Speeding tickets

[CC Cowboy]

The news today has been saying (at least here in Florida) the Police are pulling over cars for doing 5MPH over the limit. They used to give you a 9 or 10MPH leeway but they are after the additional revenue. I'm not sure if this is nationwide but between the ticket, the lawyer, and the cost of your insurance going up, it's worth slowing down. I can't wait for the 55MPH limit to come back.

It looks like it's time for all of us to retire the sportbikes and buy Harleys. I know I'm going to.

[wyckedflesh]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

The news today has been saying (at least here in Florida) the Police are pulling over cars for doing 5MPH over the limit. They used to give you a 9 or 10MPH leeway but they are after the additional revenue. I'm not sure if this is nationwide but between the ticket, the lawyer, and the cost of your insurance going up, it's worth slowing down. I can't wait for the 55MPH limit to come back.

It looks like it's time for all of us to retire the sportbikes and buy Harleys. I know I'm going to.

Because 6% over the limit which is the at most "average" error of today's speedometers works out to 79.5 in a 75mph zone, 68.9 in a 65mph zone, 58.3 in a 55mph zone etc...

"As technology advances, and manufacturing tolerances get closer to perfect, the margin for speedometer error becomes smaller and smaller. Therefore, Police should be less tolerant of speeders."

Can't remember who the quote came from, but I think it was the NHTSA.

forgot to mention, I will just buy a GPS based gauge...less hassle then a Hardley

[ScraitT]

I love the people that get mad for getting speeding tickets. Really? Your mad that you got a speeding ticket for speeding.

I speed, all the time. I don't drive reckless, I don;t weave in and out of cars, but if there's noone a head of me, I speed, and if traffic is speeding, I speed. It's usually only 5-10 over, but it's speeding, and if I get a ticket, I am fine with it because it's my own damn fault.

I personally wouldn't mind if they dropped the speed limit back down to 55 either. A friends car has a mpg readout of when your currently getting (accel and it drops down to 3-4, brake and it goes to the 90s). Using cruise control we got around the following numbers....
80mph - 21mpg
70 mph - 25 mpg
60 mph - 30mpg

That's in a 99 dodge grand caravan. Lower the speed limit to 55 and a VAN would be getting around 33 mpg on the highway. I know at 65 my car averaged 40, and it's not a hybrid. Speed eats gas....screw hybrids, just lower the speed limit and drive slower, stop being in such a rush.

[ScraitT]

2005 hyundai elantra sedan 5 speed. I got an average of just over 40 over the course of 2 months of almost purely highway driving at just about 65 mph (any slower and you get runover down here).
It's only rated at 36 highway (with the manual), but just about everyone I have seen has easily surpassed that. Even driving at 80-85 for most of my 4 years going back and forth to school, I averaged no less then 33 at any time, which I think is excellent for doing 80+. I bought the car because I needed something to get back and forth to school. I got the car dirt cheap, and it had a good warranty, but I really expected the car to be crap, which didn't bother me as long as the warranty fixed it. This car has amazed me. I beat the crap out of this thing and in 5 years, not a single thing has gone wrong with the car, it's really amazed me.
Anyways, off topic, not trying to turn this into a car thread :-x

[carajean]

I saw that on the new yesterday here in michigan also. They said 1 over here.

[demp]

I realize I'm in a different country - but lately here in Toronto the police have been doing nothing but pulling people over with radar

[bob706]

Originally Posted by ScraitT

just lower the speed limit and drive slower, stop being in such a rush.

Amen. I did that on a trip from FL to PA. I kept the cruise control at around 60mph and got phenomenal mileage. I think I passed two cars the whole time but got flipped off a lot.

[bdavison]

55mph...you gotta be joking...

Traveling on the interstate sucks cause it takes so long to get anywhere and you want to drop the speed limit. I dont think so.

