are set and you are expected to follow them regardless of if you think they are too slow. If the penalty was losing your license I guarantee you would not see as many idiots zipping down the highway at 20-30 mph over the speed limit, you'd probably be hard pressed to find someone doing 10 mph over.

 

[MacsRgr8]

BTW... driving using a cell phone non-hands-free is illegal here too.
The penalty for that is very high. Higher than speeding more than 25 Km/h too fast.

And, it can be justified. Using a cell phone in a car with a manual gearbox driving through a city with many traffic lights and roundabouts is very, vey dangerous. First of all, you are distracted by the person you are talking to. You do concentrate on the dialog, putting driving in second place. Secondly, the hand you are holding the phone with, cannot be used for either steering or changing gears.

Didn't someone actually stress the fact that he was using his cell phone in that movie?

Over there it is legal, over here it is not.

Too bad we all don't have enough common sense. Just drive carefully everyone! But as these speed limits are so enforced nowadays, I am anxiously watching my speedometer...

 

[iGary]

BTW... driving using a cell phone non-hands-free is illegal here too.
The penalty for that is very high. Higher than speeding more than 25 Km/h too fast.

And, it can be justified. Using a cell phone in a car with a manual gearbox driving through a city with many traffic lights and roundabouts is very, vey dangerous. First of all, you are distracted by the person you are talking to. You do concentrate on the dialog, putting driving in second place. Secondly, the hand you are holding the phone with, cannot be used for either steering or changing gears.

Didn't someone actually stress the fact that he was using his cell phone in that movie?

Over there it is legal, over here it is not.

Too bad we all don't have enough common sense. Just drive carefully everyone! But as these speed limits are so enforced nowadays, I am anxiously watching my speedometer...

People do some stupid **** while on their cell phones.

I nearly get clipped every day by one - or they run red lights, and I'm not immune, either.

I was going to school one night and talking to Rob on the phone while I was at a red light. The left turn lane turned green and I drove right thgouth the intersection on a full red.

With a cop on the other side watching the whole thing.

Probation before judgement $100.00 fine.

 

[Zmmyt]

Hmmm, I don't know about the US, but in Germany you are allowed to go faster than the speed limit in order to pass other cars. But you have to switch back to the far right lane, if possible, to make room for passing cars.

I think three of those student would have gotten a ticket because of blocking the traffic by not using the right lane.

If people want to go faster than allowed, why not, but if other people want to stick to the speed limit then they should use the right lane. If they obey the rules then all the way please.

I hate people who go exactly the allowed speed and don't move over to one of the right lanes.

Those students raised quite some anger deep inside me.

Besides that, the video is total crap!


Hopefully I could make my point clear, but my english got a little rusty, sorry.

EDIT: By the way, it's a great feeling going 150 mph legally! But don't block that left lane, it is for passing only!

 

[iGary]

Hmmm, I don't know about the US, but in Germany you are allowed to go faster than the speed limit in order to pass other cars. But you have to switch back to the far right lane, if possible, to make room for passing cars.

I think three of those student would have gotten a ticket because of blocking the traffic by not using the right lane.

If people want to go faster than allowed, why not, but if other people want to stick to the speed limit then they should use the right lane. If they obey the rules then all the way please.

I hate people who go exactly the allowed speed and don't move over to one of the right lanes.

Those students raised quite some anger deep inside me.

Besides that, the video is total crap!


Hopefully I could make my point clear, but my english got a little rusty, sorry.

What is the volume of traffic like - do you guys have three lanes full one-car-spaced going 100mph?

 

[Zmmyt]

What is the volume of traffic like - do you guys have three lanes full one-car-spaced going 100mph?

No, absolutely not.

E.g. three lanes/no speed limit:

Far right: trucks, grannies and cruiser.
Middle lane: maybe around 60-80 mph
Right lane: Fast going cars.

A lot of the motorways have speed limits, but the germans can't give up on "no speed limit", so there are still motorways without any restrictions. That's crazy!

 

[MacsRgr8]

What is the volume of traffic like - do you guys have three lanes full one-car-spaced going 100mph?

Not all of Gemany's autobahns are unrestricted, I thought it was about "only" 40%.
Those parts that there have no retrsictions, and some border our country (so you can understand how many Dutch drivers are there... ), are purposely made for high speed. Not very busy, and even in the bends you can easily go 125 mph.
Around the major cities, there are restrictions like in Holland. 65 mph is quite common. Or at large highway junctions there would be a limit of around 75 mph.
Most Germans are used to these (briliant) driving conditions, and are fully aware that if you are going 100 mph, in the fast lane there would be some BMW M5 headlights flashing behind you in seconds, because he is going a mere (technical rsetricted) 155 mph, and move to a slower lane very quickly.
In Holland we have alot of drivers staying in the fast lane, cruising at the exact speed limit, which can be very annoying...

