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1. 

   Sisyphos said, 24 days ago

   In not a few contexts doing the speed limit is almost sure to cause an accident. Keep up with the flow.

2. 

   tbree said, 24 days ago

   Why does everyone feel it’s alright to break the law if everyone else is doing it too?

3. 

   Yukoner said, 24 days ago

   I always thought those speed signs were suggestions.

4. 

   DreamScourge said, 24 days ago

   30mph = 30mph…. If you can see the sign of any other speed limit, which will apply to you, then it is x+25%, where x is the indicated speed, once you’re past the sign and into the flow then it’s x+40%, if it’s a clear road late at night and your Road-Angel is quiet then it just depends on what you’re driving…. It’s a law or ancient charter or something!

5. 

   Susan001 said, 24 days ago

   In recent news, a number of people–including children–have been injured and killed while riding in vehicles driven by so-called “adults” who were recklessly speeding (or DUI).
   Speed limits are there for a reason–to ensure a smooth and safe flow of traffic.

6. 

   DreamScourge said, 24 days ago

   I believe the operative words here are reckless and DUI, if you are driving a 1970’s Mini Cooper at 90+ in a 70 zone then that would be reckless, diving anything at 50 in a 70 zone is equally reckless unless you are sticking to the inside lane, unfortunatley many of the people who drive at these speeds still try to merge into the over-taking lanes, even if the vehicles in that lane were only doing the recommended speed, accidents would still happen. Most accidents especially those involving children occur during the school run and usually occur outside schools or in urban areas on the way to school (at least where I’m from anyway). Less fatal accidents occur on the German auto bahns where there is a high or no upper speed limit.

   Accidents are caused by people who are not focused, easily distracted, intoxicated or just messing about, these and all of these types of people really should be forced to use public transport ;)

   It’s a shame to be taken out of cartoon fantasy land so early in the morning with tales of dead children :(

7. 

   N7326 Foxtrot said, 24 days ago

   Places that do not have speed limits do not vary much from those that have. Anyway, she’s in Atlanta this mmorning.

8. 

   Avolunteer said, 24 days ago

   A sad commentary on our ever increasing desire for things to be done “NOW!!”
   Then there was the young lady weaving in heavy traffic…. while texting (with both hands….) & laughing at the message. Almost caused a number of accidents, never realized the horns were at her (or didn’t even hear them…) glad that for once there was a policeman around at the right time! Yesh

9. 

   Destiny23 said, 24 days ago

   If police would put as much effort into ticketing timid drivers as they do “aggressive” drivers, there would be fewer accidents and less “road rage”.

   If speed limits were always based on safety instead of politics and revenue from fines, people would be more likely to obey them.

10. 

    prasrinivara said, 24 days ago

    Destiny23, speed limits as posted in Canada are generally the old mph speed limit ROUGHLY-converted to km/h (though in some areas–I saw this on two stretches in Calgary–speed limits got raised to more-closely reflect ground reality)

    N7236 Foxtrot, at this time of month Atlanta tends to enforce speed limits “more rigourously” (meaning anything above x+10 mph is highly likely to get you challaned )–due to the the almost-universal (definite in Atlanta) “quota of challans by EOM” method. (I got away once about 15 years ago with doing 71 in 55 zone near where Peachtree meets 285–due to the cop not being able to deal with foreign-licence/temp-visa issue)

11. 

    N7326 Foxtrot said, 24 days ago

    On I-285, ykou can usually do +15-20 pretty safely until someone deciding to do the limit starts the chain, and then you have this mornings Broomie.

12. 

    Lewreader said, 24 days ago

    Why are you speeding? To go to work? You want to be at work more?Why are you speeding home? To watch TV you pay for to relieve the boredom of being home?

    Sit back. Enjoy the drive. Maybe you’ll see a species of wildlife you never saw before on the side of the road.

13. 

    Joe Allen Doty said, 24 days ago

    Back in the 1970s, an elderly woman whom we had known for years bragged about driving slow in the left lane of I-44 in Tulsa. She said she did that to get people to slow down.

    Dad told her that she could get a traffic ticket for doing that and besides, she was driving below the posted minimum speed limit which was 40 MPH.

    Back then and even now, if a person is in the right lane and safely driving the posted maximum speed limit on the freeways in town, most of the vehicles going the same direction will pass in the left lane.

14. 

    JanCinVV said, 24 days ago

    I have to agree with Lewreader. Why are you speedihg? There is no conceivable reason on earth to risk my life or my childrens’ lives for the sake of a few extra minutes. Sure, there are always emergencies, but ask yourself: “Is this appointment (or ball game or jail visit or TV show) worth anyone’s life?”
    The posted speed limit is there for a reason.

15. 

