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Car Guy
70 Is All You Get to Go
The unofficial Motorists Tax will see to that.
(Page 2 of 2)
In the past, the really egregious tickets — 62 in a 55, say — were hard to support because they were so obviously unjust. Judges sometimes even tossed such tickets out. Everyone saw through it, knew it was absurd. But the memory of a time when American highways were posted at 70-75 mph and it was routine to travel at 80-plus without too much worry about being hassled by cops is now so dim and largely forgotten that bringing back 70 seems like a radical — even reckless — thing.
Such blazing, daredevil speed!
It is presented as the outer threshold of sanity. And thus, any farther is clearly out of bounds.
So, be forewarned — and adjust your pace to the new reality: 70 means 70 (unless you’ve been snarky enough to buy a good radar detector).
Otherwise, expect no mercy.
The gentlemen’s understanding between cops and motorists is torn asunder.
The cushion is no more.
Drive accordingly.
About the Author
Eric Peters is an automotive columnist and author of Automotive Atrocities: The Cars You Love to Hate (Motor Books International) and a new book, Road Hogs.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (85) | Leave a comment
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Dennis Bergendorf| 6.2.10 @ 7:55AM
Here in Indiana some municipalities, in efforts to bolster their coffers, are going so far as to contract with off-duty state police troopers to write speeding tickets.
I got caught in such a trap a couple of years ago. I was about three miles outside a county seat, but to pay the fine, I had to travel to a small town over 20 miles away.
Under Indiana law, any sworn officer can write a ticket anywhere in the state, so it's feasible that an enterprising mayor could engage officers in counties far and wide to write scores of tickets. Municipalities might end up bidding against one another for the services of off-duty cops.
I see a blatant conflict of interest here. The off-duty officers must be compensated, and my guess it's a percentage of what they write. Funny that the local media and the ACLU aren't interested in this.
Bram| 6.2.10 @ 8:03AM
Sounds like a great way to get the public to lose all respect for the police.
JP| 6.4.10 @ 1:29AM
Everyone should know by now that police are simply tools of a bloated, corrupt, socialist, and evil state and ought to be done away with, whether through law or force.
Dam| 6.4.10 @ 11:57PM
You still have respect for the police??????
Bram| 6.2.10 @ 8:02AM
On NJ highways, traffic moves at 75 to 80 mph unless it is jammed up. NJ cops are notorious for extracting revenue from drivers. Their technique is to pull over drivers for an infraction that would involve insurance points - speeding or rolling through a stop sign. Then they "give you a break" by writing a ticket for a non-point violation - no lights, or no seatbelt, whatever. That way, they know you will pay the $75 without going to court.
Carmudgeon| 6.2.10 @ 8:03AM
Speedometers in automobiles and trucks tend toward an error in readout of ten percent,the main reason police tolerate five to ten miles per hour over the posted limit. Enforcement can not hold you to the exact speed posted on the highway you are travelling.
NeilBj| 6.2.10 @ 4:38PM
Unless you use cruise control -- and it seems that most cars today have it-- it is very easy to "allow" your car to speed up. You must pay constant attention.
My new car is very quiet and my perception of speed is very different from my previous car. I find very often that in a 40 mph zone, I look down to see that I am going 50. These are suburban streets where a large portion of the traffic is travelling at 45 to 50 mph.
On the freeways where the speed limit is 75 mph, I am quite content to set the cruise at that speed.
I have a portable GPS. In my old car the GPS speed matched the car speed exactly. In my new car the GPS reads 2 mph slower than the speedometer indication. This means that in a 70 mph zone I can set my cruise at 72 mph. But what if it is the GPS that is off and not the speedometer, and I am really going 72?
The point is that there are a number of variables that affect the actual speed of your vehicle. Some allowance has to be made for that. And sometimes it is the lone person who is traveling the speed limit who is the safety hazard.
Mel Torme| 6.2.10 @ 7:56PM
Neil, I doubt the GPS is the one in error. How did it compare to your old car's speedometer readout, or what does it show in others' vehicles? If your car has tires that are bigger than standard, that would be the reason for it reading lower than actual.
Unfortunately, in court you might not get any break at all for bringing up your speedometer's problem. You are still guilty by law ( I don't like the whole traffic revenue business any more than the writer, BTW, just stating things from my various experiences in traffic court). The judge may knock down the fine for your effort in showing up, but the points on the insurance are the place where you really spend the big $$.
I not hoping for any more tickets myself, but I do want to bring up in court one day the fact that most of the signs just say " Limit XX", as in "Limit 70", with no instructions as to whether that is a maximum or minimum. I will tell him that I had no idea, and was trying to stay above the 70 mph minimum LIMIT in order to comply with the letter of the law. What do you think, Eric? If it works, BTW, I want a finder's fee of some sort, as I thought of this first. Any readers want to try this at home?
Melvin| 6.2.10 @ 8:14AM
To hell with em. Illegal aliens don't have to follow the law so why the hell should we?
Lullaby's, Legends and Lies| 6.2.10 @ 8:47AM
They only enforce the laws, that are convenient to them, and illegal immigration is not very convenient. But hard working, taxpaying, commuters? They are very convenient!!
