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Why is it so acceptable to speed?

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JCX

Member
I wish there were more time-based limits. Hate driving late at night with no cars on the highway but having to stick to 70.
 

SummitAve

Banned
I don't like driving next to people so I always drive a little faster than the packs of people who are all content with driving the speed limit and never pass each other. It's safer.
 
As a general rule I drive 4 over.

On the freeway I double that.

So, 39 in a 35, 44 in a 40, 54 in a 50, etc., and then 78 in a 70, 73 in a 65, etc.

Faster than that I get nervous. Fuck getting pulled over.
 

E92 M3

Member
As a general rule I drive 4 over.

On the freeway I double that.

So, 39 in a 35, 44 in a 40, 54 in a 50, etc., and then 78 in a 70, 73 in a 65, etc.

Faster than that I get nervous. Fuck getting pulled over.

I tend to just look out for cops and make sure to spot any undercover ones as well. At the end of the day it's all game of acquiring revenue for the county. That's when I went to court they didn't care about the points and crap as long as they got the money.
 
Same. I've also never been pulled over. Only problem is that in the Seattle area, people are always driving the speed limit on the interstate, including in the left lane and they refuse to get over. So infuriating.

Also, so many Prius drivers here. So many.

Yeah; somehow I've never had a speeding ticket.
 
Those people aren't being dangerous because they're speeding, they're being dangerous because they're driving erratically. You can do that under the speed limit and be just as, if not more, dangerous.

And furthermore, the relentless emphasis on speed as the primary ticketable offense means these people who are actually driving dangerously are less likely to be ticketed than safe, careful drivers exceeding the limit.

I agree there should be speed limits and some of them are entirely practical like school zones and residential areas but a lot of them are just too low to be practical.

The thing is that people still ignore school zone speed limits (and why wouldn't they, since speed limits in general are archaic and misguided.) The right strategy is to design roads that actually push people to lower speeds by their design, and build schools off the road a bit instead of right next to giant thoroughfares that serve major traffic needs.

Now living in Upstate New York. Even the drivers in the right lanes drive at least 10 MPH over the speed limit. Shit is cray.

The whole of Upstate is like the world's single biggest speed trap.
 
I have a 40 minute commute to work, one way. Mostly on the interstate. I average 10mph over in the left lane. If you're not doing 10mph over, that's fine....but get out of my way.

Exactly this. If you're in the far left lane only going the same speed as everyone else, you're not "passing", so leave.

Generally for highways, the acceptable max limit = Speed limit + 10-15 mph
For normal roadways, speed limit + 5-10mph
For school zones, speed limit or below.

Not only is speeding accepted by many, but most of them have this jerk's attitude. I want to go the speed limit, you want to go 10 miles over the speed limit. Why do I need to get out of your way, why are your desires more important than mine, especially when yours are against the law and objectively endangering the lives of people around you, like my pregnant wife and our two year old daughter, just because you feel like going a little faster - which saves little to no time, if you really think about it.

The passing lane is for passing, not for going with the flow. There are three other lanes for going with or below the flow of traffic. If you are in the passing lane and there are a gang of cars bunching up behind you, it's because you are going too slow. Lack of speed differentials in lanes actually makes it more difficult for people to get in the appropriate lanes for exiting, as they can get boxed in.
 
Because you have two to three other lanes you could be driving that speed in. The left most lane is there so people can go faster there and go around people in the other lanes who may be trying to merge. You're holding up the purpose of that lane if you're going the same speed you would in any of the other lanes.

Nope, two-lane highways in my area and tons of on-ramps and slow moving trucks in the right lane. I only use the left lane to pass, spend all the rest of my time in the slow lane, but even then, I get drivers on my tail every single day riding WAY too close (because that helps) trying to urge me to get over faster. If I could, I would, and you're an asshole if your own and other people's safety means so little to you.
 
