My practice is that on most roads I try to avoid exceeding the speed limit. I’ll admit that if I am in an unusually big rush (like I’m already late for work) or if the posted limit seems unusually low (like many exit ramps off the highway) I’ll go above it, so I’ll admit from the start that I am somewhat hypocritical about this.
But at least I try to be a law-abiding citizen. Both for the sake of maintaining an orderly society, and for the related safety issues. In contrast, the great majority of drivers seem to totally ignore the speed limits.
I drive the Garden State Parkway (New Jersey) several times a day, and it is routine for most other drivers to be going ten miles over the limit – 65 mph in the 55 areas, 75 in the 65 areas. I am particularly annoyed by drivers over the Driscoll Bridge (between exits 125 and 127), which is subject to very high winds, who drive over it at 65 mph, despite the posted limit of 45 mph. Even the areas before and after it are only 55 mph. (The 65 mph area begins at Cheesequake, about 3 miles south of the bridge.)
I find that other drivers have annoyed looks on their faces when they pass me, even though I always stay in one of the two rightmost lanes. This gives them plenty of space on my left in which to pass me if they want, yet they curse me out anyway.
This is what I want to do, and what I’m asking your advice about —
It seems to me that many (or at least some) of the drivers who pass me might simply be unaware of the proper speed limit. Therefore, I think it might be a good idea, that when they pass me, I can hold up a paper in my window which says “Speed Limit 55” (or whatever the correct limit is) in a large and easy-to-read font, similar to the one used on the road signs. This would simply and non-confusingly communicate what I am doing and why I’m doing it.
For some reason, and I’m not sure why, I fear that some drivers might try to retaliate against me for such tactics. Or maybe its even illegal. Any thoughts?
Keep your eyes on the road instead of looking at the “annoyed faces” passing you. AFAIC, drive the speed you want to drive, if you’re going slow stay to the right, if you’re going fast stay to the left, and try to go with the flow, don’t go some stupid speed 20mph different than everyone else.
It’s wholly unnecessary for you to do anything at all but what you’re doing now. However, it is important to note that if everybody is going past you at a higher rate of speed, YOU are the person deviating from the “norm”, and therefore your actions, while completely in the right, are the more dangerous ones.
It seems weird that it should be that way, but it is. And as the old saying goes, “I was right!” is not something you want to put on your epitaph.
My suggestion: go with the flow. Laws or not, roads are one of the last true bastions of anarchy out there. If you go a bit faster you’ll get fewer looks, you’ll feel more comfortable and won’t have to constantly look in the mirror, and the police won’t give you even a second thought. The police only nail people that deviate from the norm on the other end of the spectrum.
Whatever you do, do NOT make a sign and show it to people. Showing people up is not a good idea, especially when you are the person exhibiting the unusual behavior (although again, you are doing something perfectly legal). Just go about your business and ignore the people passing you.
In my experience, it is safer to go with the flow of traffic than it is to drive the posted speed limit. This, of course, goes both ways.
If roads are bad, and traffic is down to 30 mph, go 30 mph. Even if the speed limit is 55 and you feel safe doing 45 - 50 in your vehicle.
OTOH, there is a road that I frequently travel. The posted speed limit is 55, but you’ll get run over at less than 65. And, since I have to be in the left lane to take my exit, it is not unusual to do 75-80 in a 55 just to keep with the flow of traffic. Doing the posted speed limit would put everyone in danger since it is a high volume of traffic going that fast.
This isn’t the usual case of speed limits set ridiculously low out of want of revenue or misplaced sense of damage reduction*. There are some places where the “natural” speed limit really is at or below the posted speed limit. If this is one of those times, it is not easy to find a happy medium between going so fast that you are putting yourself in danger due to the natural conditions of the road (twists, shoulder conditions, narrow lanes, wind,) and going so slow that you are in danger of other drivers running into you.
*That is, I think that if you put the speed limit lower than its natural speed limit on highways, then each individual accident might have a lower rate of injury due to the lower average speed, but there will probably be more accidents in total due to congestion and a higher speed differential due to some peoples desire to follow the speed limit, no matter how low.
What car do you drive? 45mph is an exceptionally slow speed for a modern car. http://www.boblucky.com/Biking/England/day3.1.jpg shows a situation where (without the cyclist) I would likely be doing 45mph from the photographer’s position, taking a nearside position and slowing as I approached the bend to always be able to stop within half the distance I can see to be clear, bearing in mind I’d be in a RHD car so wouldn’t be able to see through the corner yet.