 

[iGary]

Not all of Gemany's autobahns are unrestricted, I thought it was about "only" 40%.
Those parts that there have no retrsictions, and some border our country (so you can understand how many Dutch drivers are there... ), are purposely made for high speed. Not very busy, and even in the bends you can easily go 125 mph.
Around the major cities, there are restrictions like in Holland. 65 mph is quite common. Or at large highway junctions there would be a limit of around 75 mph.
Most Germans are used to these (briliant) driving conditions, and are fully aware that if you are going 100 mph, in the fast lane there would be some BMW M5 headlights flashing behind you in seconds, because he is going a mere (technical rstriced) 155 mph, and move to a slower lane very quickly.
In Holland we have alot of drivers staying in the fast lane, cruising at the exact speed limit, which can be very annoying...

Well the only slightly similar thing we have here is "HOV" (High Occupancy Vehicle) which is a lane only cars that have two or more people can use - to encourage car pooling. If you have two people, you can use this lane and drive right ast everyone else.

Problem is they just spent like 20 million dollars for an HOV into DC on Route 50, and no lie - 75% of the people using it, especially at night, are single-driver vehicles.

20 million spent and not a cop in sight to enforce it. And it's a stiff fine - $150+.

 

[jdechko]

where are they that the freeway limit is 55 MPH? It's 65 most places here.

I285, the perimeter that surrounds Atlanta. It's 63 miles around and the limit is 55 the whole way. The point that the student's were making is that it's probably more dangerous to do the posted, legal speed limit than it is to do 75 on that road. There are also some very dangerous left-merges (enter on the left instead of the right) that are extremely dangerous as you have to get your car up to 80 and merge within a few hundred yards.

Not all interstates in GA are like this. The segments nearest major cities (Atlanta, Macon, etc) are 55. As you go out into the suburbs, the limit increases to 65 and then to 70 when you're pretty much away from the cities. But there are a lot of commuters in Atlanta that live in the suburbs (one of the worst in the US) and are very impatient.

I saw a chart the other day that showed that the average trip time during evening rush hour was effectively doubled by sheer volume. The traffic and drivers in Atlanta are some of the worst. We (I'm included sometimes) are generally impatient and don't give a flip about the posted speed limit. Since I've moved back to the city (a month ago), I've probably seen 6-8 drivers blatantly run red lights (lights that have long since turned red, and lights that the driver has actually been sitting at and decided he didn't want to wait anymore.) Some people are absolutely ridiculous around here.

IJReilly, I wouldn't necessarily be against such a policy if it were evenly enforced. The problem is that in some jurisdictions around here, they'll pull you over for doing 5 over (a foot slip or going down hill without applying brakes in some instances) and in others they'll pick you out of a pack (50+ cars) for doing 15 over while keeping up with traffic (see the video for that one ). I think 3 tickets given for speeding in excess of maybe 15-20mph might be a good policy.

Then again, there are some cops who just want to be a dick. My wife (gf at the time) got pulled over for "doing 65 in a 35" which was definitely not the case. She had gone through a curve with a 35 limit (the regular limit was 55) and had gotten back up to speed. At the top of the hill was a county sheriff who was turning around in a driveway. At the point at which my wife passed him. There was no way he could have clocked her doing anything, as he was facing the opposite way perpendicular to the road. But just the same he gave her a ticket. We ended up getting a lawyer and getting it dropped.

 

[IJ Reilly]

IJReilly, I wouldn't necessarily be against such a policy if it were evenly enforced. The problem is that in some jurisdictions around here, they'll pull you over for doing 5 over (a foot slip or going down hill without applying brakes in some instances) and in others they'll pick you out of a pack (50+ cars) for doing 15 over while keeping up with traffic (see the video for that one ). I think 3 tickets given for speeding in excess of maybe 15-20mph might be a good policy.

Granted some police in some communities are overzealous, but I think this must be the exception not the rule. How can I be so sure? Because these days hardly anyone, anywhere makes even the slightest effort to obey the speed limits. Average speeds have been creeping up for decades. This would not be happening if the limits were being over-enforced. In fact they are barely enforced at all. People are simply driving faster and faster, because more often than not, there are no consequences.

Okay, I'll go along with the friendly amendment to my proposal that three-strikes suspensions should be based on something worse than marginal violations, say 15+ MPH over the limit. I'll go along with almost any increase in enforcement that gets the message across that the speed limit in the left lane is not "infinity" and that anyone using the left lane has to drive fast enough to satisfy the grossest scofflaw on the road -- because that's the way it is now.

Incidentally, I've been driving for nearly 35 years and have received exactly one speeding ticket, and that was nearly 30 years ago. This stuff is not difficult, people. If you're getting cited for speeding more than once every few years, then you have a serious driving problem, and it's time to stop blaming it on the law or the police.

 

[iGary]

Granted some police in some communities are overzealous, but I think this must be the exception not the rule. How can I be so sure? Because these days hardly anyone, anywhere makes even the slightest effort to obey the speed limits. Average speeds have been creeping up for decades. This would not be happening if the limits were being over-enforced. In fact they are barely enforced at all. People are simply driving faster and faster, because more often than not, there are no consequences.

