I've a question for our police officers..

[Rayner]

Originally Posted by brtaus

Similar effect here. Once the cameras were installed, the rear-end collisions went up but the guy three cars in front of you was doing 80, coming up to the camera, then would suddenly jam on the brakes, dropping to 60 and the car behind him would hit him. Then, it was a big chain reaction. Over time though, that stopped and people just drive 74 or under. Although, there is still the jack hole who is doing the speed limit, 65, who will jam on the brakes to 50 right before the camera.

In Australia, some guys snuck up and nabbed the license plates off of a speed van then proceeded to place them on their car and 'speed by' said van several times later that day. The result was the speed van that essentially ticketed itself several times. It made the papers over there (mainly because it was f-ing hilarious.)

[brtaus]

Originally Posted by Rayner

In Australia, some guys snuck up and nabbed the license plates off of a speed van then proceeded to place them on their car and 'speed by' said van several times later that day. The result was the speed van that essentially ticketed itself several times. It made the papers over there (mainly because it was f-ing hilarious.)

[RAdams]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

license testing must be done every 5 years for life

Testing periodically is essential because people seem to be mis-remember the Rules of the Road. I believe that so strongly that I download the state driver's manual and read through it every few years. Examples:

After a few miles on the highway, a fellow white-knuckled passenger finally asked the driver to stop tailgating the car ahead. The driver was under the impression that proper following distance was 1 car length. Period. She was surprised to learn it's one car length per 10 MPH so, yeah, we were a little close at 60 MPH.

I've noticed on my drive to work that people seem to believe you can never pass a school bus - even when the lights aren't flashing and the bus is in motion. Periodically someone else gets angry and passes the "convoy" driving 25 in a 40 MPH zone by passing in the oncoming traffic lane when it's clear. Also, it's becoming common that people are stopping and waiting for the city mass-trans busses as they pick up passengers.

[CPanther95]

Drive however fast you want, but just don't drive any faster than the speed at which you are willing to pass a cop.

If I'm driving 80 in a 70, I'd much rather deal with the "idiots" driving 65-70, than the tool driving 85 that brakes to 60 whenever he thinks he sees a cop. On a long trip, I set my cruise and relax - hunting for cops around every blind spot and crossover makes it a very stressful trip.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by Rayner

Oh don't misunderstand. I don't say anything to the cop on the side of the road. I just take it to court and get it dismissed......every....single....time. I have no need to play "street lawyer." I have a real lawyer (two actually) who do that for me in the courtroom. One of them *successfully* defended a guy in a jury trial by *proving* that there is no "legal" speed limit in Texas (that is a LONG story/explanation).

And my record is cleeeeeeaaaaaaaaan. The last ticket to show on my record is so long ago, it doesn't even count for insurance purposes...*and*....it was in another state.

My last speeding ticket was in 1976, doing 66 in a 55... and it was a speed trap, they were pulling everyone over and I was "going with the flow of traffic..." one cop on top of a hill with radar and one standing in the road waving people over, 4 cops sitting in their patrol cars ready to chase anyone that didn't stop. We were all speeding and deserved the tickets we all got... ( I found out that day my speedometer was 5 mph off i thought I was doing 61)

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by CPanther95

Drive however fast you want, but just don't drive any faster than the speed at which you are willing to pass a cop.

If I'm driving 80 in a 70, I'd much rather deal with the "idiots" driving 65-70, than the tool driving 85 that brakes to 60 whenever he thinks he sees a cop. On a long trip, I set my cruise and relax - hunting for cops around every blind spot and crossover makes it a very stressful trip.

Lots of time around here Cops will deliberatly drive 5 UNDER the limit to see if anyone will pass them... most move in behind him and slow down. I always stay the speed limit and pass the whole bunch, and then they will start falling in behind me and pass him too...

[brtaus]

Originally Posted by Rayner

It's not sinking in because the difference you speak of is only evidence that the speed laws are arbitrary. If you don't have to enforce them every.single.time. then why have them at all?

