Interesting speed limit video

[raroZ28]

Cops love out of state drivers, because they'll never come back to fight the ticket in court. It's easy revenue. On the other hand, that could very well explain why every Ohio driver I see on the road here in PA drives like a granny.

Wow, funny you say that. It's the same up here.

[Dave M]

Playing Devil's Advocate for a conservative speed limit for a moment, tell me what you guys think of this argument: If we did have a more liberal speed limit in most areas, say 70 or 75 in a 55 zone, or even an autobahn-like no speed limit, there would naturally be some people who didn't feel comfortable travelling at those high speeds. They would still drive 55-60 mph. You'd have some people who were more than comfortable driving at those speeds all day long and think nothing of it.

Taking what Jeff said before about it not being the speed that causes accidents but the difference in speeds between cars, wouldn't a higher speed limit cause potentially more crashes, as faster vehicles come up on slower ones? And because the speeds are greater, the resulting injuries would be more severe. You'd have to have strict enforcement of not only the new, higher, speed limit; but also of the "keep right except to pass" laws. I'm not so sure that would work as well here as it does in Europe. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it happen, I just don't think it's feasible.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Well, there's a story for everything - only this was a doctor, not a husband. My uncle's a doctor who works in a hospital. One of the other on-call doctors was speeding to the hospital to help deliver a baby. The officer pulled him over, then ended up escorting him to the hospital. He then waited for him to finish, no BS, then wrote him up. He lives near Columbus OH.

Ohio. Figures.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Wow, funny you say that. It's the same up here.

Ohio. Go figure.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Technically, at least if they had been in PA, they were still breaking the law by being in the left lanes and not passing.

Would never hold up in court. They were doing the speed limit. If anything the driver in the nexxt-nearest lane would be written for failure to yield to the motorist who was attempting to pass.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

You're right. My uncle has lots of stories about OH highway patrol...although he isn't necessarily the most obedient to the speed limit.
Also, last time I was there, my dad and I were driving at 2 am on a deserted road. We had just been rerouted on 3 different flights, and 1 luggage was lost. We picked up the rental. The limit was 55 and we were going about 65. Sure enough, one of them was hiding as a speed trap and wrote us up for 66. Wasn't too thrilled about that.

I sound like a broken record. Ohio. Go figure.

[fastTa]

What is the common highway speed limit up North? Rural and City?

Every single highway here in Texas has a speed limit of 70, or 75 in some cases. There is talk of raising that in the near future.

55 MPH is ludacris and outdated. Today's cars handle so much better, and are so much safer than older cars. If people can't handle driving at highway speeds over 55 MPH, then they shouldn't be driving in the first place. There is no excuse for not being able to safely handle and sustain a consistent 70-80 MPH on highways and interstates. No excuse.

Going back and forth on the major highways here in TX, most drivers sustain a fairly consistent 80 MPH on a daily basis without any problems. Sure there are wrecks, but nothing excessively abnormal.

I agree with Jeff that it is the speed differential that creates potential problems on the road. This is why more people should be fined for driving to damn slow!

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

What is the common highway speed limit up North? Rural and City?

Every single highway here in Texas has a speed limit of 70, or 75 in some cases. There is talk of raising that in the near future.

55 MPH is ludacris and outdated. Today's cars handle so much better, and are so much safer than older cars. If people can't handle driving at highway speeds over 55 MPH, then they shouldn't be driving in the first place. There is no excuse for not being able to safely handle and sustain a consistent 70-80 MPH on highways and interstates. No excuse.

Going back and forth on the major highways here in TX, most drivers sustain a fairly consistent 80 MPH on a daily basis without any problems. Sure there are wrecks, but nothing excessively abnormal.

I agree with Jeff that it is the speed differential that creates potential problems on the road. This is why more people should be fined for driving to damn slow!

