How much over the speed limit is too much?

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I typically drive about 5 MPH over the limit, but I think 10 over is fine as long as the road/weather conditions are good enough to allow for safe driving at those speeds. Problem is, drivers now days aren't happy going 5-10 MPH over the limit. Most people seem to drive 15, 20, or even more over the limit, and too me, that's just too darn fast. What do you think is a reasonable amount over the limit?
 
I go by the saying my Dad used to say all the time. "Three is fine -- five your mine!!!" Around town I do the speed limit & on the highways/turnpike -- I will set the cruise control 3mph over the speed limit.



Dale
 
I forgot to mention, usually in town I do the limit...I only do 5 over on the highway...
 
Is this a safety question?

Or a law enforcement question?

Traffic engineers take a lot of factors into account when setting a speed limit. Some of those factors may/may not apply to your situation, and so, driving, say, 25 MPH over under particular circumstances (traffic and other drivers, naturally, must be considered) might be just fine, or it might be completely reckless.

But a cop is bound by the law, so, at some speed over the limit, you're at risk of getting a ticket, regardless of circumstance. At 10 MPH over, around here, they start pulling folks over.

I tend to set my cruise control at 5-8 MPH over. I also sit in the middle or right lane at that speed as it seems everyone is passing me...
 
here you dont get points until exceeding 10mph over the limit in areas of 50mph or greater
So that is pretty safe.

I usually go 7mph over on highways and upto 5mph over in cities.. except school zones.
Occasionally in clear weather I will follow a group that is going faster on the highway.

I adjust to conditions.
 
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Ahhh, Grampi questions....

I break the law, but I consider it OK, as there are other people breaking it worse than me...
 
I like to do up to 9 MPH over the speed limit on the highway and cops never bother me. I never speed in school zones.
My wife however tends to go well over the limit on the freeway at times. She has been pulled over a few times and has gotten warnings, probably being attractive helps.
 
I think of freeways out west that have gone from reasonable to 55 and now back to 85. I don't think safety is the primary issue, it's the level of ticket tension that one is willing to endure.
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Originally Posted by Astro14
Is this a safety question?

Or a law enforcement question?

Traffic engineers take a lot of factors into account when setting a speed limit. Some of those factors may/may not apply to your situation, and so, driving, say, 25 MPH over under particular circumstances (traffic and other drivers, naturally, must be considered) might be just fine, or it might be completely reckless.

But a cop is bound by the law, so, at some speed over the limit, you're at risk of getting a ticket, regardless of circumstance. At 10 MPH over, around here, they start pulling folks over.

I tend to set my cruise control at 5-8 MPH over. I also sit in the middle or right lane at that speed as it seems everyone is passing me...

"Traffic Engineers" LOL. You mean the job the mayor/etc got his nephew Bubba. Around here speed limits typically have no rhyme or reason. 2 lane roads with houses on both sides might have a 60 sign. 4 lane divided limited access road can have 30-40. Guess where the cops hang out. I also love the nonsense where they talk about how the limits are set by what most drivers would typically drive but on the actual road with posted limit 90% of the drivers are speeding.
 
Originally Posted by Blkstanger
I have a class B and try not to speed at all

I have a class A and the CHP came to a safety meeting and told us to run 10 over the limit to try to get the flow of traffic closer together.
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Up here, in Ontario at least, our hwys are set at 100 km/h (400 series Highways) It is a known fact (likely not to all) that anything over 20 kms above that, you are fair game.

Also, since different animals are at play here, I think if you are going 20 over the normally posted limit of 50 km/h on city streets, you will be pulled over a lot quicker.

The thing is, not all areas/roads are ok to exceed the speed on. Some common sense has to come into play, but unfortunately 90% of the laws are written for 10% of the population that don't have common sense.

My biggest pet peeve are those that go below the speed limit or take up the left lane/middle lane on a hwy. If somebody wants to go faster than you, move over to the lane you belong in. Just because you are doing the speed limit doesn't give you the right to hold up traffic if someone wants to go a bit faster than you.
 
This is hard to calculate objectively. Take a typical highway. The design/route of the highway can handle a theoretical max speed which is limited by the grip of the vehicle traveling upon it. From there you have slower speeds which take into consideration reaction time of the driver, of other drivers on the road, the volume of traffic, capability of other vehicles on the highway (size, speed, ability to brake, etc).

For years it has been argued that highway speeds are set lower than they could be because law enforcement agencies count on the revenue generated from ticketing. Of course the U.S. has very lack laws with regards to road worthiness of vehicles due to the lack of alternative methods of transportation. For example I've seen Austrian police impound a vehicle because of what they deemed as excessive rust.
 
Most of the time I drive under the speed limit. Yes, even out west where the speed limit is 85 I drive at MY speed limit of 65. Works for me. I've been doing it for close to a million miles. I was once young and stupid and drove like a madman, but now the stress level has gone down tremendously. I arrive where I am going maybe half an hour later than if I sped, but I am more relaxed and my vehicles love me.
 
I drive fast, I feel I am more than safe doing 10mph over on highways/interstates and will follow the faster crowd if there is one. Most cops down here seem to let you drive right by doing 65 in a 55.

I think cops needs to focus more on the IDIOTS that park in the left lane and barely do the speed limit or less, THAT is was causes backups and accidents! I've never seen this occur so frequently as I do here in Florida. Up North, it was bad but not this bad!
 
I never do the speed limit except in school zones or when weather conditions don't permit going faster. I'm pretty good avoiding radars and know the usual spots in the areas I travel frequently for work. I also don't do obscene speeds like 50 KPH over the limit (30 MPH). I haven't had any accidents and I find that I'm more engaged in driving at a slightly faster speed than the really low boring speeds that are posted. 100 KPH (60 MPH) is too slow for highways IMO.

I would be happier if police would go after the turkeys in the left lane creating traffic congestion as this creates road rage with some drivers and accidents can happen as a result. It should be law here that if you aren't going faster than the lane to the right of you then you shouldn't be in that left lane. PERIOD. Don't get me started on the trucks that use the left lane to pass other trucks when they are clearly not allowed to be in that lane to start with. (Yes I have my class "A" license)
 
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Completely depends. There's so many variables. A lot of the limits are merely revenue generators or an overreaction to an incident or something. If you want to speak merely safety, they should be really low (25-30) in populated areas and much higher (70-80) in open areas. But that's not how it's set up.

Law enforcement is too busy here in the IL to worry about these things so it's pretty open season during the week. Most people are going 10-20 over regularly.
 
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