Okay, I'll go along with the friendly amendment to my proposal that three-strikes suspensions should be based on something worse than marginal violations, say 15+ MPH over the limit. I'll go along with almost any increase in enforcement that gets the message across that the speed limit in the left lane is not "infinity" and that anyone using the left lane has to drive fast enough to satisfy the grossest scofflaw on the road -- because that's the way it is now.

Incidentally, I've been driving for nearly 35 years and have received exactly one speeding ticket, and that was nearly 30 years ago. This stuff is not difficult, people. If you're getting cited for speeding more than once every few years, then you have a serious driving problem, and it's time to stop blaming it on the law or the police.

That's the problem around here, IJ - no police.

I often drive a stretch of road between Annapolis and DC and one out of 10 times I see an officer doing speed enforcement. More often than not, there are large groupus of bikers weaving in, around, and almost on top of traffic at 100+ (no lie), also doing wheelies at 50 mph. Then there are people cruising the HOV lane with one person driving (no passengers as required), and many people driving 90 mph an otherwise being very aggressive. I hate that drive; it's just plain miserable.

One night I was driving home to DC and evidently did something to piss a big semi driver off. This guy was 12" from my bumper pushing me to speeds of 90 mph, and everytime I tried to pull off to the shoulder, he'd just follow me. All the time standing on his horn with his high beams in my face.

It was truly scary. I called #77 and got the local State Police barracks and ten minutes later this guy was still harrassing me. He eventually exited at I-95.

You're right - where are the police?

A 15-mile stretch of road should not be without visible enforcement or an officer to help out. Since there isn't, people do whatever they want.

 

[cait-sith]

Granted some police in some communities are overzealous, but I think this must be the exception not the rule. How can I be so sure? Because these days hardly anyone, anywhere makes even the slightest effort to obey the speed limits. Average speeds have been creeping up for decades. This would not be happening if the limits were being over-enforced. In fact they are barely enforced at all. People are simply driving faster and faster, because more often than not, there are no consequences.

Maybe, but I wouldn't mind seeing some data on speeding trends to back that up.

Interestingly enough, this article (http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/13/1362.asp) says a UK DOT report claims less than 5% of road accidents are caused by speeding.

I propose one should have their license suspended if they violate ANY traffic laws concerning the safety of others, more than a few times in a given time period. But.. you should be allowed to reapply for a licence at a later time. Maybe a year. Then we can apply a 3-strikes policy to that, so that if you get suspended 3 times, you may not re-apply.

Perhaps drunk driving should be an instant "go to jail, no more license" offense.

For anyone that cries about people losing their jobs over not being able to drive.. well.. don't break the law then. However, will this be effective, or will people just drive with suspended licenses? Scoff-laws are scoff-laws.

Okay, I'll go along with the friendly amendment to my proposal that three-strikes suspensions should be based on something worse than marginal violations, say 15+ MPH over the limit. I'll go along with almost any increase in enforcement that gets the message across that the speed limit in the left lane is not "infinity" and that anyone using the left lane has to drive fast enough to satisfy the grossest scofflaw on the road -- because that's the way it is now.

More enforcement comes from more police which means more taxes, and it's questionable whether or not people are willing to pay for that.

Incidentally, I've been driving for nearly 35 years and have received exactly one speeding ticket, and that was nearly 30 years ago. This stuff is not difficult, people. If you're getting cited for speeding more than once every few years, then you have a serious driving problem, and it's time to stop blaming it on the law or the police.

NO KIDDING. Why do people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions? Regardless of anyone's agreement with the law, it exists, and is enforced.

 

[nbs2]

IJ - I like your idea regarding a three strikes law, that would be adjusted for specific traffic violations. In fact , most states already have it in place. Unfortunately, that is where Gary's comments come in.

The point system adopted by many states is designed to suspend or revoke a license based on how egrigious the violation is, as points are accumulated and drop as they age. But, if the cops won't enforce it (or enforce it in an unfair manner), then it ceases to be effective.

 

[iGary]

IJ - I like your idea regarding a three strikes law, that would be adjusted for specific traffic violations. In fact , most states already have it in place. Unfortunately, that is where Gary's comments come in.

The point system adopted by many states is designed to suspend or revoke a license based on how egrigious the violation is, as points are accumulated and drop as they age. But, if the cops won't enforce it (or enforce it in an unfair manner), then it ceases to be effective.

Have you ever driven 50 to Annapolis?

Insanity.

BW Parkway? Relatively harmless because the U.S. Park Police don't take any ****.

 

[yellow]

Apparently dog is mad at me, because last night on my way home, all the way home, there were 2 people doing exactly what was in that video. Except it seemed like they were going 50MPH, though that may have been because there was 1+ mile of traffic behind them (I was in the middle) and all the break-don't-hit-them going on slows us all down.