Anatomy of a speed limit.

Tom_Spangler wrote: An interesting experiment on speed limits and how much regard the average motorist has for them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoETMCosULQ&

Back in the mid to late 70's some of us high schoolers did that in Chicago and the cops gave us impeedment tickets.

There are some curves where the speed limit is a darn good idea. There are some where it's a mere suggestion in my book. Then there are those on certain back roads I consider unreachable.

Of course, a curve on the highway might have been rated for 50mph when the fastest thing you had to worry about was a 57 Chevy. Now you could do 80 in the same curve in a modern car.

aircooled wrote: Money so they say Is the root of all evil today

I think the saying is "the love of money is the root of all evil"... just thought I'd help you out....

wbjones wrote:

aircooled wrote: Money so they say Is the root of all evil today

I think the saying is "the love of money is the root of all evil"... just thought I'd help you out....

He just didn't put the "_" in. Pink Floyd "Money"

Anybody check out the August 2010 issue of Car and Driver? On page 32 our buddy Lt. Gary Megge is at it again in an editorial titled Sandbagging on Speed Limits. If i can find this in electronic form I'll be sure to post it.

And here it is.

http://www.sr20-forum.com/usergallery/94c2cef2f75074.jpg

Kia_racer wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote: An interesting experiment on speed limits and how much regard the average motorist has for them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoETMCosULQ&

Back in the mid to late 70's some of us high schoolers did that in Chicago and the cops gave us impeedment tickets.

Good, you were acting like jerks. Yes, most people go 70-80mph around Atlanta. The only reason the limit is 55 is to appease the EPA that they're doing something about the pollution.

The article is also on the C&D site: caranddriver.com/features/10q2/feeding_the_machine_sandbagging_on_speed_limits-feature

In reply to nderwater:

I couldn't find a clickable link.

GregTivo wrote:

Kia_racer wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote: An interesting experiment on speed limits and how much regard the average motorist has for them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoETMCosULQ&

Back in the mid to late 70's some of us high schoolers did that in Chicago and the cops gave us impeedment tickets.

Good, you were acting like jerks. Yes, most people go 70-80mph around Atlanta. The only reason the limit is 55 is to appease the EPA that they're doing something about the pollution.

So, I presume that you don't follow the speed limit either.

The reason we did it was to show the "powers that be" that the 55mph national speed limit was a joke. Nobody followed it. The tickets were thrown out as we were following the law. If you had been around back then you might have understood that.

Kia_racer wrote:

GregTivo wrote:

Kia_racer wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote: An interesting experiment on speed limits and how much regard the average motorist has for them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoETMCosULQ&

Back in the mid to late 70's some of us high schoolers did that in Chicago and the cops gave us impeedment tickets.

Good, you were acting like jerks. Yes, most people go 70-80mph around Atlanta. The only reason the limit is 55 is to appease the EPA that they're doing something about the pollution.

So, I presume that you don't follow the speed limit either. The reason we did it was to show the "powers that be" that the 55mph national speed limit was a joke. Nobody followed it. The tickets were thrown out as we were following the law. If you had been around back then you might have understood that.

So, KR, when you are faced by conflicting laws that dictate a speed limit and that "slower traffic keep right", how do you react?

Do you accede to an ill-conceived mandate or get of the way of those who naturally gravitate towards the 85th percentile?

oldsaw wrote:

Kia_racer wrote:

GregTivo wrote:

Kia_racer wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote: An interesting experiment on speed limits and how much regard the average motorist has for them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoETMCosULQ&

Back in the mid to late 70's some of us high schoolers did that in Chicago and the cops gave us impeedment tickets.

Good, you were acting like jerks. Yes, most people go 70-80mph around Atlanta. The only reason the limit is 55 is to appease the EPA that they're doing something about the pollution.

So, I presume that you don't follow the speed limit either. The reason we did it was to show the "powers that be" that the 55mph national speed limit was a joke. Nobody followed it. The tickets were thrown out as we were following the law. If you had been around back then you might have understood that.

So, KR, when you are faced by conflicting laws that dictate a speed limit and that "slower traffic keep right", how do you react? Do you accede to an ill-conceived mandate or get of the way of those who naturally gravitate towards the 85th percentile?

That would depend on how many lanes there are. In the Metroplex, on roads that have more than 2 lanes I tend to drive in the middle or the lane closest to the right lane. (Yes I drive the speed limit). On the interstate where there are only 2 lanes I only use the left lane to pass. I get passed a lot. I also don't get speeding tickets any more.

Ill-conceived or not the law is still the law. Here in TX, where there are really only two types of drivers, those that feel they own the road and to heck with you and drive 45 no matter which lane they are in and those that drive to the 85th percentile and weave through traffic like the devil is after them. I try to keep out of the way of both.

Going back to my original post about this. We were young and stupid, but, we were just trying to make a point. It was a long time ago and is no longer needing to be made. Do I think that most speed limits should be higher, YES! Do I think we should take it into our own hands to disregard them, NO!

Kia_racer wrote: Ill-conceived or not the law is still the law.

I can only hope that some day the powers-that-be will come to understand that they are undermining the rule-of-law in this country by perpetuating unjust laws. After all, if we as a society can agree that speed limits are "unjust" laws, what other laws will we decide we can and should ignore?

For laws to have meaning, they have to be proper and fair. ALL of them.