The speed limit isnt the problem...its the people that feel its necessary to blast 140 down the interstate. Changing the speedlimit wont do squat, those folks dont care what the speedlimit is now, and they wont care after you change it.

And theres no way you will ever get me to trade in my sportbike for a harley. I'll never own a hardley until they lighten up that overweight pig, and toss that sorry excuse for a motor right off a cliff, and start over.

[Ramen]

With the economy being down, government coffers are experiencing a decrease in the amount of taxes coming in.

Hence, revenue generation in the form of stricter traffic control.

Cut spending? Hah!

[cnichols79us]

My Wife was caught twice in a 2 month period here in Washington for doing less than 8 mph over. She cried and yelled it was stupid. I told her she should have learned the 1st time to slow down.... Especially at over $150 a pop.

[jonthechron]

Caught 2 times for doing 45 MPH over the limit, it was actually a 45 MPH zone, 2 hefty 550$ tickets, could of have bought plenty of mods with that

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by carajean

I saw that on the new yesterday here in michigan also. They said 1 over here.

In Florida they can pull you over but can't give you a speeding ticket for anything under 6 over.

Originally Posted by bob706

Amen. I did that on a trip from FL to PA. I kept the cruise control at around 60mph and got phenomenal mileage. I think I passed two cars the whole time but got flipped off a lot.

I drive from Florida up north many times per year. It takes 18 hours. At 55 it would take about 24 or more hours. The savings in fuel would go towards Hotel and more food so no savings for the trip, actually higher costs.

Originally Posted by cnichols79us

My Wife was caught twice in a 2 month period here in Washington for doing less than 8 mph over. She cried and yelled it was stupid. I told her she should have learned the 1st time to slow down.... Especially at over $150 a pop.

Radar detector would have been worth the price.

Originally Posted by jonthechron

Caught 2 times for doing 45 MPH over the limit, it was actually a 45 MPH zone, 2 hefty 550$ tickets, could of have bought plenty of mods with that

Wait untill you guys get the higher insurance premium (for years).

[Hadyn]

I used to speed in my car all the time, got myself 2 tickets in as many weeks (84 in a 65 and 51 in a 35) and then finally got it through my thick skull that aside from medical emergencies there's really nothing worth speeding for. Those couple minutes aren't really going to matter, and apologizing for being a little late is a lot easier than apologizing for being significantly late and a couple hundred bucks poorer.

I'm already paying for those tickets when it comes to insurance, my quote was pretty low until I added in the two violations. They'll go away in a couple more years though.
Also, radar detectors are illegal here in VA. :<
Posted via Mobile Device

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by ducducgooseit

What do the lot of you think about those intersection cameras that issue tickets via Big Brother's Computers?

It has nothing to do with speeding tickets therefore I can't comment on it in this thread.

[FrugalNinja250]

Back when speed limits were set based on real science they were 70-75 on interstates, that was reasonable since 85% of people drove at that speed or less. Now they're set based on politics and revenue generation and that's just wrong.

Remember, the people setting the limits are your employees, i.e. the government. If half as many people getting tickets due to underposted speed limits were to vote against the people setting the limits then the system would change back to rational logic and science fairly quickly.

The whole idea behind speed limits in the first place was for safety; the fines were there as a disincentive for speeding, not as an incentive for revenue generation.

Let's start a movement, Bring Back Rational Speed Limits!

[Samer]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

It has nothig to do with speeding tickets therefore I can't comment on it in this thread.

In the Washington D.C. area (MD, VA) where I used to live, these were quite common. In fact my wife has had to pay the fine for running a red light. They send you a couple of photos and by how long you ran the light. In no state of the union, however have I ever seen these cameras related to points on your record. Just a fine you have to pay. I don't think they tell the insurance companies, but I'm not sure.

CC, as a fellow Floridian, I must tell you that there was a van on US1 in Juno Beach (Palm Beach County) which did catch speeders. A white unmarked van with a camera. I think more than one person has questioned the legality of it. Last I heard, the van is no longer operational because the local government had a disagreement with the owners of the van regarding the cost of operating it.