Edited to add: However, you should never feel under any pressure to break the law simply because everyone else is. In my experience it requires much more skill and forward planning to drive on a british motorway at 70mph (the legal limit) than at 85mph, but it is doable. Just don’t change lanes when you would force someone to alter their speed (even if they’re speeding) or direction.
Many years ago Consumer Reports did a test. They had a guy in a VW race across 'if memory serves me right, England. The amount of time save by the hot car was very small. The important statistic to me was the close call ,break slamming statistics. It is more dangerous to drive faster. It is harder on fuel and the car. It saves very little time.
If you are driving across America you can save substantial time by increasing your average speed by 5 or 10 miles an hour. If you are going to work or the store ,you save very little but increase your peril.Why do it.?
The vast majority of Americans drive at or above the speed limit, unless forced to slow down by traffic congestion, stop lights and stop signs, or the presence of pedestrians.
IOW, regardless of the law, and the literal meaning of speed limit, posted limits have become a de facto minimum speed. Police rarely enforce speed limits strictly; it’s long been a rarity for people to get ticketed for going over the limit by <10 mph, and I think that’s creeping upwards.
The question, as I see it, is “is this a problem?” I don’t see that it is.
If I’m driving 30 miles on the highway (I do a lot of driving of this sort), the difference between 55 mph and 75 mph is, according to my calculator, the difference between 33 minutes and 24 minutes.
And on the highways in question, most of the other drivers are doing 65-80 mph. So I’m saving a nontrivial amount of time on a local trip, and being safer because my speed is more in keeping with the flow of traffic.
As far as brake slamming (and safety issues generally) goes, the key thing is to simply pay attention and not put oneself in positions of having to react too quickly. Maintain good following distances, and when a highway transitions from limited access to having stop lights, slow down enough approaching the stop lights so that stopping for a red (or for the drivers in front of you stopping for a red) won’t be a problem. This isn’t rocket science.
As far as wear and tear on the car is concerned, my first car, 30-some years ago, was a 1971 VW Super Beetle. The car I do most of my driving in nowadays is a 2000 Honda Accord. The Accord has less problems with being driven 75 than my VW did from being driven 55. Cars have gotten much better, much safer, over the decades. The Accord even gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than the VW did at 55 mph, even though it’s a bigger, heavier car.
Exactly. I regularly drive at double the legal limit on UK motorways, and literally never use the brake except when there is stationary traffic ahead. If you ever have to brake hard anywhere, you have almost certainly failed as a driver.
I think your sign needs to be quite large so everyone can read easily it while passing you. It should say somthing like, “The posted speed limit is 55 and that is is what I am doing so don’t give me that look you law-breaker you.” You will need multiple signs for various speed limits of 25, 35, 45, 65, etc. Because I will be passing you in those areas also.
Oh, they are aware of the posted speed limit. They just don’t give a damn. As evidenced by this thread (and other similar ones), most Americans believe that the safe and correct speed is whatever the “flow of traffic” is. The end result is that everyone looks at each other and collectively decide they should (or want to) drive 20mph above the limit.
I was driving on some interstate someplace in Illinois (don’t remember where – not in or very near a city of appreciable size though). Speed limit was probably 65 (it is most places) and I was probably doing about 70.
I’m in the right lane, and up ahead I can see this little white car in the right lane as well. I can tell I’m going faster than he is, but I’ve got a couple people coming up behind me faster than I’m going, so I decide to take off the cruise control to let them pass me, then I’d put it back on and pass him.
As they pass that car, I see him put his hazard lights on and swerve slightly into the left lane and back into the right. I go into not-quite-emergency mode, brake, check the other lane and pull into it to get out of his way in case he’s cut a tire or run out of gas or something. As I pass by him, he swerves a bit into my lane again, and I glance over…
It’s because he’s trying to juggle both the wheel and a large piece of posterboard that says “SPEED LIMIT!!!” as well as turn on his hazard lights for each person who passes him.
His brilliant plan almost caused an accident. And several more, as I noticed in my rear-view mirror several other drivers reacting in a similar manner.
I would guess that very few people are actually unaware of the speed limit on the interstate, and I think you’re at greater risk of causing an accident by waving a posterboard around while driving at 55 or 65 than they are by actually concentrating on what they’re doing at 65 or 75.