Not only is speeding accepted by many, but most of them have this
jerk's
attitude. I want to go the speed limit, you want to go 10 miles over the speed limit. Why do I need to get out of your way, why are your desires more important than mine, especially when yours are against the law and objectively endangering the lives of people around you, like my pregnant wife and our two year old daughter, just because you feel like going a little faster - which saves little to no time, if you really think about it.

Congrats, right lane is for you. Sometimes I need to drive the speed limit or a little slower. Sometimes I just don't want to go fast. That's what the right lane is for.

I hate when traffic is trying to move and is stuck between two 18 wheelers and the ONE guy in the fast lane that wants to do 55.

Nope, two-lane highways in my area and tons of on-ramps and slow moving trucks in the right lane. I only use the left lane to pass, spend all the rest of my time in the slow lane, but even then, I get drivers on my tail every single day riding WAY too close (because that helps) trying to urge me to get over faster. If I could, I would, and you're an asshole if your own and other people's safety means so little to you.

You_don't_say-.jpg
 

Syncytia

Member
Where I live:
40+ limit = 10 over
35 and below usually 5 over.

Where I have family in California though, that isn't enough. You just have to get a feel for it. If you're going the speed limit at 60 and everyone is passing you at 75, you need to speed up. Whether you think that's wrong isn't an issue at that point, you going 15 slower than the rest of traffic is causing risk to yourself and everyone else. Go with the flow of traffic and keep a reasonable follow distance for the speed you are going and taking into account whether people in the right lane may be slowing down to make a turn. Accidents are caused by differential travel speeds, if we all drove the same speed and didn't stop there wouldn't be any rear end crashes. The idiots that can't stay in their lane, they'll still be idiots.
 
Impeding flow of traffic by going the limit is magnitudes more dangerous than speeding and going with flow of traffic.

They made a simple solution, go slow -> right lane, go fast -> left lane.
Going the same speed as someone to the right of you with others behind you -> move to right.
Going faster than multiple cars in front of you -> go left.

If you're driving in a populated area, don't be a fucking asshole and slow down to a reasonable speed, usually 5+ speed limit. Open area with minimal blind turns and population, 10+. Highways, see above.
 
You should not be in the left lane unless you are passing. EVER.

It's not that my time is more important than yours, it's because roads work according to a system, which if everyone actually followed, would mean less traffic and more people getting to where they need to be.

If you are sitting in the left lane doing the speed limit, you are a hazard. And if someone comes up behind you, you are obligated to move to one side and let them overtake, because that is how roads work.

Read my last comment, I only use the left lane for passing. People driving too damn close to other cars to "encourage" them to move over causes a lot of the traffic problems we have. It's not safe, it's against the law, and it's rude, and it's completely acceptable to (apparently) the majority of drivers.

https://seriousaccidents.com/legal-advice/top-causes-of-car-accidents/ Leading Causes of Car Accidents - Number 2? Speeding. Not Appearing On This List? Driving the Speed Limit.
 
Congrats, right lane is for you. Sometimes I need to drive the speed limit or a little slower. Sometimes I just don't want to go fast. That's what the right lane is for.

I hate when traffic is trying to move and is stuck between two 18 wheelers and the ONE guy in the fast lane that wants to do 55.



You_don't_say-.jpg

Since you're ignoring it just for fun - I only use the left lane to pass. The second I can get out of the way of idiots who are tailgating me, I do.

People still drive inches away from my bumper because they're morons who think that that will get them where they're going faster, when really all it does is endanger my family. I have every right to be pissed off at you if you endanger my family for the sake of your convenience.
 
Since you're ignoring it just for fun - I only use the left lane to pass. The second I can get out of the way of idiots who are tailgating me, I do.

People still drive inches away from my bumper because they're morons who think that that will get them where they're going faster, when really all it does is endanger my family. I have every right to be pissed off at you if you endanger my family for the sake of your convenience.

Tailgating and speeding are two completely different issues. One can be done without the other.

