Question for LEOs on this site
 

So I was looking through Yahoo news story and came across this particular story that got me thinking...

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...211957738.html

In a nutshell a lady gets a ticket for going 2 MPH under the speed limit in the left hand lane. 63 in a 65 to be exact. The wording in the citation read "FAILURE OF DRIVER DRIVING BELOW SPEED LIMIT 63 IN A 65 TO KEEP RIGHT."

To be completely honest I'm kinda glad she got the ticket. Nothing bothers me more then a slow person in the left hand lane. But then i got to thinking. If going 63 in a 65 is too slow...I mean only 2 mph difference from the POSTED speed Limit which I'm pretty sure there is a reason its called the law. Is there a rule of thumb of how high OVER the speed limit you can go in the passing lane? 5 over? 10 over?

here in cali yep you can get a ticket for going to slow because you are a danger to yourself and you're endangering other drivers. the limit of how high is mainly depending on the LEO, technically the speed limit is it but a lot let you get away with 5-8 in my experience

The speed limit laws are about revenue not safety. I have never seen a story were somebody got a left lane ticket where they weren't at least 20 under and severely impeding traffic.

Illinois has a law where if you are not passing in the left lane you can be ticketed


Ryan

It depends on the jurisdiction. On the back of the ticket you receive, there is usually a schedule of fines for various traffic stops. Some jurisdiction's fine schedules for speeding don't start until 5mph or 10mph over the speed limit.

And that doesn't even take into account the discretion of each individual officer. Some don't care if you're doing 9mph over, some will cite you for 1mph over. It just depends on how much of a stickler for the letter of the law they want to be, which often goes hand-in-hand with how large their department is.

Fact is, if you're going 1mph over the posted limit, you are technically breaking the law. How much you choose to push it is entirely up to you, and the consequences of that choice will always rest solely on your shoulders :thumbsup:

In response to that story, though, I think it's somewhat annoying that people don't get pulled over more frequently for riding in the left lane at or below the speed limit. When interstate highways and freeways were originally conceived, the left lane was intended to be a lane for emergency personnel to circumvent traffic quickly when needed. Using it as a passing lane for normal commuter traffic was purely a secondhand byproduct.

But because our driver's education system is a joke, no one has a clue what the rules of the road are anymore.

I'm not bothered by it. She mentioned that the weather conditions were such that she was trying to drive safely - but if she wanted to be truly safe then she should have been over in the right lane(s).

Edit: @CamaroSkooter regarding your comment on the driver's education system. I totally agree. Amazing new drivers don't have a clue regarding right of way and other simple driving rules. And I realize this is not as common anymore but ask a new driver what they should do for a right hand turn when their turn signals don't work - or even better yet the signal for braking.

From what I understand it was the insurance rates that killed school based drivers ed. We hired someone to teach our daughter and I'm so glad we did. She got a better education & it saved us tons of arguments.

I'll just leave this here.

I'd be getting tickets all the time then. I never ride in the right lane, always the left.

Americans exhibit zero lane discipline. We need tough laws like Germany has regarding motorist laws. It costs like $1200US to even GET a license there, and they have cameras everywhere. If you idle in the wrong lane, fail to signal, etc, you get a HUGE fine. As it should be.

Fat, lazy, clueless American drivers. It's maddening. And I'm an American.

but in the same truth, if she was going 65 in a 65, how could the law argue that you need to be out of the lane, no one else should be going over 65, unless they are breaking the law. She will get this tossed easily.

:word:

I go to Germany yearly for a few weeks to visit family, I honestly feel more comfortable driving there on the autobahn going 100+ mph then going 60+ here and having to worry about idiots that don't know how to drive (no offense).

I truly enjoy all the strict traffic laws they have there. You definitely see the results in their driving.

:thumbdown:

I highly doubt that being a fat, lazy, clueless American driver has anything to do with bad driving. It's common human nature exhibited anywhere. Not just here. It's called lack of common sense, ignorance, and inconsideration.

How she's breaking the law? The left lane is a PASSING lane only, meaning if you're not passing no one should be in that lane.

I agree with the others that driving laws should be MUCH tougher here and more like Germany. No reason we couldn't have higher speed limits on our highways, but we can't because of the idiots who can't drive.

Just this morning alone saw Trucks in the left & middle lane of a construction zone with a posted all trucks keep right sign. Saw 2 folks change lanes on a solid white line. I could go on and on but it's a joke.

:word:

:facepalm:

If you have traveled outside the borders of the USA, you will see the contrast between American drivers and other country drivers.