How much over do you go?
 

Speeding. Almost all of us do it. But when you're ready to hit cruise contol, how much faster than the limit do you go? And what is your rationale behind that? Cost of ticket if caught? Likelyhood of being ignored as cops go after worse offenders? ....

5 mph - likelihood of being ignored AND burned by previous tickets

And now...gas

9 to 20 depending upon speed of traffic, conditions and road

I rarely exceed 186,000 miles per second, because it *is* the law, after all.

I drive as fast as conditions allow and my cop-radar sense says is ok.

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I only knowingly break the speed limit on motorways, where I will drive between 70-90 and still mostly be in the slow lane, overtaking the lorries and coaches which have tacographs, being whizzed past by all the other cars.

My husband's nephew was hit by a car driving at (or under) the speed limit. It wasn't the driver's fault, but he put the little boy in hospital and it affected him really badly. At the time, Ben was told he would probably always walk with a limp, although he did make a full recovery.

So I don't care how many people I hold up driving 30 in a 30mph zone. It's there for a reason. I will also drive under the speed limit on unfamiliar (especially country) roads. But I'll pull over where I can, to let other people pass. I did this in Wales, where I was most comfortable driving at about 40 because I didn't know what was over the brow of the next hill, but the limit was actually 60.

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20 mps circling the sun
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Agreed.

On urban streets, I ignore the speed limit because traffic is so heavy you can't drive fast. Unless it's like 6am on a Sunday morning, then I drive only 5 over the speed limit because I'm too easy a target for DC cops trying to generate revenue.

In residential zones, I drive the speed limit and will happily slow traffic behind me down if they all want to drive faster than that. It's a fucking residential zone, people.

On the highway, it kind of depends on what the other traffic is doing. Generally, I go 5-10 over, but if there is heavy traffic and everyone is going 20 over, I will too because I don't want to impede traffic flow or get rear ended.

On rural country roads, I'm usually out of my element as some kind of visitor and don't know the road that well, so I go maybe 5 over the speed limit. This probably pisses off the locals.

You definitely know you're in Pittsburgh when you're doing 70 in a 55 and people are passing you like you're a granny.

The speed limit is 55 here, but everyone typically does 80-85. Yes, even the cops.
I was doing 70 this morning and got passed by one.
They won't pull you over unless you're doing at least 75.

Part of the charm around here. :cool:

Depends on the road, conditions, time of day, and whether or not I'm in my "home" jurisdiction (You know, the one where I know all the cops and have a get out of jail free card?), but typically 5-10 over.

And don't let me on a road that has one of those "you know how fast you're going" speed signs ...

(I actually vary on how I deal with them, either seeing how high I can get it to go, or seeing if I can hit the exact number)

We have one of those near us, and it's hooked up to a traffic signal a block away. So if you go fast enough, you trigger a red light for yourself and the other cars around you. Locals know this and drive accordingly, but every once in a while some visiting speeder will trigger it and make me wait.

I'm kind of a control freek, I love to piss of the speeders behind me so I set my cruise at about 1mph over the posted limit. Even if it's 25. The slower the posted speed limit, the more pissed off people get when you obey the law. There must be some inverse square law that could describe that.

The speed of traffic in LA is 75. I usually go about 80-90, but I'm very alert and aware as a driver. Zero speeding tickets in 15 years of driving.

If it's a highway and there's plenty of room, I usually drive slower than the 70 MPH limit because my car is significantly more gas efficient at 60 than 70. Go ahead and pass me with your yellow magnetic "support our troops!" signs stuck on the back of your trucks, I don't mind at all, ya idiots. But I keep a sharp eye on traffic and will accelerate if I must so as not to become a hazard to others.
MPHv=MPG^

I'm mostly in town where the highest speed limit is 45mph. I'm usually driving 45-50, if I'm in a real hurry I'll go 55 on the 45 marked streets. The cops around here can be real asswipes, so I don't like to get on their bad side. I got pulled over late one night and the cop said I was going 59 in a 45, I wasn't. I was driving with traffic, we were goin about 50. Then he was mad I hadn't pulled over immediately, on a semi dark street late at night. I explained to him, women should not pull over 'cept in a lighted parking lot with people around at night. He got all mad because "You would know a fake cop car, and that only happens maybe 1 out of 10,000." Well I don't want to be 1 out of 10,000, and real cops rape women too. So nuh uh, not taking any chances. By this point I was trying hard not to cry, I was so pissed off. He left without writing me a ticket at least.

4 miles over whatever the limit is

I calculate the optimum speed based on the mass of the vehicle, frontal area, drag coefficient, and BAC, then double it.

I just try to drive a little faster than the car in front of me. Never works.

I sometimes say: Just because you have a lot of followers doesn't mean you're a great leader. Pull over and let me by.

Pre-speeding tickects,I always had to be the fastest driver on the highway. Couldnt STAND anyone in front of me. Sure made the trips go by quick.

Actually, the faster you go, the more people there are bunching up in front of you. The slower you go, the road in front of you just empties.

I actually hover between 5 and 15 miles over. I commute between 35 min to one job and a bit over an hour for the 4 other ones.

Mostly 5-10 over, unless I'm running late for work. Then its "balls to the wall" every clear stretch of road.
Experience has shown it to be beneficial as I'm usually only a few minutes behind. :o :D

Do you people have traffic cameras?
Speed detection radar coupled to high-resolution digital camera ... with a sign 200 meters further along letting you know you've just been booked.

They are generally set at 3kph over the limit. Since it is very fast and efficient, and there are no humans in the loop, you can never talk your way out of it.

So as a result I (like most city dwellers in Australia) am pretty pedantic about not speeding. It just isn't worth the money (and licence demerit points).

Nope :) its rare to see a state trooper on the highway.

I have driven through places that they have large markings across the road. Apparently a plane clocks you from the air and they mail the ticket to you.

We have those cameras in a few cities here, but in others they've been ruled illegal by appeals courts... oddly enough, Austin has the fixed radar cameras at several major intersections--those little in-car radar detectors go nuts when you go under them--but I've never heard of anyone getting a ticket from them, and I've personally sped under them many times. Maybe they're just used in cases of wrecks, I don't know.

Speed cameras are all the rage here, because the revenue of the fine more than pays for the cost of running it. Hence they have multiplied like rabbits.
It has (from my observations) greatly reduced the kind of "10-15% over" speeding that used to be normal.

A few particularly bad corners have permanent cameras with multiple warnings before and after the corner ..."YOUR SPEED WILL BE CHECKED" etc... I guess the local cops got tired of coming out to the same corner over and over.

The road toll is roughly steady, maybe falling slightly, but kilometers driven per year is climbing with population, so I guess the overall formula is working.

These cameras are set up through outside contractors. They are a money making machine. The vast majority of the money goes to the company who installed and maintains the equipment. The "police" typically get just the fine/penalty amount.

There are separate cameras that are installed through the DOT, these are usually viewable online and maintain the departments ability to see whats going on at different locations. This reduces the need for manpower and gives instant feedback. They are also used to track traffic flow and can be used to locate particular trouble spots.

There are also people who go around and disable/vandalize red-light cameras and photoradar cameras.

The internet lists known locations and I see that in England setting them on fire with an old tire seems to be popular. Or so claims the internet.

We have a few at red lights only. People have been running the reds around here so they put up the cameras. I think it has helped.

Not popular. The general consensus would probably be to get rid of the cameras (they don't bother me - I don't break the law) but vandalism is frowned on in this generally conservative country. There is a vocal minority who are strongly opposed to them, but only the crimal part of them would consider damaging the cameras.