I don't like tailgating either and I tend to just move over when that happens rather than let my pride get in the way when I'm on the road.

Just pointing out the irony of complaining about trucks going too slow...maybe they want to go the speed limit too....
 
Just pointing out the irony of complaining about trucks going too slow...maybe they want to go the speed limit too....

This is the basic problem of why two-lane thoroughfares are awful (as anyone who's ever driven through New York State can attest.) When you have 3+ lanes, you have room for olds and 18-wheelers in the right lane, normal people slightly speeding in the middle, and crazy nuts with fresh new sports cars in the left; traffic doesn't get tangled up until the road gets really full.

On the two lane roads, you get the exact dynamic described here -- the right lane is (correctly) full of slowpokes, but people who want to go 75 get dangerously tailgated when they move left to pass by the people who want to go 90.
 

thelatestmodel

Junior, please.
On the two lane roads, you get the exact dynamic described here -- the right lane is (correctly) full of slowpokes, but people who want to go 75 get dangerously tailgated when they move left to pass by the people who want to go 90.

They should all be in the right lane unless overtaking, no exceptions. They should also move into the right lane when someone comes up behind them.

This is what isn't being taught in driver's ed. It's basic shit.
 

HylianTom

Banned
A large portion of this goes to poor road design, and how we set speed limits during/after the design process. We see a path in front of us and our minds automatically do calculations on road width, potential obstacles, cross-traffic, etc. Engineers design a road to certain specs, while policymakers set speeds that don't necessarily correspond to those specs.


The speed limit might be the law, but it isn't always properly set. Or, the desired speed might be decided..but the road is not designed accordingly. It all adds up.
 
I'm pretty sure its also been shown that speeding, at least in urban areas, saves little to no time. It only really makes a difference when going long distance on open, country roads or highways with little to no stop lights
That's a damn lie. Anybody who has ever had to speed to work knows this.
 

inm8num2

Member
The funny thing about speeding is that a simple calculation shows how little time you actually save in most cases (e.g. going 5-7 mph above the limit).
 

Muffdraul

Member
Not only is speeding accepted by many, but most of them have this
jerk's
attitude. I want to go the speed limit, you want to go 10 miles over the speed limit. Why do I need to get out of your way, why are your desires more important than mine, especially when yours are against the law and objectively endangering the lives of people around you, like my pregnant wife and our two year old daughter, just because you feel like going a little faster - which saves little to no time, if you really think about it.

My blood pressure went up just reading this bullshit. People like you should just take the fucking bus.
 

E92 M3

Member
The funny thing about speeding is that a simple calculation shows how little time you actually save in most cases (e.g. going 5-7 mph above the limit).

To me, it's about driving at a comfortable speed where I don't feel like I'm crawling not about getting somewhere faster.
 

thelatestmodel

Junior, please.
The funny thing about speeding is that a simple calculation shows how little time you actually save in most cases (e.g. going 5-7 mph above the limit).

For me it's not about saving time, at all. It's simply a matter of driving at a speed that is appropriate and comfortable for the road I'm on.
 

Christine

Member
They should all be in the right lane unless overtaking, no exceptions. They should also move into the right lane when someone comes up behind them.

This is what isn't being taught in driver's ed. It's basic shit.

No, there isn't enough room around here for everybody to be in the right lane when they're not passing. What you're saying sounds sensible on paper but is actively bad advice for certain roads.
 

deadlast

Member
I work in a criminal records office. I'm a relatively new driver and my colleagues are actually poking fun at the fact I only speed a little. It's a common myth that largely holds true that we're allowed to speed up to 10% of the limit (33mph in a 30, 44mph in a 40).

I take advantage of that 10% rule purely because everyone else does and I don't want to be the guy holding up lines of traffic, but I'm actually having people say I'm not speeding enough. Apparently you're a ridiculous and slow driver if you aren't doing 40MPH in 30 and 50MPH in a 40.