R Martin| 6.2.10 @ 8:14AM
Here's a little experiment you can conduct yourself next time you're driving. Note how carefully you drive when you are puttering along and when you are speeding. I maintain driving fast makes for more attentive, better dirvers. Unfortunately, I suspect not many ticket writers will buy-into the argument.
Ryan| 6.2.10 @ 8:21AM
It addresses the wrong problem - not speeding, but poor driving.
Excessive weaving, tailgating, driving slowly in the left-hand lane, general discourteousness - those are real driving problems, and fairly subjective.
Melvin| 6.2.10 @ 8:35AM
This has nothing to do with driving habits but all to do with increasing tax revenues and attaching a moral equivalence to it.
Government knows that if it attaches a morality to whatever it does that the public will accept it. Increasing the speed to 70 doesn't do one damn thing, except allow the police powers of government to punish.
Curly Smith| 6.2.10 @ 8:35AM
Call them by the correct name, they're "Revenuers".
But it won't stop there. If your child misses a day of school then the School District will fine you the cost of the lost day's attendance and truants will be sentenced to 5 years in public school. The roads that your taxes paid to construct will have "daily use fees", what the unenlightened would call tolls, assessed. If you call 911 the first message you'll hear will be "Press 1 if paying by cash, Press 2 if paying by credit card, hang up if you don't have any money".
The list will be endless, from sidewalk use fees to building illumination reimbursements, as you're repeatedly serviced each day. But there is no other alternative, because if we reduce spending by even a nickel we'd have to close the prisons.
Brat Magursky| 6.2.10 @ 8:38AM
Enter the State of Georgia (The State whose capital is Atlanta not the one where Tblisi is)...The wonderful legislators have enacted "super speeder" laws... 75 or over on a 2 lane &\or 85 or over on an interstate earns you the dubious honor of being a "super speeder". Then an extra $200.00 dollars is added to an already $200.00 ticket. Where does this windfall go ?? To fund Georgia's broke Trauma Centers...follow the logic ?? speed kills and when u die chances are it will be in a trauma center...forget the fact that speed related accidents make up about 10% of the daily patient load of a trauma center...enter my ad campaign....
Speeding Ticket in Georgia.....$200.00
Getting a "Super Speeder" Ticket in Georgia......$400.00
Saving Georgia's Trauma Centers...PRICELESS
or even better...Be A Georgia Super Speeder...Georgia's Trauma Centers Are Counting On You ...The Life You Save May Be Your Own!!
Then to add insult to injury last month they passed a law that you can be ticketed for going slow in the fast lane. So everyone expects you to go 70+ in either lane regardless if the posted speed
limit is lower than 70...and god help you if u are texting while driving...Georgians need to stand up and make your State proud....drive like a bat of hell while drinking a 6 pack and texting the rest of your drinking buddies to form up a convoy!!!
Ryan| 6.2.10 @ 10:30AM
Actually, those laws make a decent amount of sense.
Mel Torme| 6.2.10 @ 8:06PM
I don't agree with your logic on the trauma center thing, Brat. I think it's pretty traumatic to hit a tree at 85 mph ;-) You're gonna go through some trauma on the way to this type of death, no way around it. Well, every Southerner has to go through Atlanta if on the way to hell anyway, as they say.
No wait, they used to say that. Now, Atlanta* is hell, so one can just stay there, stuck in a 2-hour traffic jam in the 70 mph maximum/ 70 mph minimum "fast lane".
I like the idea of the convoy though, Brat. That was funny. ".... we got eleven long-haired friends of Jesus, in a Chartruese microbus, moan back?"
* Not even part of the South anymore, like the part of Florida S. of the I-4.
Tim| 6.2.10 @ 8:39AM
Computer technology means that one day our cars will be programmed to tattle on us.
Bram| 6.2.10 @ 9:10AM
Yep. I'm counting on computer hacking technology to stop the squealing.
Tim| 6.2.10 @ 9:13AM
You can recreate the HAL unpugging scene from 2001: Space Odyssey.
Gr0w1er| 6.2.10 @ 1:29PM
They already do in Europe. If you get caught driving a GPS-equipped rental car over the posted limit (or even tailgating), through either road sensors or speed cameras, the rental companies will have the traffic tickets forwarded to you. Ergo, if you want to drive another rental car in that country again you'd better pay up. With the rise of GPS use in this country (OnStar™ or OEM -installed cars) it's only one bill away from being reality. Big Brother is getting Bigger.
DonDuke | 6.2.10 @ 9:11AM
The author may believe that this is nothing more than a money grab. While I agree that money is involved, I look at this as another symptom of something more sinister. I have increasingly felt that I am living in a police state. Like something out of a futuristic bad dream. Everywhere I turn I find myself staring at someone with a badge and a gun on their hip. In my 45 minute commute each day I encounter an average of 4 or 5 police cars. State police, county police, Park Police, Transit police..... they are everywhere. At the mall, in a theater, at the airport (a whole other story!) or just walking down a city street. I am appalled at the number of armed people.... many with automatic weapons. Driving? Ha! I believe that is the least of our concerns on this issue although having the ability to stop and detain you for whatever reason they care to is troublesome in the least.