Michigan posts higher speeds than most surrounding states. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisoconsin, Kentucky, Pennsylvannia, and the province of Ontario all have mind-numbingly slow speed limits. Ohio and Pennsylvannia enforce them like the gustapo. It's absolutely ridiculous. There's about a 10-15 mph average difference between cruising speeds between Michigan and Ohio despite the fact that there's only a 5 mph difference in posted speed.

Speed limit is 70 mph in rural areas. Drops to 65 through the suburbs and through some of the less congested areas downtown. It only hits 55 in the very congested downtown areas.

Typically you need to be moving 10-15+ over the limit to draw any attention to yourself.

The really weird thing is, as soon as I cross the border to the south (Ohio), cars drop down to the speed limit which is 65 (even in rural areas), and if you're going 70, you're likely to draw some attention from the authorities.

[TraceZ]

The main highway going through my city is 55 mph. It is a total joke. 4 lanes each direction with a breakdown lane on both sides and a concrete center divider yet they still force it to 55. Everybody drives 65 to 70.

One time there was a cop pacing the fast lane at 55 and I was feeling ballsy so I crept past her at 58. She sped up, got next to me and motioned for me to slow to 55.

I should of ignored her and seen if she had the guts to pull me over for 3 over. Lets see her prove in court I was speeding. There could easily be a 3mph difference between her speedometer and mine. I bet the judge would throw it out, but I wasnt feeling *that* ballsy.

[raroZ28]

The main highway going through my city is 55 mph. It is a total joke. 4 lanes each direction with a breakdown lane on both sides and a concrete center divider yet they still force it to 55. Everybody drives 65 to 70.

One time there was a cop pacing the fast lane at 55 and I was feeling ballsy so I crept past her at 58. She sped up, got next to me and motioned for me to slow to 55.

I should of ignored her and seen if she had the guts to pull me over for 3 over. Lets see her prove in court I was speeding. There could easily be a 3mph difference between her speedometer and mine. I bet the judge would throw it out, but I wasnt feeling *that* ballsy.

If only money grew on trees. I wouldn't hesitate to push the system.

[Dave M]

What is the common highway speed limit up North? Rural and City?

Every single highway here in Texas has a speed limit of 70, or 75 in some cases. There is talk of raising that in the near future.

55 MPH is ludacris and outdated. Today's cars handle so much better, and are so much safer than older cars. If people can't handle driving at highway speeds over 55 MPH, then they shouldn't be driving in the first place. There is no excuse for not being able to safely handle and sustain a consistent 70-80 MPH on highways and interstates. No excuse.

Going back and forth on the major highways here in TX, most drivers sustain a fairly consistent 80 MPH on a daily basis without any problems. Sure there are wrecks, but nothing excessively abnormal.

I agree with Jeff that it is the speed differential that creates potential problems on the road. This is why more people should be fined for driving to damn slow!

In PA the max speed limit is 65, and that is reserved for interstates/highways that have very limited access and/or are in rural areas. Anything with too many exits or going through a town/city will be 55 or less. There was a stretch of I-81 here that has been 65 for years, but about 2 years ago they got a string of accidents over like 6 months. Many, many fatal accidents involving people crossing the median and crashing head on into opposing traffic. There was such an outrage among the public ad politicians that they changed the speed limit for that exact stretch of road down to 55 mph. Instead of engineering a better road by installing a divider, or focusing on the many years of safe driving in the area, the just knee jerked and bowed to public opinion and lowered the speed limit. And they're Nazi's about enforcing it too... heavy patrol in that stretch. Accident have gone way down, but I have a feeling it has more to do with luck and that heavy enforcement than any speed limit.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Follow up. It made the news this morning.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metr...03metfilm.html

[Rhode Island Red]

now just watch some state law maker to find some way to civically punish them and chastize them. I wastche the video but missed out on the sound (No speakers)

[Dave Vince]

8 lane ?

That looks like an 8 lane limited access highway, and it has a 55mph limit? If thats not meant to be a state moneymaker I dont know what is.