exceading the speed limit

Blazer Bob wrote: When I learned to drive 40+ years ago everyone knew that the speed limit + 5MPH was the real world speed limit. The story was that was the limit of speedometer accuracy. Up to ten over was always pretty safe. Also back then the speed limit was more of a suggestion than the law. Kind of like if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a noise? If I speed and no one is there to catch me did I break a law? My personal record is 104MPH, that is when the radiator hose gave out.

The point is that 40+ years ago, no matter what speed I was going people passed me.

So I just got back from a 1700 mile road trip. I did most of it at speed limit + 4 MPH regulated by cruise control and monitored by Garmin GPS. I went from somewhere around Kansas City to 100 miles of Denver with NO ONE passing me. When I got to Denver - 100 miles a total of 3 cares zipped by.


What happened in the last 40 some years that made so many law abiding drivers?

Are you all sheep? are you all looking at gas mileage? Scared of tickets?

I went by two or three speed traps at +4 and they did not twitch.

It's all cost driven imo..... the fine, the courthouse appearance (if you want to reduce points), the fuel, and the increase in insurance premium. I don't remember insurance going up as much back in the day unless you were in an accident that was your fault. The cars today are much more fun to drive at high speeds, especially around corners

My car displays the MPG my car is getting. That usually pulls my foot off the gas pedal. That and the Morrison PD pointing their little gun at me.

I never really have to look at my speedometer. I keep pace with traffic and as long as I don't stand out too much by going too slow or too fast I rarely have any problems.

archer wrote: Come on down to AZ.....from what I have been able to observe....the posted speed limit is only for out of state drivers (we want them to be safe on the roads) but in-state drivers can pretty much do what they please. Same goes for stop signs....true story.....one lady in the area told my husband that she never stops for the neighborhood stop signs, they are placed there for tourists and snow birds.

I used to spend quite a bit of time in the Phoenix, Scottsdale area. Left turns, even after my light would go green 3 or 4 more cars would still be turning left in front of me..

Edit to add: About age when we were younger is was nothing to jump in the VW Micro Bus and drive 12 - 24 hours straight, no more.

Sure depends upon the car (for me anyway)......have a Murano Nissan and it's pretty responsive....find myself doing 70 or 75 without
feeling it. Have a toyota Tundra and 60 seems fast. THEN there is the Acura 5 speeds forward....(we call it the zoom-zoom) hits
80 VERY QUICKLY......on the other hand use to have a Rav (auto) and it felt like a tortoise at ANY speed.

Um, now vs any time in the past....

Profiling,
Drug War,
Explosion of Police and presumption that criminals are everywhere,
Explosion of Laws, so that everyone is a criminal,
Militarization of the police,
Migration to Midwest and Rockies where there are more cops per road mile and everyone is forced onto fewer roads,
Cops are younger,

I see more cops driving around CO in one day than I see driving around Coastal Oregon, New England or the Deep South in a month. The middle of the country is a bit of a police state when it comes to the roads. Go elsewhere and people still drive as they see fit when they are alone. Many rural areas in the east and west have no speed limits posted.

I have been pulled over going 1 mph over the limit a number of times, but only in the middle of the country. I have never been pulled over on the coasts - rural or not.

Perhaps you moved from the near the coasts to the middle of the country in those 40 years? Coasts are grounded in tradition, midwest and Rockies seem to be grounded in Law - much of it TBD. But most in the middle of the country only hear about the people from the coast via the news....a poor source of information.

Speed away, you likely now meet the profile of someone who is allowed to speed.

On the Interstates long haul drives I let the guy who wants to go 500 Mph have the lead position and then I take up the same or slightly slower speed with a 3/4 mile stand off. I let that guy buy the tickets and I keep a current fuzz buster on my dash.

Otherwise I assume the local law enforcement is on the job and I keep my speeds within the posted limits.

Otis.....I call the speed idiots "canaries".....a miners trick to see if there is danger.....works well. Also for the tech freaks there is a satellite syatem that permits you to see what is ahead in real time from above. A bit pricey now but available.

I use a radar detector and cruise control on the open road. Within city limits I observe the speed limits.