Ret. Marine| 6.2.10 @ 9:24AM
I have to agree with you on many points. What ever happened to the old phrase, "an armed society is a polite society". I find nothing polite about this many armed individuals out to get you one way or the other for any reason or the other. I fear one day the table is going to turn on these folks. I am not saying this is good or bad but, one day and there may be many of these days, the people themselves are going to get real fed-up with this notion of being the politicians debit cards. Hell we are already seeing the criminal elements ahooting back for no other reason than they can.
Bill| 6.2.10 @ 2:57PM
Don't forget all the new videos for the high-speed chases as the drunks and the folks with bench warrants out for them start running.
Quartermaster| 6.2.10 @ 8:53PM
When the citizens are armed you have a polite society. When the taxeaters, e.g. Police, are nearly the only ones armed, you get a Police state. Frankly, people seem to have less and less respect for the police anymore. All too many started as decent sort, but they gain in arrogance when they get a badge and a little authority. Too many are simply thugs.
JP| 6.4.10 @ 1:42AM
Police are scum. They have sacrificed their rights by their service to the state.
Thomas| 6.2.10 @ 9:26AM
How dare those dedicated minions of the law cite people for not following the posted speed limit. I mean, just because our elected representative limited the legal speed to 70 mph people should not actually have to obey that law. Feel free to set make your own laws. That way, instead of having one speed limit, we can have thirty million different speed limits. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket. And while we're at it, let's ignore the robbery statutes. Unless someone actually gets injured or killed, just issue robbers a warning if caught. Or, better yet, just ignore it. How about theft, rape, child abuse and neglect, murder? This is a nation of law. In a nation of law, you don't simply ignore a law that you don't agree with [immigration law comes to mind here], you change it.
You people are priceless. I see that the "I'm only going with the flow of traffic" excuse cropping up again. This is the lemming law. It's all right to run off the edge of the cliff, because everybody else is doing it. As Mr. Peters pointed out, law enforcement used to allow 5mph over the former 65mph speed limit. I believe that effectively raised the speed limit to 70mph, what the new official speed limit is now. What's the diff?
The point is that no one who obeys the law is going to receive a ticket, only the law breakers. Honest, law abiding people will simply continue on their merry 70mph way with no problem at all. And, in this day and age of electronic speed control and accurate speedometers, staying at, or under the posted speed limit should not tax anyone's driving ability.
So just keep whining about having to obey the law. And when that idiot who is doing 15-20mph above the posted speed limit crashes into another vehicle and you are sitting in a three mile long line of traffic doing 10 mph, or worse, he ends up in the backseat of your car; thank him for standing up to the hated speed nazis.
And people wonder why this country is going to hell in a handbasket.
Ryan| 6.2.10 @ 10:35AM
You're overstating and diving into legalism.
The point of speeding laws is that they're (to a point) dumb. It's not about "following the law," it's that the laws don't make any sense. Speeding laws don't affect public safety, which is what they're SUPPOSED to do. All they act is for cops to make money.
We're NOT saying we don't believe in the rule of law - you're putting words into our mouths there.
You are also diving far too off into the slippery slope argument. Driving a little above the speed limit doesn't mean that everyone is going to go out and become a rapist and break every law in the book. That's FAR too extreme a viewpoint, and doesn't go to help your argument.
Tom| 6.2.10 @ 12:18PM
Ryan,
Do you believe there should be any speed limits at all?
Ryan| 6.2.10 @ 12:32PM
Yes, but to a point (see my above post). Excessive speeding is bad; bad driving is worse. We need cops pulling over people weaving in and out, tailgating, driving slower in the left lane, etc.
Tom| 6.2.10 @ 4:25PM
You have no argument from me; reckless driving is far more dangerous than speeding. In fact most speeding IS reckless driving, people exceeding what traffic flow or the abilities would dictate.
JP| 6.4.10 @ 1:51AM
Tom you said, "I see that the "I'm only going with the flow of traffic" excuse cropping up again. This is the lemming law."
But now you say, "In fact most speeding IS reckless driving, people exceeding what TRAFFIC FLOW or the abilities would dictate."
You directly contradict yourself. Start making sense. The fact is, we could all drive 90 or 100 and be perfectly safe so long as the highway isn't too crowded, which would happen naturally without a posted limit. Likewise, if there are a lot of cars, traffic will naturally slow down. Speed limits on HIGHWAYS are essentially useless and ought to be determined solely by traffic on those highways. This is pretty much how we do it out west. Our limits there are 75 on most of the rural highways, but people regularly do anywhere up to 95 MPH. And guess what, NO ONE DIES. And out there, the cops don't even care that much probably because we still believe in freedom. I've blown past cops at 10o MPH and then slowed down enough that the cop couldn't pull me over on multiple occasions. Actually, he probably could have, but I was the only car on the road, so my speed really didn't matter since I was driving under control.
Only laws that make sense ought to be respected. Speed limits on open highways make zero sense. Go suck a cop's penis since you love the LAW so much.