The laws aren't arbitrary; how they are enforced is arbitrary.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by brtaus

The laws aren't arbitrary; how they are enforced is arbitrary.

it's because it is left to the discretion of the officer... but still whether it is 1MPH or 100 MPH if you are over the speed limit you are subject to be ticketed... the law is the law, but the interpretation varies officer to officer district to district...

[MontyCarlo]

Originally Posted by Rayner

In Australia, some guys snuck up and nabbed the license plates off of a speed van then proceeded to place them on their car and 'speed by' said van several times later that day. The result was the speed van that essentially ticketed itself several times. It made the papers over there (mainly because it was f-ing hilarious.)

Ah, Australia. It's like they filled a whole continent with our crazy old college roommates. God bless 'em.

[Noah]

My dad told me this when he was teaching me to drive, and I think its very true. The safest speed to go is the speed everyone else is going. Think about it, two objects going in the same direction at the same speed will never hit each other. (this is true for dual lane- same direction highway driving) You can't argue with that.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by Noah

My dad told me this when he was teaching me to drive, and I think its very true. The safest speed to go is the speed everyone else is going. Think about it, two objects going in the same direction at the same speed will never hit each other. (this is true for dual lane- same direction highway driving) You can't argue with that.

Think about it, if everyone was doing the speed limit there would be no tickets and none of this arguing about speeding tickets or going slower or faster than traffic around you... Set an example, don't be part of the crowd...

Did your father ever ask you if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump off too?

[The_Blur]

Originally Posted by Rayner

But sadly, neither idea will be used. Thus the debate will never end.

Democracy works. Contact your elected officials. They have the power to change the law. You have the power to remove them from office.

Originally Posted by brtaus

The laws aren't arbitrary; how they are enforced is arbitrary.

Laws are written not by scientists or researchers but by the individuals we elect to run our government. Many of them have a history in business or politics, not law enforcement. Their main objective is to keep their jobs, just like us. In order to do that, they tend to do things that they feel are safe, and then they campaign that they did the right thing by being hard on crime or giving back to the community or earning more public earmarks or making the community safer. The latter point is the one that gets us low speed limits. They think that 35 is safer than 45 on a road with 4 lanes, no traffic signals, and outside of a metropolitan area simply because it is slower. This is a fallacy. The speed shouldn't be 100 in such an environment, but it can be higher than 35. Elected officials claim this as an accomplishment in the name of safety just like they claim CAFE legislation is an accomplishment in the name of environmental protection. Neither is true.

Originally Posted by RAdams

Testing periodically is essential because people seem to be mis-remember the Rules of the Road. I believe that so strongly that I download the state driver's manual and read through it every few years. Examples:

After a few miles on the highway, a fellow white-knuckled passenger finally asked the driver to stop tailgating the car ahead. The driver was under the impression that proper following distance was 1 car length. Period. She was surprised to learn it's one car length per 10 MPH so, yeah, we were a little close at 60 MPH.

I've noticed on my drive to work that people seem to believe you can never pass a school bus - even when the lights aren't flashing and the bus is in motion. Periodically someone else gets angry and passes the "convoy" driving 25 in a 40 MPH zone by passing in the oncoming traffic lane when it's clear. Also, it's becoming common that people are stopping and waiting for the city mass-trans busses as they pick up passengers.

The rules must be put in front of drivers regularly. This small inconvenience makes the US a safer driving environment.

Originally Posted by Skyman 08

Think about it, if everyone was doing the speed limit there would be no tickets and none of this arguing about speeding tickets or going slower or faster than traffic around you... Set an example, don't be part of the crowd...

Did your father ever ask you if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump off too?

Is this the advice you would have given Rosa Parks? Just because a law is there does not mean it is good.

[gmwheels]

anybody that has a camaro is going to speed at some time, if you dont then you might as well buy an aveo you just need to know when to speed and when not to.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

Is this the advice you would have given Rosa Parks? Just because a law is there does not mean it is good.

Hmm one is a civil rights issue the other is a traffic law, where is the correlation?

or are you saying speeding is your civil right?