    Richard said, 24 days ago

    Drive carefully, you only have one *

16. 

    Fer Lefer said, 24 days ago

    They say that flying is safer, Broomie… where’s the broom?

17. 

    Doctor Toon said, 24 days ago

    I’ve always thought some people didn’t get the concept.
    They seem to think the posted speed limit is a minimum, rather than a maximum.

18. 

    DreamScourge said, 24 days ago

    There’s a major artery road near where we live, that has just had averaging speed cameras installed over a 40 mile stretch, since then the number of accidents has increased and the road spends most of it’s time congested.

19. 

    fritzoid said, 24 days ago

    The speed limit is the speed limit, it’s true, but you’re least likely to cause an accident if you DO “go with the flow.” It isn’t your business to slow down the other drivers in the “fast lane”, and if you’re personally uncomfortable driving that speed, keep to the right. Raising the speed limits isn’t the answer, because people generally still drive as fast as they think they can get away with without getting ticketed. If the limit’s 55, they’ll do 65. If the limit’s 65, they’ll do 80.

    I once read a presumably true anecdote (I think it might have been Readers Digest “Life In These United States”) of a driver who was doing the prevailing speed on the highway, which was nonetheless over the posted limit, when he saw the flashing lights of a trooper in the rearview mirror. He pulled to the side of the road, and the trooper pulled in behind him and started to write a speeding ticket.

    “Why are you ticketing ME?” the driver protested. “Everybody else was going just as fast as I was!”

    The trooper replied “You were the only one who pulled over.”

20. 

    MisngNOLA said, 24 days ago

    I tend to drive the speed limit on highways and roads in towns and cities. I also stay in the right lane except when moving over into a center lane if available at merge points. When I’m out in the middle of nowhere, I’ll sometimes drive up to 10mph over the speed limit if the conditions permit it. The way I see it, if I’m driving 1200 miles (roughly the distance between Philly and New Orleans, a regular drive for me), that 10 mph will make a 2 to 3 hour difference in the amount of time I’m on the road, whereas in town, that extra 10 mph will only save me 2 or 3 minutes at best, so I just leave a few minutes earlier when I’m in town to get where I’m going on time.

21. 

    Johanan Rakkav said, 24 days ago

    I found going through an Indian reservation in Oklahoma (as a passenger) fascinating. Great highway, beautiful scenery, “No Tolerance” on the speed limit signs. Everybody was doing the speed limit, exactly. The locals must know the score there.

22. 

    SherlockWatson said, 24 days ago

    A lot of people in this thread are saying that the limit is the limit, and I can appreciate their point of view, but the fact is going no faster than 55 MPH on the freeway these days will most likely cause road rage, which in turn will cause more accidents. For safety’s sake, I say go with the flow, or at least just a little slower than the flow.

23. 

    fritzoid said, 24 days ago

    Unless you’re suffering from Hagar’s Syndrome, 55 mph is as sensible as any other number you might suggest. People will always want to shave a few meaningless minutes off their drive times, but every incremental rise in prevailing speed brings an incremental rise in frequency and severity of accidents.

    We could, of course, say that 10 mph is even safer than 55, and that would be true, but it’s a question of balance. If you experience road rage because you’re forced to go 55 when you want to go 65, you’ll also experience road rage if forced to go 65 when you want to go 80.

    Until and unless the U.S. finally goes metric, I think the standard highway limit should be 60 mph, just because “a mile a minute” has poetic value.

24. 

    dkram said, 23 days ago

    When I drive the speed limit I get the feeling my little truck is sitting there up on blocks.
    (-.0)

    \\//_

25. 

    Johanan Rakkav said, 23 days ago

    In practice I go with SherlockWatson when I can. It is usually safest to go with the flow of traffic, and there is usually an allowance above the speed limit for that. (Just not in that stretch of Oklahoma highway, evidently!)

26. 

    Amy Sampson said, 23 days ago

    Schizoid, I can testify that they will do that-I was in a pack of cars going what turned out to be way over the speed limit, saw flashing lights, pulled over, and got a speeding ticket because I was the only one they caught. What I get for being responsible…

    I’m just glad my dog didn’t snarl at the trooper while we were sitting there-I might have gotten another one for Buddy being off leash ;)

27. 

    cholldekkgher stenst... said, 23 days ago

    When did Broomie get a car?
    When did Broomie get a license?
    Who let Broomie PASS a driving test?
    Questions, so many questions!

28. 

    prasrinivara said, 23 days ago

    For N7326 Foxtrot, except at “rush-hour” anywhere from Cobb Pkwy clockwise to 78–when you’re lucky if you can do 15-20 (total actual speed) mph, somewhat higher likelihood (but still praiseworthy) if those are in km/h.