FakeEagle| 6.2.10 @ 10:57AM
Thomas, I agree following the law is a good thing, but on a recent trip through the state of Mississippi, I followed a north/south route on a divided, four-lane highway with little traffic. I noticed that there were speed traps about every 50-70 miles during that trip. I also passed two state troopers on my way through (with cruise control set to exactly the speed limit). Those two pulled in after me, went speeding past me a good 20 mph over the speed limit, and a couple miles later, were sitting beside the road with a radar gun pointed at me. After I passed them, they both pulled onto the highway again. The first one sped past me again in a blur of speed, while the second pulled up to my rear bumper, where I'm sure he was running my out-of-state plates for approximately two minutes, then floored it and sped away from me.
According to my friend, who lives in Jackson, the speed traps started to show up with far greater frequency after the state government announced how far in the red their budget had fallen. He can't even make a short drive around town without seeing a speed trap anymore. This has nothing to do with public safety, and everything to do with revenue enhancement.
Len| 6.2.10 @ 11:19AM
FakeEagle you've hit on what is probably the biggest problem, that those who are going to be writing the tickets are normally some of the worst offenders. I've often witnessed the same thing you have mentioned, police cruisers driving 20+ over the speed limit in order to set up traps, so that no one else drives too fast.
I've also seen the police practically tailgate someone in the far left lane until that person gets out of their way. This kind of hypocrisy creates resentment and corrupts society and undermines the rule of law, and needs to be addressed.
Leadfoot| 6.2.10 @ 12:30PM
Well, not exactly. I once drove a marked police car 60miles on the PA turnpike, simply delivering it for a dealer. I found that it was essential to go 20 MPH over the limit or else traffic would completely back-up behind me creating one heck of a mess.
fek| 6.2.10 @ 10:26PM
Absolutely true!! Humans natural fear of passing a cop... timidity takes over the mind, see it all the time.
2Anglico| 6.2.10 @ 11:03AM
Too MANY chicken spit laws already is the problem. Are you also going to make the case that disobeying seat belt laws will bring the downfall of America?
Richard| 6.2.10 @ 11:42AM
Exactly so, Thomas. I am all for ticketing those who break driving laws--with no tolerance for extra miles per hour. It is the law and should be enforced. My state trooper neighbor constantly regales me with stories of gruesome wrecks in which excessive speed was a factor.
As for more state patrol on the roads I say the more the better.
Hey, conservatives, these laws were passed by the people's representatives!! Are you going obey them or not? How about tax laws, game and fish laws? Or should we do whatever suits us?
2Anglico| 6.2.10 @ 11:56AM
Just ban cars period. Also why not ban ALL tobacco? Surely there are lots of horror stories about tobacco use. Oh, wait, government is the #1 profiteer from tobacco sales! Saftey? Baloney.
Ryan| 6.2.10 @ 12:35PM
Is 5+ over the limit "excessive?"
Since when does slightly speeding equate to other criminal behaviour?
pugsley| 6.2.10 @ 4:01PM
1 mile over is excessive if the officer has been tasked with creating revenue. Trust me, I drive at least 60K a year and have seen it all. I just set the cruise control at the posted speed and it takes the worry out of things. Just watch out coming into towns where the speed limit starts to come down, that is one of the law's favorite spots to lurk. Good driving, and good luck.
tdiinva| 6.2.10 @ 1:19PM
Richard:
You know why I like driving on the Autobahn? Sure I like driving my rental Passat at 125mph but that is only a side benefit. You see, in Germany drivers show something that is seriously lacking in the US. It's called lane discipline. Slower traffic keeps right so the fellow cruising at 100mph stays in the right hand lane except to pass. When you pass, you look once, and then you look again pull out, floor the car and when you are clear slide back in to the right hand lane and slow down to 100. German highway fatality rates are lower than ours.
I think you will find that most high speed accidents in the US occur when either (a) a driver is drunk, (b) driving recklessly or (c) when somebody driving at the flow of traffic has to pass on the right because some idiot like you thinks you can go 60 mph in the passing lane.
Gr0w1er| 6.2.10 @ 1:52PM
Driving the Autobahn is like being in your own NASCAR race, but without all the drafting/tailgating. Those Germans DO know how to drive fast. Just watch out for all the speed/distance sensor cameras around the cities, tho.
DonDuke | 6.2.10 @ 3:50PM
Hey Thomas.... I bet you're one of those that say "hey anyone can stop me for no reason, heck, I've got nothing to hide..... I'm not breaking any laws." Bet you're also one of those cruising in the left lane, refusing to move no matter how people are stacked up behind them. I mean.... you're doing the speed limit, right? Of course you have totally spaced the law that is the main governing rule of driving in the US.... "Stay to the right except to pass". Thomas you'd be much better served browsing The Huffington Report.
Quartermaster| 6.2.10 @ 9:00PM
"Stay to the right except to pass" That pretty much nails it. It's a passing lane, not a "fast lane." The speeders need to remember that as well when they tailgate someone who is passing.
Le Cracquere| 6.3.10 @ 7:59AM
Precisely right. The likes of Thomas have probably been responsible for more traffic fatalities than have any competent drivers (who can generally be found exceeding the posted limit, though not the common-sense limit).
