Speeding Chasers....

[David Drummond]

Here is the solution where I live:

http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/2007-01-07_80mph_west_texas.aspx

What's amazing is people still get tickets. An 80 MPH speed limit is not license to go 100

There are a lot of secondary state and US highways out here in west Texas as well that I am starting to see 75 mph on. Most people don't realize just how FAR it is between stuff out here sometimes. Back in the days of 55...it was excruciating to drive from Odessa to El Paso down I-20/I-10. It's few and far between any sort of stops at all out there.

 

[David Drummond]

Tulia, Tx for me...long story.

He, yeah Swisher County is a notorious speed trap. Last time I ever got a ticket was just north of Tulia. Drove in to a swarm of DPS troopers stopping nearly everything on the road. It wasn't cheap either.

 

[Jon Person]

I wish there were different levels of driver's licenses so a person could get rewarded with higher limits once they demonstrate safe driving behavior. Slow speed limits are annoying, so they'd make an excellent penalty for poor driving, right? I realize that without sophisticated ways to measure the danger speed introduces to a driving environment, the best officials can do is set an arbitrary number for skilled an un-skilled drivers alike.

Personally, when it comes to what speed to drive on a highway, for me it boils down to the conditions, the environment, my alertness... not so much what the sign says. On wide-open highways with five miles of visibility up the road and sunny skies and multiple lanes, safety is common. Inside of towns, late at night, or on roads where a surprise is likely such as a deer, however, I do the limit and don't push it. One small Colorado town warned me with a quick flash of the cherries when I didn't drop my speed to his satisfaction, which I'm very grateful for. Other places, such as the CO/KS and KS/OK borders, tend to be patrolled more strictly.

It also helps to have someone on board who can help explain the reason for speeding. I know of one woman on this board who once gave such a brilliant, Oscar-winning performance in Kansas that even I was convinced she was about to die if we didn't get to the emergency room. I still crack up thinking about it. In case you're still lurking here, S., bravo!

 

[Kevin Bowman]

its kind of misleading, you will have to be really crazy to get the max, my friend was doing 30 over (in illinois I-88 near 53), and only got a 85 dollar ticket.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

I wish there were different levels of driver's licenses so a person could get rewarded with higher limits once they demonstrate safe driving behavior. !

it would never work mainly because the faster you go, the higher risk you have of causing an accident. You could be the safest driver in the world, it only takes one goof to end your or someone elses life. it would also be way to difficult to enforce and going much faster than the normal traffic flow will get you killed

 

[Jon Person]

it would never work mainly because the faster you go, the higher risk you have of causing an accident...

I agree such a "speed reward" would become a problem when one's speed differs drastically from the flow of traffic, just as a penalty could also introduce risk. I'm thinking more like a nudge up, say 5-10MPH, like passing speed.

At any rate, it's interesting to learn how speeding is treated differently in different states and areas. Surely the bottom line is "don't speed," and since my last ticket was in TX I'm apprehensive about testing the limits. About the only places I speed without paying much attention are close to home: I-25 from Denver north to Wyoming, where typical traffic flow is closer to 80-90 eek especially during morning rush hour, and I-70 from around Bennett to near Burlington. But not so fast for the rest of the road network. Hwy 287/385 out of Limon has more open areas but it's also a popular trucking route so it's common to become sandwiched and bask in the saturating bouquet of sunning livestock until the next passing lane rescues you.

 

[Jesse Risley]

At any rate, it's interesting to learn how speeding is treated differently in different states and areas. Surely the bottom line is "don't speed," and since my last ticket was in TX I'm apprehensive about testing the limits.

I think it's really more about individual officer discretion than anything else. I've heard LEOs on the same department actually argue over this one, where one guy says "4 you're fine, but 5 you're mine," whereas the other guy is saying you have to be at least 15 over before he will even blink.

There are guys on a department who would issue their own mother a ticket on mother's day, whereas there are guys on the same department who never bother with traffic stops unless they need a reason to stop a vehicle in the hopes of making a "good stop" and finding something more noteworthy.

I might also add that more people probably talk themselves into tickets than talk themselves out of tickets.

 

[Jon Person]

I think it's really more about individual officer discretion than anything else.

Well said, IMO That explains the huge variations in treatment of speeders even when the environments are the same. It also explains why speeding is more successful in areas one is more familiar with.

 

[Adam Lucio]

I just got pulled over last night, turns out my "registration light" A.K.A. liscense plate light was burned out.

I was doing 40 in a 35 at the time and the officer made no reference to my speed, just wanted to tell me that my light was burned out and thus wanted to check if I had a valid drivers liscense, but if he wanted too he could have given me a speeding ticket.

So that serves as a reminder that if you want to reduce risk to yourself, make sure your vehicle is fully street legal before you head out!

I also think that speeding becomes less irrelivent in high speed zones. once you reach a certain point [say 70mph] it probably wont make much difference if you get into an accident doing 70 or 100 mph, either way its going to be nasty. Where as say...65 in a 35 could make a difference.

Kind of like the "EF-6" tornado....IF it happens the EF-6 damage wouldnt be recognizable within the already chaotic EF-5 damage....if that makes sense

 

[Gene Moore]

I also think that speeding becomes less irrelivent in high speed zones. once you reach a certain point [say 70mph] it probably wont make much difference if you get into an accident doing 70 or 100 mph, either way its going to be nasty. Where as say...65 in a 35 could make a difference.

Yeah, if the vehicle actually impacts at 70 MPH, but the idea of brakes is to slow down before making contact with that tree or bridge abutment. In todays better designed vehicles you can generally do well up to 45 MPH. After that things tend to get very bad quickly. This was one of the original arguments for going 55 MPH, the vehicle could decelerate to a reasonable crash speed.

I should start a new thread....."should chase vehicles have roll bars"

 

[Shane Adams]

Again, the solution is simple. You know the speed limit, you know what happens to you if you're caught. Plan around the legal limit, this includes forecasting, stops, drive time, all of it. It's so easy a monkey could do it.

I've never understood the human fascination with having to go faster than you're allowed. When it was 55mph you saw 70mph demons. When it went to 65-70 the demons went 85-90. I guess if you've got the money you just don't care?

 

[Robert Dewey]

I never saw the need to speed either... acceleration is where the fun's at.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

I know a reason to speed...less time spent staring at the same long road. Crazy, I know. I speed the most just heading home after a chase. I sometimes laugh at the forecasting claims. I've never had to speed because of a bad forecast. I had to because mother nature was just all out of whack on those days.

 

[Jon Person]

...less time spent staring at the same long road...

Not even a quick nap on I-80? The "VRRRRRT" sound of tires crossing onto the shoulder sounds a whole lot like an alarm clock