Wowak wrote: For laws to have meaning, they have to be proper and fair. ALL of them.

True. However, before this can happen the majority of the population has to stop being so apathetic. But, this is an argument for another thread.

Kia_racer wrote: True. However, before this can happen the majority of the population has to stop being so apathetic.

Good luck with that one. The powers that be have everyone convinced that nothing the common person can do actually has any real effect.

Take jury trials, for example. The whole POINT of a jury trial is so that if there is an unjust law, the jury, despite the most convincing evidence to the contrary, can find the accused innocent of a crime, and create precedent that a law will not be enforced. You're to evaluate the law itself as much as you are the evidence.

However, in recent times, all jurors are told that it's not their place to judge the law, only if the person committed the act or not. It is actually ILLEGAL for a defense attorney to educate the jury elsewise!

The speedometers on most of my cars have the "55" highlighted and in larger print. :)

I sit in the right lane and flow with traffic, Always going at or under the speed limit. For me, fast is for the track. I used to say my favorite hobby was passing people at the track, that passed me on the drive to the track.

Arrive Alive, Drive 55.

P.S. Off the subject, but the Next time you watch Back to the future, look at the DMC speedometer. They had to paint in the 95 by hand because the factory one only goes to 85.

Kia_racer wrote:

GregTivo wrote:

Kia_racer wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote: An interesting experiment on speed limits and how much regard the average motorist has for them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoETMCosULQ&

Back in the mid to late 70's some of us high schoolers did that in Chicago and the cops gave us impeedment tickets.

Good, you were acting like jerks. Yes, most people go 70-80mph around Atlanta. The only reason the limit is 55 is to appease the EPA that they're doing something about the pollution.

So, I presume that you don't follow the speed limit either. The reason we did it was to show the "powers that be" that the 55mph national speed limit was a joke. Nobody followed it. The tickets were thrown out as we were following the law. If you had been around back then you might have understood that.

Showing the powers that be that 55mph was a joke with stunts like that is like trying to convince someone water is wet by throwing a bucket of water on them. Even if their denying that water is wet, you're way of arguing the point is annoying at the least.

As for following the speed limit, I drive at prudent speeds wherever I travel. Yes, I break the speed limit of 55mph when I'm alone on a 6 lane freeway, but I do not drive reckless and haven't had a ticket in 6 years.

ReverendDexter wrote:

Kia_racer wrote: True. However, before this can happen the majority of the population has to stop being so apathetic.

Good luck with that one. The powers that be have everyone convinced that nothing the common person can do actually has any real effect. Take jury trials, for example. The whole POINT of a jury trial is so that if there is an unjust law, the jury, despite the most convincing evidence to the contrary, can find the accused innocent of a crime, and create precedent that a law will not be enforced. You're to evaluate the law itself as much as you are the evidence. However, in recent times, all jurors are told that it's *not* their place to judge the law, only if the person committed the act or not. It is actually ILLEGAL for a defense attorney to educate the jury elsewise!

learn something new every day... I (while obviously mistaken) always thought that the Legislative Branch of our government was the place that laws were made and that the Judiciary branch (i.e. Supreme Court ) was were laws declared constitutional / unconstitutional... didn't realize there was a part of our legal system that decided on the justness of a particular law...

wow, it's a great day when you're able to learn something new

Of course it's about the mo-nay. That's why I have a radar detector; if the municipalities have the right to diddle with speed limits in order to increase revenue then I have the right to know when I am under covert surveillance. I generally run with traffic flow (safer that way) but if some overzealous traffic cop plans to cut me out of the herd in order to bump his numbers, I wanna know about it ahead of time.

Another angle is really stupid road designs. There is a stretch of I-77 through Columbia which has a decreasing radius S curve that's not readily apparent. It's worse going south than going north. Most average goobers have no idea how to deal with that, they come in running ~65-70 in the wrong lane, then quickly slow to around 50-55 as they try to figure out how to drive the darn thing. It creates a bottleneck in traffic that can really be dangerous.

Then there's the two lane behind my house that's narrow, has a plant entrance, several driveways, a narrow bridge and no shoulders to speak of. Because of this, the average speed people drive on it is ~40 mph. The speed limit? 50. Now whose bright idea was that?

In my case, living in eastern Montana, I drive my Chevy van according to whether we need to be somewhere at a certain time, or if we want to save gas. The van has a sweet spot for power and no incline downshifts at 66-68 mph. Drive 70, and the mileage goes down because of drag; drive 60 and the mileage goes down because the tranny shifts down on the grades. 66-68 gets me a solid 14 mpg, I don't annoy many people, and I still get there in reasonable time, where ever 'there' might be. We measure distance mostly in time, because if you think of the miles between one place and another, you go nuts. It can be a REALLY long time, and still be the same 130 miles if you've got a sick kid going to the hospital, but that's another story...

article said: Law enforcement agencies are able to focus on the drivers who are actually hazardous

Does anyone here drive I-65 between Indianapolis and Chicago? Everyone does 75-80, speed limit being 70. Fine. Everyone also piles up in the left lane, literally less than a car length between them in groups of 5-10. It's terrible.

canoe

oldsaw wrote: So, KR, when you are faced by conflicting laws that dictate a speed limit and that "slower traffic keep right", how do you react?

Those 2 laws do not conflict.

The left lane is where you can drive 55. If you are driving slower than that, keep right.

Just saying...