Faffnir| 6.2.10 @ 4:40PM
I am a professional driver with over 3 million accident-free miles. I will show you three tickets, one from Kansas and two from Ohio citing me for going faster than the governed speed of my truck. Printouts from the on-board tracking system, the Engine Management Computer and notarized statements from the company president and cheif of maintenance availed me nothing. I'm out several hundred dollars in fines, plus several thousand in attorney's fees and points on my license.
The point is that the vast majority of tickets issued are for the purpose of generating revenue. The lawyer for one case, in Cambridge, Ohio, advised me that the Ohio Highway Patrol writes over 15,000 tickets per year in a very rural part of Ohio. The fine per ticket was $150, split with the state and costs of $100 that were split 75/25 county/state. Do the math.
Americans are the worst trained, least skilled, least attentive drivers I have seen, and that covers England, Egypt,Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Thailand, Taiwan and Israel. We don't need cops, we need better drivers.
Quartermaster| 6.2.10 @ 9:03PM
There's a good reason we called the Ohio Highway Patrol "Road Nazis." My fellow public official, a County Sheriff used that term to exclusion of all others, even to their faces.
Ohio County Courts are not really courts when it comes to speeding tickets. If you are cited, you are guilty. End of story.
PeterB in Indianapolis| 6.4.10 @ 2:42PM
Hey Thomas,
I hate to call it like I see it, but you just won the "completely clueless diatribe" award. The VAST VAST majority of people will adjust their driving to the flow of traffic. If the flow of traffic is going 85, a driver just entering that stretch of highway will adjust his driving to that traffic flow and go 85. This "30 million different speed limits" which you envision is simply nonsense.
If the flow of traffic is at 85 and you insist on following "the law" and going 70, YOU are the one creating a traffic hazard even though in your own mind you are "driving safely".
Also, equating violating the speed limit to condoning rape or murder is simply stupid.
All in all, I give your diatribe an F-minus. Needs a major re-write to even be brought up to a passing grade.
Big Leo| 6.2.10 @ 10:56AM
I'm one of those annoying people who sets the cruise control on the speed limit or five miles over and goes just that fast. I watch the signs and I never get a ticket. I occasionally cross the Rez, which is mostly empty space. Most people drive about eighty on the 65 MPH limit two lane blacktop that crosses it. I, of course, go 65 to 70. Several weeks ago a policeman got right on my tail and followed me for twenty miles before pulling me over. He was suspicious because I was GOING THE SPEED LIMIT.
You can't win.
randyinrocklin| 6.2.10 @ 11:03AM
I think radar detectors are illegal in VA and in Washington D.C. VA is the only state that you cannot have a radar detector and Canada also.
Faffnir| 6.2.10 @ 4:43PM
Correct, detectors are illegal in VA and Canada. D.C., dunno, don't go there.
But more police departments are going to Lasers because they are harder to detect, since they emit no detectable radiation and by the time you detect the light, you're had. Pay the man.
J.P. Travis | 6.2.10 @ 11:11AM
Here in Nevada the cops are all over the highway giving out nonsense traffic tickets to balance their suffering budgets. We all need to understand that when cops are strong-arming money through extortionist methods, they are no longer protectors and have become oppressors. As for the illegals who get caught: http://www.jpattitude.com/100208.php
NavyBrat | 6.2.10 @ 11:38AM
My Dad used to say the exact same thing about speed limits. "Road taxes" he called them. And he was right. Even WITH a radar detector, the cops still have their ways of "revenuing." Curse the state of VA for outlawing them (radar detectors)!
Pat| 6.2.10 @ 12:22PM
Here in N. California, speed limits are less like hard and fast laws and more like helpful suggestions. Take the 6 lane stretch between San Jose and Walnut Creek for example - you need to slow down to just over the speed limit when rounding the curves which wind through the canyons but, once out of the hills, you can open up on the straight-aways to our unofficial speed limit of about 80. Our baby autobahn is meant to accommodate the affluent within the upscale communities lining this corridor - what's the point in owning a Porsche or a Corvette if you have to creep along at 65 behind a Toyota Corrolla driven by an Asian grandmother?
Plus, there are the various exotics in frequent attendance, Ferraris, Lambos, turbo Porsches, turbo Mercedes and Beemers, tiny Lotus speedsters, Aston-Martins, etc. which can easily cruise at 130. Should you spend $100 grand or more on a precision machine and be forced to drive it like a Chevy pick-up with an anemic 6 banger - where's the fairness in that arbitrary nonsense?
Like the Germans, we have plenty of accidents on our autobahn, but, then again, Californians were never good drivers like those good ole NASCAR boys from the South - and our autobahn is crowded with illegal immigrants in beat-up old pickups, tiny Asian women peering over their steering wheels, soccer Moms with a cell phone jammed in one ear and teens driving small, souped up Hondas like carefree fairgoers at a Bumper Car ride. Weather is seldom a factor in our accidents but we do like to speed and our local cops are very laid back and understanding.
