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Speed Limits

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Gallatin, Jan 18, 2015.

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Do you follow the speed limit?

  1. Yes, all the time.

    8 vote(s)
    11.0%
  2. I don't go exactly the speed limit, but I try to stay close to it (within 5 mph or so [8 kph]).

    52 vote(s)
    71.2%
  3. I'm only concerned about speed limits if there are a lot of police on the road.

    12 vote(s)
    16.4%
  4. Speed limits? Huh? What are those?

    1 vote(s)
    1.4%
  1. Gallatin

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    Hey drivers of EC. I have a question for you: do you obey, or at least try to obey, speed limits?

    This has been a question of mine for a while but I've really been thinking a lot about it after my commute the other day. At one point, I was on a four lane highway which has a speed limit of 55 mph (88 kph), and a lot of people (possibly the majority) were going at least 70 mph (112 kph). Later on, I was on a one lane road which also has a speed limit of 55 mph, and the person in front of me was barely going 40 mph (64 kph).

    I should note, that for the purposes of this question, I'm only interested in whether you pay attention to speed limits when driving during normal road conditions (i.e., when not raining, snowing, very heavy traffic, etc.). Obviously if one is driving through blinding rain or a snowstorm, one is probably not going to get close to the speed limit.

    So yeah, I'm just curious whether y'all follow speed limits or not, and whether they factor into your decision of how fast you'll go.

    *I've put in kph since I know that most of the world uses that instead of mph. It's a bit imprecise since I doubt that there's any 88 kph speed limits out there, but at least you can get the idea.
     
  2. Aussie792

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    Always. There's no point in losing my licence before I've even got a full one and even less reason in endangering others using the same roads.
     
  3. GreyArchery

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    I generally follow the speed limit. The times when I go a bit faster are generally during rush hours, where if I went slower I would actually be impeding traffic so I go just a bit faster to keep with the traffic flow.

    Also, I live on a rural to country border, so sometimes the speed limit isn't posted for a good few miles and I kind of guess...
     
  4. AlamoCity

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    I try to obey as best as possible. Streets, I try to always follow it, and can be more conservative in residential areas. Of course, in foul weather I always tend to be conservative. Ice: we don't drive in ice down here; the cities shut down :lol:.

    The exceptions are highways. I was taught that 5mph over the limit was acceptable (i.e. not worth the effort for a cop to stop you). In highways outside of city limits I tend to follow the ebb and flow of the cars there, which are sometimes 10mph over the limit.

    I do live around a speed trap town within my city and I am very cautious there.
     
  5. QueerTransEnby

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    Only when I am late do I speed and only where I know there are no cops. I have been licensed for 13 years and have a clean record, but I have had multiple close calls.

    Pulled over once for speeding but got a warning and once for no reason than a cop's ego. I have nearly rear-ended someone, nearly got t-boned once after I blew a stop sign by accident, and spun out on ice once. I also nearly had a dude cream me when he hydroplaned on the expressway. He was going 70 in his Mustang when it was pouring rain, and I was going 50 in the far right lane. He went from the far left lane to the second right lane while taking the curve, going way too fast for the conditions. God has certainly protected me.
     
  6. Pret Allez

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    I like to drive as safely as possible. Sometimes, a long straight interstate highway can be dry and have few cars on it. In those cases, I feel quite fine about 168 km/h.
     
  7. Black Raven

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    Of course I obey speed limits at all times.











    ...
     
  8. Tritri

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    I checked "Yes, all the time." I don't always go AT the speed limit but sometimes significantly under it, like 50 mph in a 60 mph zone. The roads aren't busy but I do get passed a lot. I don't use cruise control so I might piss them off by not always going the exact same speed, but I do try to keep the same speed when somebody is behind me.
    I only drive because my parents make me; they say I need practice. And life is harder when you don't know how to drive, but I really don't like it.
     
