This is not a rant… just a question.
Just what exactly is the person that is going 10 MPH under the speed limit thinking? Are they unaware of the speed limit? Are the uncomfortable going the speed limit? Worried about police? What could possibly motivate someone to inflict this upon the people behind them?
I went under the speed limit once, but I haven’t got the foggiest idea what caused such bizarre behavior. 
This question is particularly relevant when said person is also in the passing lane.
In my case, uncomfortable. Driving 65 miles an hour feels profoundly wrong to me – there’s this internal monologue that keeps telling me that people aren’t meant to go that fast and how easy it is to die at that speed. I’ll force myself to do it because I realize going slower than the flow of traffic also makes you a safety hazard, but I don’t like it at all. (Of course, I hardly ever drive on the highway anyhow, so it’s usually a non-issue.)
“It’s the limit - you don’t have to go that fast!”
Honestly, I don’t know.
They could be a foreigner who doesn’t realize he or she is doing something wrong (I got a very interesting lift home from a friend from Kashmir once), they could be a new and inexperienced driver, they could have engine trouble, they could have a broken speedometer, they could be fighting with a passenger or having sex with a passenger, they could be unaware of what the speed limit is, and they could be on some medicine that’s new to them and has unexpectedly made them stoned and thus paranoid about losing control. All these things have happened to me at least once. That said, when at all possible, if I’m driving slow or unaware of what the speed limit is, I stay in the slow lane so people can go around me if they wish. Few things are more irritating than getting behind grandma (no offense to anybody here in their golden years) in the passing lane. Then again, I usually drive at least ten miles-per-hour over the speed limit.
Correction: I’ve never been a foreigner behind the wheel.
Well, lots of things.
Old car.
Unfamiliar city/area.
Fatigue.
Driving on a spare tire or some mechanical problem.
Whiny backseat driver.
I’ve had all of the above at one point or another. It’s amazing how rude people will be over things like this - as if a few seconds make any difference.
You’ve had sex while driving? Do you do things like this regularly? How the hell are you still alive?
maybe you are following the ice cream truck
Confession: If I’m driving slowly, it’s usually because I’m screwing with my cell phone, which I know I shouldn’t be doing. My foot tends to let up on the gas when I’m trying to do something besides drive (I don’t have cruise control).
Actually, some places have a minimum speed limit as well. It is usually 10mph under the max. and you can be ticketed for driving too slow.
Every once in awhile, I sort of space out and go, say, 55 in a 65. I know, not very comforting, is it. I can’t even give any cool reasons for it, like having sex, either.
Going into El Paso, I think the speed limit is 65, and the minimum is 45. I’ve never seen minimum speeds in states other than Texas, however.
I did this today - I was annoyed at the car behind me.
I live on a street where people speed. I speed. Not a big deal - but there’s a divider between the directions, and I was looking for a parking spot…usually when I’m looking, I’m still going the speed limit (or slightly over) and then parallel park or pull over when I find a spot.
But today, the idiot behind me was too damn close for me to do either of those things, if/when I did find a spot. It’s bad enough trying to find a spot w/o worrying if the person behind you is going to rear-end you. So I slowed down to about 10mph to give myself enough time/room to successfully park.
And to annoy them back.
Or did you just mean on the freeway.
The speed limit is the legal maximum speed one can travel on a given road, not a requirement. I know that someone made a joke out this concept earlier in this thread, but it is the truth.
I personally don’t want others on the road driving faster than they feel they safely can travel under given conditions in a given vehicle.
In South Carolina the law is written such that the posted speed limit is the speed limit for ideal conditions. If conditions are less than ideal due to time of day and weather, you can actually be ticketed for “driving too fast for conditions” even if you’re going 10 MPH (or more) under the posted speed limit.
As far as I know, this only occurs on limited-access roads like interstates. I’ve never seen the range only 10 MPH. 15 MPH is the smallest I can remember, and that’s rare. And while I believe it can happen, I have never heard of anyone getting a ticket for violating the minimum speed limit.
In Georgia the minimum limit is 40. And outside of cities, the upper limit is 70. God help anybody going anywhere near the minimum…
Both in Fort Collins and here in Dayton, there are large contingents of old fogies and fogiettes who go about 10-15 below. Not a big deal until they pair up and go side by side for 5 miles.
Last night I was going, at times, over 35 MPH under the limit. Granted, it was snowing heavily, the road was unplowed and unsalted, and I counted five people in the ditch within a stretch of a couple of miles, so I guess you could understand.
Now, if the road’s clear, the sun is out, and your car is in good condition…OK, I’ve seen that too. The biggest offender I ever saw was a guy driving right down the middle of the PA Turnpike (speed limit 65) at about 40 MPH. It looked like he was trying to straddle the center dotted line. And no, he wasn’t an oldster, he was 30-ish. Other than an attempt to get hit from behind to collect insurance money, I can’t figure that one out at all.