An ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure and all that…
Yeah, “don’t speed” sounds like the simplest bit of advice, but around here going the limit even in the right lane will likely cause you to endure a lot of tailgators. Plus I don’t like being there with a lot of exits coming up because I’ll invariably have to move over to let them in (esp. since most people won’t be going even the limit when they do merge), but uh oh I can’t because someone else is already there, so I often will have to slow down 5-10 MPH to let them in…
So I tend to hang out in the middle lane(s), going 5-10 over the limit. Sue me.
In any event there are still a number of things you can do to minimize your chances. The overarching rule is to be nondescript, if not invisible (in practical terms). If you consider that most LEO’s won’t even give you a second look unless you are going 15+ over, then that’s step one (and I hardly ever get up that high).
Step two is noting the prescence of any “Rabbits” (speeders going ahead of you) who will take the heat if there is a LEO up ahead, and not you. Ideally they should be a large vehicle with lots of surface area for that radar/laser gun… If I can hide behind him so much the better.
Being in the passing lane can be problematic, tho sometimes necessary. Just complete the pass ASAP and let the next rabbit run on ahead.
I’ll also typically slow down a bit when approaching likely LEO camping places (e.g. coming over a big hill).
Watching the behavior of other drivers has saved me many times-sometimes they don’t even need to hit the brake lights, I can just sense them all slowing down a bit, and I know the cop will be there.
Actually it is the simplest and best solution. As far as tailgaters, I drive a fairly large vehicle and pay little attention to what’s behind me. If they want to tailgate, my attitude is: “knock yourself out”. Occasionally, one of 'em takes that literally. :rolleyes: Feel free to guess who drove away from the encounter.
I have an amazing device which prevents speeding tickets and commuting delays. It’s called an alarm clock.
I set my cruise control to the speed limit and ride in the right or center lane depending on the distance between myself and the next car ahead. If other people want to speed or tailgate me or pass me on the right, then I’m completely fine with them getting pulled over, because never in my life have I gotten a ticket for not speeding.
Use Waze to locate areas of higher enforcement, and not only help yourself, but help others and benefit from the good Karma (or 'Car’ma) (I’ve actually felt the good will of a thankful Wazer - it works)
I’ve found when using cruise control I’m usually still the fastest car on the road, even when set to exactly the speed limit, because most people do not adjust when going uphill, or not even notice they’re going uphill, and unconsciously slow down. I can tell when the road is going uphill because I start catching up to and blasting past everyone, just by maintaining an constant speed.
So, you are perfectly fine with a lunatic 2 inches from your rear bumper, esp. after posting that pic? WI they “knock” you out, all the way to the bloody morgue? :dubious:
I see chain reaction collisions like that all the time here. [and my guess is that is the only time Little Johnny Radar Gun will ever actually give people tickets for following too closely]
I don’t want to become involved in one (and I was a few years ago, at a stop light so no major injuries). In fact I don’t worry too much about being caught speeding, but tailgators (I’m a UF alumni and live in NE Florida sue me) are my bane, and I will take whatever steps are necessary to keep them off my ass.
Every day I drive 50 miles on two lane mountain highway. The speed limit if 50mph which is reasonable. Plenty of deer, hills and curves. And six months out of the year, you will encounter ice and snow. 50mph is right.
Still plenty of people want to tail gate. There are two very good places to pull over to let them by. I often do this because if I have to slow down very quickly for a deer or moose, I don’t want to be rear ended.
And as you say Pullin, an alarm clock is all you need to get to where you are going on time.
This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say. In 48 years of driving, I’ve never had a moving violation. (I was once pulled over because my insurance company erroneously reported that my insurance had lapsed.)
The only thing I’ll add is, “Use your signals. Always.”
Weaving in and out of traffic is, IMHO, the gravest sin in driving. I’ll overlook tailgating, failing to signal, slowing to allow a merge, and wandering in a lane, but people who weave in and out at any speed are surely consigned to a special circle in Hell.
As I post this, there’s a $100 speeding ticket on my desk that I will pay before the 30 day window is elapses and the penalties kick in.
I was caught speeding just before the Champlain Bridge on my way to Montreal. It’s only $100 because I didn’t try to shine the cop on by fabricating some bullshit excuse. I just copped to it. He knocked it down by half for me.
That said, I often speed but don’t often get caught because I take similar precautions mentioned by OP - Don’t be the guy that sticks out like a sore thumb. But sometimes I lose focus or throw caution to the wind and take a chance that there won’t be a speed trap ahead. In this case, it was a long day of travel and I was just a few miles from my destination.
As to why I speed, it’s never because I’m late. If I’m running late, the fault is entirely mine, and I don’t take that out on those who share the road. I don’t do road rage, ever. I speed because I have a fast car and it’s fun to use it for the purpose it was built. It’s why I bought the damn thing. So I’ll speed when the road and traffic conditions allow. It’s not that I think that rules don’t apply to me. It’s that sometimes I choose to break them just to have a little bit of fun. I’m quite sure someone will come along to tell me I should burn in hell for that. Until then, I’ll just pay the occasional fine.
Not sure about other places, but around here it is almost unheard of for a cop to give a speeding ticket for less than 10 MPH over the speed limit. So my rule is simple: don’t exceed 10 MPH over the speed limit. If the speed limit is 55 I set the cruise control at 62 or 63. If the speed limit is 65 I set the cruise control at 72 or 73. Etc.
This one simple trick will add MPH’s to your journey and it’s probably something you do already. Look ahead.
As we drive we should be looking and planning as far ahead as possible. Unless it’s incredibly hilly and curvy, you’ll see the fuzz long before they zap you. And double-bonus; you’re looking and planning ahead… for safety!
If there are cars in front of you, keep on eye on their brake lights. If you see brake lights come on, it could mean they (the drivers in the cars in front of you) have seen a cop and are trying to slow down. Which means you should immediately slow down.
Weavers are assholes, I agree, but I’m not worried about them. At least they are most likely paying attention and focused on driving.
Who I worry about are the “multitaskers,” the people who don’t “think,” don’t “know,” but rather simply assume they are such an expert at driving they can do anything else at the same time. Every single one of these people are WRONG, and IMO they are the cause of 99.99% of all collisions and other bullshit behavior on the roads.
If you never speed you presumably virtually never get a speeding ticket. However if you do routinely technically ‘speed’ you may still virtually never get a speeding ticket. I am an example of the latter, one automated camera ticket in 43 yrs driving, and I don’t strictly stick to speed limits. So the question is where is the threshold where the probability of getting a ticket, or the frequency of tickets, is minimal.
It’s as others have said
with the exception of a few areas, as discussed on various threads, it’s extremely unlikely to get speeding tickets in the US ~7mph or less above the limit on highways, arguably 10.
you can determine on roads you often travel, and in some cases new ones, places where the probability of a cop looking for speeders is extremely low.
You can use faster cars as a ‘screen’, as long as you can keep them in sight.
By the latter two methods you can actually not just technically (ie more 7>10 over) speed and basically never get tickets as far as human enforcement.
Camera’s can change it. My camera ticket was 58 in a 50 zone (DC Beltway). You might know an area does or doesn’t use camera’s but aren’t so likely to see them. The camera in theory at least is going to give a ticket to the fast guy in front of you and you (though I suppose in reality they prefer to stick to sending the tickets to out of state plates, locals were whizzing by me where I got that ticket, I clearly recall). But speeding cameras aren’t all that common in the US.