  9. AwesomGaytheist

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    We Michiganders are lead-footed by nature. The speed limit on most freeways is 70, but if you try going the speed limit, you won't even keep up with the blue hairs in the slow lane. In the area I grew up in, usually traffic is going about 80-85. Down in Detroit, I-75 drops to 55 once you get into the city limits, but nobody slows down. Even the cops go flying through there. I just keep up with traffic and to not be that guy who makes everyone else slow down. On the surface streets, I try to stay within 5 mph of the speed limit.
     
    #9 AwesomGaytheist, Jan 18, 2015
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2015
  10. confuseduser99

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    Speed limits are the stupidest things ever. It's all a money making scheme (especially in the U.S. - States and counties make a ton of money off of speeding tickets, especially from out-of-state drivers).

    I really like the German Autobahn system. There aren't any speed limits (well, there's a minimum speed limit). You just drive in relation to the flow of traffic. You keep right, expect to pass, where faster traffic drives (it might be in reverse since it's in Europe).

    The only time speed limits are visible and enforced on the Autobahn is when there are large pockets of population (ex. parts of the Autobahn that run through a city).
     
  11. awesomeyodais

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    It varies, I'll pay a lot more attention to things like a residential area slower speed limit or a school zone, but on a dry summer day will drive 120 in a 100 km/h 400-series highway between cities.
     
  12. hazza

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    Most of the time I stick to the speed limits (always though if I'm driving in an area with speed cameras). On motorways, I tend to just stay at a speed similar to the rest of the traffic on the road. When I drove up from the south of England to Scotland, on the parts of the motorway where there were no roadworks, I averaged around 80-85mph (the speed limit was 70mph). I'd say even at that speed, around 30-40% of the traffic was driving faster than me.
     
  13. Psaurus918

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    Local/city roads I wont go more than 5 over. If the speed limit is 55 I go 60... If I'm on I-90 here in NY the speed limit is 65 and I usually set my cruise control at 74.

    The only time I go way over the speed limit is when I'm down by the city. The speed limit on the LIE is 50 and I go 70 and still get passed like I'm standing still
     
  14. confuseduser99

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    120 on a 400-series highway. LOL! I usually do 140 (I've done up to 160, but that's a little too fast. 140 is a pretty fair and reasonable speed "max").
     
  15. HM03

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    This actually a lot like me.

    I normally go the speed limit or one or two above or below. But often enough I go like 10 under :$
     
  16. Jinkies

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    Eh? It really only matters much if the cops on the road care about it. Fun fact: I was tailgaited by a cop for quite some time before he eventually passed me, going about 15 over the limit. The reason they exist is for cops to grab potential criminals. That's really it. The rest of the work lies in traffic.
     
  17. mbanema

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    I'm usually over it but not by much. If I'm on the highway for a few hours I'll usually set my cruise control at 72 or 75 depending on whether the limit is 65 or 70. I don't like to go dangerously fast though and I try to avoid sticking out as one of the fastest cars on the road.
     
  18. Mirko

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    I usually drive within the allowable limits. When I drive on the 401, I won't go faster than 115km/h or so. On one occasion, I drove 119km/h. Someone decided to over take me. Let's just say the police car was behind that car in no time.
     
  19. Austin

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    On side streets and roads I try to go the speed limit. On the freeway, which had a speed limit of 65 mph here, I tend to go about 70. The problem is the flow of traffic in the slow 2 right lanes is about 55 mph, but the speed of traffic in the fast left lanes is 70-75. I go crazy in the slow lanes and would rather avoid trucks so I just go the speed of traffic in the second fastest lane, which is about 70-75 depending where you are... If you go 65 people will get pissed off. If I'm late I'll go the speed of traffic in the fast lane.... Police won't really pull you over at those speeds. There's plenty of more lucrative people going over 80 for them to stop.
     
  20. Argentwing

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    The speed limits here are really quite reasonable and around the speed I'd want to drive even if it weren't for the law. I'm usually comfortable going 5-10 over, but when accounting for distractions average driver stupidity (some godawful things I've seen people do, without consequences of course), they are right where they need to be.