Why is it so acceptable to speed, seriously? The limits are there for a reason: they are tried and tested. They save lives. If everyone stuck to or close to the limit, driving would be easier for everyone. I don't get it.

OP,
There are 2 types of Laws: regular laws and gray laws. Regular laws, under normal circumstances people won't break these laws. These are GTA, Murder, Robbery.

Then you have gray laws. Which people via as no harm, no foul. Piracy and speeding are types of gray laws. People know it's wrong, they just don't care.
 

E92 M3

Member
OP,
There are 2 types of Laws: regular laws and gray laws. Regular laws, under normal circumstances people won't break these laws. These are GTA, Murder, Robbery.

Then you have gray laws. Which people via as no harm, no foul. Piracy and speeding are types of gray laws. People know it's wrong, they just don't care.

image.php
 

StoneFox

Member
Yesterday my brother was going ten miles over the speed limit on a two-lane road and a guy in a giant pickup came roaring up behind us, doing at least ten miles faster than we were going. When he finally got around us he flipped us off and proceeded to do an illegal turn. I don't understand people sometimes.
 

thelatestmodel

Junior, please.
No, there isn't enough room around here for everybody to be in the right lane when they're not passing. What you're saying sounds sensible on paper but is actively bad advice for certain roads.

When the traffic reaches a certain density, of course this is unavoidable, the roads just fill up. I don't think I would go as far as to say it's bad advice though...
 

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
They should all be in the right lane unless overtaking, no exceptions. They should also move into the right lane when someone comes up behind them.

This is what isn't being taught in driver's ed. It's basic shit.

Maybe where you live, but not in California and many other places. Literally nobody does this in California, in part because on most two-lane highways (primarily Highway 5), the right lane is so slow due to trucks that there's no reason for a car to be in it 90% of the time. You're always passing on that road (and everyone's going 90). And on a multilane freeway, all lanes are used, period. The left lane is not a passing lane on the West coast.
 

Muffdraul

Member
No, there isn't enough room around here for everybody to be in the right lane when they're not passing. What you're saying sounds sensible on paper but is actively bad advice for certain roads.

Anyone who lives in LA knows that the "left lane is for passing only" stopped being a thing 40 years ago. It's simply not viable around here. Ever.
 
Maybe where you live, but not in California and many other places. Literally nobody does this in California, in part because on most two-lane highways (primarily Highway 5), the right lane is so slow due to trucks that there's no reason for a car to be in it 90% of the time. You're always passing on that road. And on a multilane freeway, all lanes are used, period. The left lane is not a passing lane on the West coast.
Yep this. The amount of times I drive on a two lane highway in California is minuscule too, almost all of them are 3+ lanes per side
 

y2dvd

Member
I think people who aren't using the left lanes to pass are actually way more disruptive to the flow of traffic. Of course speeding is an inclusion when factoring car accidents. It's easy to blame. I see wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more accidents during rush hour traffic where traffic is a crawl. You think reports will state that slow speeds were the cause? No.

Speed limits should definitely be enforced in residential areas, but it makes little sense on the highway.
 

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
I think people who aren't using the left lanes to pass are actually way more disruptive to the flow of traffic.

As long as the people in the left lane are going faster than the people to their right, nothing is being disrupted. Slower drivers wandering out into the middle lanes are by far the most disruptive and dangerous situations you encounter on most highways, because they create an obstacle for all the normal speed drivers to avoid. As the river of traffic parts to get around the obstacle, the chances of an accident go up drastically. Slower drivers are always more dangerous to more people. A dickhead going 100 is near you for a split second. A dickhead going 40 on a 65 mph freeway is a danger to literally every car behind him, whether they're speeding or obeying the limit to the digit.
 

thelatestmodel

Junior, please.
Maybe where you live, but not in California and many other places. Literally nobody does this in California, in part because on most two-lane highways (primarily Highway 5), the right lane is so slow due to trucks that there's no reason for a car to be in it 90% of the time. You're always passing on that road (and everyone's going 90). And on a multilane freeway, all lanes are used, period. The left lane is not a passing lane on the West coast.