UR an Idiot| 6.2.10 @ 5:33PM
So you think that an expensive car gives you the right to break the law and endanger other innocent drivers. I don't care how much money you spent on your car. The tiny asian woman in the corolla has as much right to a safe and courteous driving experience as you do. I've notified the CHP of this little "autobahn" of your up there.
Pat| 6.2.10 @ 6:07PM
Agree UR an Idiot - oh wait, didn't mean it the way that sounds. You're a fine, upstanding citizen to be sure but I think the CHP already knows about it, plus the various local cops as well - it's been that way for at least 30 years.
And owning a car that can cruise at 130 with little effort seems silly in a country that frowns on going over 65 mph. But, think of it this way, you take a second on your $900,000 house, you buy a new Porsche Carrera, you default on your mortgage when the recession hits, you declare bankruptcy to get out from under - you need some fun, so what's left but speeding down 680 and frightening tiny Asian grandmothers?
Asian women didn't learn to drive in the old country, it's kind of an Asian sexist thing, but you must drive in California suburbs to survive so the roads are full of Driving School cars teaching them the basics - and if they ever did get up to 65 in the Corolla, that's like you doing 100 in your Prius.
Plus, we have many unlicensed drivers plying the roads, so you need a fast, nimble car to dodge 20 year old Datsun pick-up trucks chock full of landscaping equipment. If you're an illegal, it's difficult to get a driver's license, so why bother - carrying liability insurance is optional as well. But, you're right, even illegals have the right to drive under 65 as long as they don't scare the grandmothers.
Northern Rebel| 6.2.10 @ 1:55PM
It is amazing the schemes government can come up with, to extract more dollars out of the pockets of those they are supposed to be working for.
I live in northern NY, where the troopers are affectionately known as the"traffic nazis."
Handing out tickets for the "revenue" seems more important, than catching crooks, and shutting down meth labs.
Keep this in mind:
We put a man on the moon in 9 years.
It has been 9 years, but the towers in NYC, have yet to be rebuilt.
I fear for this nation I love so dearly.
Conrad Spiracy| 6.2.10 @ 2:49PM
65, 70, 80? Y'all're a buncha' wimps.
Every time I go back home on vacation to the Northern/Eastern burbs of Detroit (OUTSIDE of Wayne Co), I have to drive I-696 for most of my commuting for family, friends and entertainment.
Try driving I-696 between Warren and Novi sometime. Ameri-bahn lives!
Con Spiracy
Nick| 6.2.10 @ 3:08PM
Conrad Spiracy,
Coincidentally, that is where I always see the state boys pulling people over! Ha-ha!
Watch out for the smokeys, Conrad.
Pat| 6.2.10 @ 3:57PM
Conrad Spiracy, before I became a legal immigrant and "documented worker" here in California, I was born in Michigan and lived in a border suburb of Detroit (Clawson) and I know what you mean - it was always that way on Metro Detroit freeways, even well before they completed 696. Michigan folks are good drivers what with the treacherous ice, snow, violent thunderstorms and occasional tornado to hone their skills. Driving 3 feet from the other guy's back bumper at 80 mph takes nerves of steel, strict attention, talent and a healthy contempt for other drivers. Much of it stems from the reluctance of Michigan drivers to let anyone cut in front of them, for any reason, but Michigan folks are generally superb at the wheel.
Californians, on the other hand, are just the opposite, inept and unskilled drivers, except for the upper crust in their Porsche's and BMW M3's. The Golden State is famous for drivers cranking up their stereos and playing air guitar immediately before creating a 10 car pileup when the weather is crystal clear, sunny and in the 80's.
Michigan drivers could turn wheelies around Californians, but folks here are less intense about most things in general and, normally, can wander randomly among the freeway lanes but still manage to arrive safely at their destinations, unless, of course, there is a light rain or slight fog to confuse them.
Nick| 6.2.10 @ 7:13PM
Pat,
Love your post!
I do quibble with your generalization of "all" Michigan drivers being "superb at the wheel."
People on the West side CANNOT drive!
The East side has it share of people who think they are the only ones on the road, granted. I deal with them everyday.
But, once you cross Woodward, you have entered Turkey, or Brazil, or any other country where the drivers think they can do whatever they want.
They think it is your responsibility NOT to hit them, no matter what they do. I've seen twits make right and left hand turns from the wrong lane.
I always go into super-defense mode once I reach Southfield Rd.
Pat| 6.2.10 @ 7:53PM
Nick, it's been 30 years since I immigrated to Fruit and Nut Land, so I'll gladly defer to your up-to-date and expert knowledge. And I forgot about the East side vs. West side rivalry - thanks for the nostalgia, I was both East side and West side at various times, plus "downriver" for a couple of years.
Californians are kind of like your description of West siders, only not as good behind the wheel. We have folks from all over the world living cheek to jowl and sharing the roads - and most bring their homeland's driving philosophy with them when they come. But we do share some Califnornia driving rules despite our different origins. For example, it's acceptable to put on your turn signal and then just pull over into the next lane, with an acceptable margin of safely or otherwise at your option. The driver being cutoff is expected to give way with a smile and the driver cutting you off gives sort of a limp hand wave acknowleding your involuntary courtesy.