[Samer]

Originally Posted by FrugalNinja250

Back when speed limits were set based on real science they were 70-75 on interstates, that was reasonable since 85% of people drove at that speed or less. Now they're set based on politics and revenue generation and that's just wrong.

Remember, the people setting the limits are your employees, i.e. the government. If half as many people getting tickets due to underposted speed limits were to vote against the people setting the limits then the system would change back to rational logic and science fairly quickly.

The whole idea behind speed limits in the first place was for safety; the fines were there as a disincentive for speeding, not as an incentive for revenue generation.

Let's start a movement, Bring Back Rational Speed Limits!

Don't underestimate the global political reasons for speed limits. The national speed limit was reduced to 55 due to the 1973 oil crisis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Maximum_Speed_Law

Most cars at the time were more efficient at lower highway speeds so that was a quick way for the federal government to reduce U.S. oil consumption. As the oil crisis went away, these rules eased, but public safety advocates were pushing back because of the possibility of increased deaths due to the raising of the speed limit.

[Sailariel]

I really fail to understand why everybody is in such a darn hurry, is so impatient, and so rude. Yesterday, I was cruising along Rte 3 at 59mph (GPS) I had cagers get on my fender flashing their lights, blowing their horns, etc. When they got by me--since I was using my lane, I would invariably get half a peace sign as they roared off. One particularly obnoxious cager was running an Audi. He leaned on his horn and passed on a double yellow--he tried to force me into the repair lane. About three miles down the road, there he was, with blue lights behind him. I went by and gave a wave. About 20 min later he went by me like I was parked. I was still doing 59mph. Some people don`t feel that laws apply to them. My cage gets 40mpg at 55mph. It is an 07 Pontiac Vibe--same same Toyota Matrix, 2WD, 5Sp, 1.8L 4Cyl engine.

[Samer]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

I really fail to understand why everybody is in such a darn hurry, is so impatient, and so rude.

I generally try to go with the flow of traffic. The safest speed is the same speed as everyone around you. If somebody is in a hurry, I'm glad to get out of their way, it makes me less likely to get a speeding ticket anyway. Having said that, I think if a lot of people are passing you to the point of giving you the finger, I'd wonder if you were going a tad too slowly. Doesn't matter if they're upset, that is besides the point, but if you're significantly slower than the flow of traffic, that's dangerous also.

[Dano]

i agree that speed limits are set too slow to generate income for the state. I take a 4 lane road to work, the speed limt is 45mph in the business sections and in some rural areas and 50mph on the rest..these couple of business sections are like a 7 eleven and a DQ..lol. it should be 55mph the enitre way but the local cops stake it out during rush hour and make a mint in tickets. Also in PA its like the Liquer Control Board LCB. It is a state agency that was created during prohibition to control liquor. Now it is a money maker for the state, the only place you can buy hard liquor is at a STATE STORE owned and run by the state, and to buy beer you must go to a beer dist. or a sixpack shop and they must apply for liquor liscense which are expensive, also if you buy a bar and dont get the liquor liscense with the sale you may never open it. liquor liscenses go for big dollars on the open market.

[jonthechron]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Wait untill you guys get the higher insurance premium (for years).

Well, so far Its been 2 years since my first ticket, I just renewed the insurance an It actually dropped 10%.. Im expecting a bigger drop when I hit 25

[headshrink]

They are laughing at us in Deutschland!

[tapdiggy]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

I really fail to understand why everybody is in such a darn hurry, is so impatient, and so rude. Yesterday, I was cruising along Rte 3 at 59mph (GPS) I had cagers get on my fender flashing their lights, blowing their horns, etc.

Now Alex, you know the "unofficial speed limit" on RT 3 is at least 70 between Belfast and Lake St. George. You shouldn't hold up all those beemers and beaters heading to the Chinah Dinah