I understand the situation completely. I've driven in every condition imaginable, this is not new to me. But the left lane is still for passing, and you should move over if possible to let people behind you past.

And again, yes I understand that sometimes the road is completely full. LA is a fucking nightmare, some of the worst traffic in the world. I know sometimes it doesn't apply.
 

E92 M3

Member
Anyone who calls you slow because your aren't going 10 miles over the limit at any given time are just trying to excuse their reckless driving and justify whatever speeding tickets they have.

Going above an arbitrary number designed for the purposes of revenue does not make one reckless.
 

Muffdraul

Member
I think people who aren't using the left lanes to pass are actually way more disruptive to the flow of traffic. Of course speeding is an inclusion when factoring car accidents. It's easy to blame. I see wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more accidents during rush hour traffic where traffic is a crawl. You think reports will state that slow speeds were the cause? No.

Speed limits should definitely be enforced in residential areas, but it makes little sense on the highway.

http://www.motorists.org/speed-limits/faq

Q. Isn't slower always safer?

A. No, federal and state studies have consistently shown that the drivers most likely to get into accidents in traffic are those traveling significantly below the average speed. According to research, those driving 10 mph slower than the prevailing speed are more likely to be involved in an accident. That means that if the average speed on an interstate is 70 mph, the person traveling at 60 mph is more likely to be involved in an accident than someone going 70 or even 80 mph.

As if that's going to change anyone's mind...
 

Robot Pants

Member
Cause people have lives to live and don't want to spend it sitting in a car getting to their destinations.
Not saying we need to be going 80 everywhere, but come on. Some people just need to get out of the way. It causes other people to do stupid and dangerous things to try to get around them.
 

TedNindo

Member
I`ve been spoiled by driving in Germany. Most people drive better. Its less furstrating, faster and it just feels safer. Hell people seem to actually look at traffic and take into account other people.

Roads signs seem optimally placed and warn you of upcoming hazards while driving fast. Allowing for a better driving experience.

Its fast, non frustrating and predictable. Like it should be imo.


Belgian btw. Driving here can be a serious pita and stay away from Brussels. Any rules there seem guidelines. Its like a fight to get out of the city alive.

I`ll take a 5 hour drive to Berlin over an hour in Brussels.
 

breakfuss

Member
I have a 40 minute commute to work, one way. Mostly on the interstate. I average 10mph over in the left lane. If you're not doing 10mph over, that's fine....but get out of my way.

I'm in a muscle car. I can't help but to speed, especially when Prius drivers try to cut me off.

Been driving for 16 years. I'm always in the left lane. It's fun; move over to the right gramps.

LOL, can't stop laughing at these.
 

Redd

Member
As long as you're not in the passing/left lane you can do what want. Don't be that driver that parks it on the left/passing lane when others want to pass.

Seen it far too many times some schmuck going 50-55mph in the left lane getting mad when the state trooper flashes their lights and pulls them over. Move to the right lane, let them pass and when it's clear then you can go back over to the left.
 
I never speed in built up areas where pedestrians are about.

On a dual carriageway I tend to go 60MPH.

Single lane roads varies depending on how well I know the road.

Motorways I usually sit at 80MPH and happily speed up to 100MPH+ for short periods of I see no danger in doing so.

The 70MPH limit on UK motorways should be raised imo. Car safety is much much much higher than when the limit was set in 1965.

It should be raised to at least 85MPH imo.

Also I agree with this:

I wish there were more time-based limits. Hate driving late at night with no cars on the highway but having to stick to 70.

If I'm driving on a pretty empty motorway after 11PM at night I should be allowed to go as fast as I deem safe.

The Germans have a good thing going with the autobahn.
 
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