But it beats tooling around Boston where drivers put their turn signal on only after they cut you off, plus they never look at other drivers before cutting them off - it must be some kind of state law. Tribal practices vary, but Michigan folks have skills behind the wheel we lack - although we're too laid back to actually care.
Nick| 6.2.10 @ 8:03PM
Pat,
Your welcome.
Glad I could bring back some memories of days gone by.
Capt G| 6.6.10 @ 9:54AM
Motown does rock!
Detroit has always kept the hammer in the hammer lane. You don't even think about getting in the far left lane unless you're willing to consider 80 mph as a moderate passing speed. Detroiters have sensibly concluded that they can commute just as effectively in bumper to bumper traffic at 80 mph as they can at 45 mph. And it is not a coincidence that lane discipline is observed. Catch a Detroiter dawdling in the left-hand lanes while you close on him at a high rate of speed and he'll move over and grace you with a sheepish look of apology for not paying attention.
To the fellow claiming his state trooper neighbor regales him with stories of highway carnage I say, bull tookey. If he does, he's not talking about patrolling the interstate. Accidents happen predominantly at intersections and especially those with traffic lights (you could look it up) and the most seriously injured are pedestrians. Not a lot of either of those on your average interstate.
Obey the law? This country was founded on the principle that when the law or the state is either illogical or oppressive it's the right of the citizen to challenge it. In this case, citizens vote with their right foot.
gene hauber| 6.2.10 @ 4:39PM
best rules for driving:
don't cruise in the fast lane no matter how fast you're going , that's a real rage generator, and be polite.
let people pass, hell, they'll run interference for you on the next radae trap
Black Sabbath| 6.2.10 @ 8:57PM
If you want this regulation and tax madness to end, put money behind and vote into power Conservatives to represent you. The Republicans and Democrats have failed you, the Progressives are in power now and are failing everything to the point of ruin. Conservatives will clean up the mess.
DatsunMark| 6.2.10 @ 9:21PM
Sammy Haggar once sang: "I can't drive....55!!!!"
The Gimp | 6.3.10 @ 12:48AM
Get rid of all speed limits and enforce strict driver training and testing before being allowed to get a license. Allow the educated American citizen to exercise his freedom to pick his own speed using the extensive knowledge and training he has acquired.
But that would never work. It's not about safety and freedom, it's about revenue.
Mrs. Tiger Woods| 6.3.10 @ 9:55AM
I cannot understand why Tiger wasn't arrested for speeding down our driveway. What a jerk.
J Galt| 6.3.10 @ 4:59PM
So it's more or less just a stick-up with a receipt.
Instead of the lame excuse, "My baby needs a new pair of shoes." it's now, "We don't know how to shrink Gov and payroll is due."
Macdaddy| 6.3.10 @ 11:54PM
Having been the recipient of a couple of tickets recently, I just tell the State Troopers Association and the FOP when they call looking for money that I can't give this year because that money went towards a speeding ticket.
Danny L. Newton| 6.4.10 @ 2:17AM
Very soon the speed limit will not matter TDOT, in Tennessee, has a plan that sailed through the public comment process to upgrade the route from I-81 in Bristol to I-40 in Memphis that involves letting the service level fall From Level C to Level D. By my reckoning, this will add about two hours to the 550 mile trip in less than 30 years thus making maximum speed limits hard to maintain anyway. I-81 in Virginia is even more congested than I-81 in Tennessee. A few extra lanes will help but only like morpheme helps a dying patient because the plan in too timid. The ratio of people to lane miles is in a decline and has been for decades because of environmental mismanagement and planning chaos resulting in bad project selection. We even have places on the Interstate where truck traffic is slowed down, not because of safety but, to save the planet. The future is not fixed speed limit signs, but limits that are modulated by computers changing variable speed limits to eliminate congestion. They do this in Europe, so there is no question except by a few that this is the way to go. I don't know if they have them in Greece but Germany and Holland are reported to have them. The government is not managing the needs of future users. Instead, it is managing a decline in transportation and mobility that will poison GDP growth.
Danny L. Newton| 6.4.10 @ 2:23AM
I should have said that the ratio of lane miles to people is in a decline...Sorry for the confusion. Several years ago, if everyone got on a Tennessee road at once, the distance between people would be 168 feet.
NorthForty| 6.4.10 @ 12:37PM
No over-70 MPH speeding, no salt, no smoking, no non-PC free speech, no patriotism, no praying in public. All this Nanny State tyranny won't make us live any longer; it will just feel that way.
All aboard for Panama!
DG in GA| 6.5.10 @ 9:17AM
Virginia: Isn't that the state that had extra-high fines if residents violated the speed limit? And didn't the people of the great Commonwealth of Virginia have a cow about this and force their elected representatives to repeal that particular law? Sounds to me as if the legislature just cooked up another way to replace those lost revenues. And this way they can nail the out-of-state goobers too. 'Cause us Georgians will drive through Virginia thinking that your police have the same, shall we say, FLEXIBLE, attitude about speeding that our Georgia police have, and we will get nailed every time!
Capt G| 6.6.10 @ 10:33AM
Can anyone think of a less effective safety measure than tying up state police resources on speed enforcement on road patrol? There's more danger created by a speeding traffic stop, and the resultant congestion, than there was by the speeding vehicle.
If safety is truly the issue, and not revenue generation, we'd have those officers set up at gas stations checking tire tread depth and driver awareness of the purpose of the little stalk to the left of the steering wheel.
The advent and proliferation of cell phones makes road patrol an increasingly unnecessary expense. The officer is often far from where his presence is really required and it may be that the response times for when it is required would be better met with him parked at the donut shop awaiting a call.
Any traffic engineer can tell you that the most important factor in safe roads and driving is maintaining the flow of traffic. Anything that impedes the flow of traffic, including posted speeds too low for conditions, leads to increased accidents. Politicians and local revenuers are in favor of reduced speed limits and more traffic control devices. Traffic engineers tell them, alright but you're going to slow down the flow of traffic and accidents will go up.
Zero tolerance on speed will be doomed to failure. The bankrupt states are interested only in the revenue stream it will generate from a voiceless constituency. But, in the book of law of unintended consequences, it will end up being either revenue neutral or abandoned. Traffic enforcement laws, like the income tax, are based upon the idea of voluntary compliance. The traffic court system is manned and funded based upon the idea that the vast majority of traffic violators just pay the ticket. When you exponentially increase the number of violators through a zero tolerance speed policy you're going to jam chock-a-block those traffic courts with angry otherwise law-abiding citizens. And you're going to need significantly more court personnel and facilities to deal with them. Currently, most people represent themselves in traffic court but that may well change. When you start nailing them with ticky-tacky speeding tickets they will begin to become more inclined to fight the ticket based upon principle and not just economics. And for that, you need a lawyer. Add lawyers to the mix and the whole system grinds to a halt and there goes your revenue stream.
Funny thing about the legal system; when you hire an attorney to fight a moving violation, the case rarely goes to court. Prosecutors suddenly discover other more important uses for their time when confronted with the prospect of actually going to trial over a "ten-over" speeding ticket. You pay the attorney but you save on the fine and the insurance costs. And you demoralize the entire speeding ticket revenue-generating system top to bottom. Which is not at all a bad thing.
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Snickers62| 7.24.10 @ 8:31PM
As you may know, Virginia is the only state that bans the use and sale of detectors. There is no evidence that the detector ban increases highway safety. Our nation’s fatality rates have fallen consistently for almost two decades. Virginia’s fatality rate has also fallen, but not any more dramatically than it has nationwide. Research has even shown that radar detector owners have a lower accident rate than motorists who do not own a detector.
Maintaining the ban is not in the best interest of Virginians or visitors to the state. I know and know of people that will not drive in Virginia due to this ban. Unjust enforcement practices are not unheard of, and radar detectors can keep safe motorists from being exploited by abusive speed traps. Likewise, the ban has a negative impact on Virginia’s business community. Electronic distributors lose business to neighboring states and Virginia misses out on valuable sales tax revenue.
Radar detector bans do not work. Research and experience show that radar detector bans do not result in lower accident rates, improved speed-limit compliance or reduce auto insurance expenditures.
• The Virginia radar detector ban is difficult and expensive to enforce. The Virginia ban diverts precious law enforcement resources from more important duties.
• Radar detectors are legal in the rest of the nation, in all 49 other states. In fact, the first state to test a radar detector ban, Connecticut, repealed the law – it ruled the law was ineffective and unfair. It is time for our Virginia to join the rest of the nation.
• It has never been shown that radar detectors cause accidents or even encourage motorists to drive faster than they would otherwise. The Yankelovich – Clancy – Shulman Radar Detector Study conducted in 1987, showed that radar detector users drove an average of 34% further between accidents (233,933 miles versus 174,554 miles) than non radar detector users. The study also showed that they have much higher seat belt use compliance. If drivers with radar detectors have fewer accidents, it follows that they have reduced insurance costs – it is counterproductive to ban radar detectors.
• In a similar study performed in Great Britain by MORI in 2001 the summary reports that "Users (of radar detectors) appear to travel 50% further between accidents than non-users. In this survey the users interviewed traveling on average 217,353 miles between accidents compared to 143,401 miles between accidents of those non-users randomly drawn from the general public." The MORI study also reported "Three quarters agree, perhaps unsurprisingly, that since purchasing a radar detector they have become more conscious about keeping to the speed limit..." and "Three in five detector users claim to have become a safer driver since purchasing a detector."
• Modern radar detectors play a significant role in preventing accidents and laying the technology foundation for the Safety Warning System® (SWS). Radar detectors with SWS alert motorists to oncoming emergency vehicles, potential road hazards, and unusual traffic conditions. There are more than 10 million radar detectors with SWS in use nationwide. The federal government has earmarked $2.1 million for further study of the SWS over a three-year period of time. The U.S. Department of Transportation is administering grants to state and local governments to purchase the SWS system and study its effectiveness (for example, in the form of SWS transmitters for school buses and emergency vehicles). The drivers of Virginia deserve the right to the important safety benefits that SWS delivers.
Please sign this petition and help repeal this ban and give drivers in Virginia the freedom to use their property legally:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com.....tector-ban