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Well.. ...to be fair technically the way the law is written Texas speed limits are not a firm indicator that a crime has been committed.. ..Texas Speed Limits are “Prima facie” meaning sufficient proof unless disproven.. ..If it can be proven that the general flow of traffic was exceeding the posted limit by a sufficient amount and you were endangering yourself by driving the posted speed limit, you may stand a chance in court.. ..I wouldn't necessarily condone it.. ..but the law does say that.
I know several people who have had tickets dismissed by showing that driving 85 in a 75 was perfectly safe, given the conditions, traffic, etc. That's another reason to have a dash cam.
I tend to drive 75 on a freeway, regardless of the actual speed limit, unless there's construction with the double fine penalty. I do adjust for traffic conditions, and I don't camp in the left lane.
Nice try,
Driving fast is only dangerous when the road is not designed to drive fast on it.
Any study about how dangerous it is to drive fast is incompletely if it doesn’t take in consideration the design of the highway, bridge, entrance ramp, exit ramp, etc.
I certainly don't deny that safe driving at high speeds can be possible on many highways. See: SH 130 toll road with its 85 mph limit, which I have done several times.
But if someone gets on SH 130 and decides to 75-80 instead of 85-100, you are pretty explicitly implying that the 75-80 driver is the unsafe one because they're driving on a highway that has a design which safely accommodates higher speeds. That is ridiculous.
I certainly don't deny that safe driving at high speeds can be possible on many highways. See: SH 130 toll road with its 85 mph limit, which I have done several times.
But if someone gets on SH 130 and decides to 75-80 instead of 85-100, you are pretty explicitly implying that the 75-80 driver is the unsafe one because they're driving on a highway that has a design which safely accommodates higher speeds. That is ridiculous.
I would say he's being unsafe if he's doing 75 in the left lane and impeding the flow of traffic which have a legal right to do 85. If he's in the right lane and not impeding the flow of traffic then that is also safe.
"Well their survey showed how fast most drove and based on freeway design, the higher speed limits were deemed to be safer."
So people who chose to honor the speed limit, meaning they were driving slower, are being blamed as the reason the road was less safe. The ones driving with total disregard to the limit are being cast as the ones driving properly, in your version of this finding.
You have consistently said in various posts that drivers should defer to those who choose to drive the fastest, including (and maybe especially) when such drivers are collectively well in excess of the posted limit. That the drivers who choose to stay at or near the limit are the ones causing the safety problem. That is completely the wrong way to put it - a twisted and morally / logically unacceptable way to put it.
It's not uncommon that even in the rightmost lane, a significant portion of drivers will drive well above the posted limit. If someone chooses to get on the highway and drive the limit in the rightmost lane in such a situation, by your logic, they are causing the safety issue. That is bunk, period. The ones choose to well exceed the posted limit are the ones causing the problem. The posted limit is also not the problem, even if it seems low to you.
Exactly. Driving 101 (even in Texas) teaches you that the speed limit is the HIGHEST speed one is legally allowed to drive in Texas, not the lowest.
And anyone who is not mature enough to acknowledge that if they choose to deliberately violate the speed limit law, that they, not anyone obeying that law, is the cause of the problem and to take responsibility for the predictable consequences of their own deliberately chosen actions is not mature enough to have a driver's license (or, for that matter, an opinion on the speed limit). If only we could test for that before handing them out like candy.
Nice try, Driving fast is only dangerous when the road is not designed to drive fast on it.
Any study about how dangerous it is to drive fast is incompletely if it doesn’t take in consideration the design of the highway, bridge, entrance ramp, exit ramp, etc.
Incorrect and indicative of a lack of situation awareness, something I was taught when I was first learning to drive by the professional racers (both automobile and motorcycle) that I hung around with at the time.
Design and condition of the roadway is only one factor, and not the most important one. They taught me that. What is most important is to be situationally aware that on public roads, whatever the condition, the real variables impacting safety are the drivers of widely varying degrees of experience and skill and the vehicles of widely differing design and condition with which they shared the road. They were the most conservative drivers I've ever known. Did they love speed? Obviously. Did they indulge themselves at risk to everyone else? No, they did that on the racetrack (or offroad tracks) in some cases with motorcycles, at the Bonneville Salt Flats when trying to break the World Land Speed Record, and other places where situational awareness told them it was appropriate and they were risking only themselves, not the general public, in doing that. (Well, rarely, in West Texas where they could see other traffic 100 miles away. ) And never, ever, ever on public roads. They all had seatbelts in their vehicles, too, when you had to get them especially installed aftermarket. They'd seen up close and personal what excessive speed does to the human body and were realistic about it and had no desire to do that to themselves or, especially, others.
Most everyone who insists that the speed limit is only a suggestion (it's not) and that they are the special ones who are able to drive however fast they want regardless of everyone else on the road, and that everyone else on the road is the problem, are simply proving what truly bad drivers they are, with no situational awareness at all.
"Well their survey showed how fast most drove and based on freeway design, the higher speed limits were deemed to be safer."
So people who chose to honor the speed limit, meaning they were driving slower, are being blamed as the reason the road was less safe. The ones driving with total disregard to the limit are being cast as the ones driving properly, in your version of this finding.
You have consistently said in various posts that drivers should defer to those who choose to drive the fastest, including (and maybe especially) when such drivers are collectively well in excess of the posted limit. That the drivers who choose to stay at or near the limit are the ones causing the safety problem. That is completely the wrong way to put it - a twisted and morally / logically unacceptable way to put it.
It's not uncommon that even in the rightmost lane, a significant portion of drivers will drive well above the posted limit. If someone chooses to get on the highway and drive the limit in the rightmost lane in such a situation, by your logic, they are causing the safety issue. That is bunk, period. The ones choose to well exceed the posted limit are the ones causing the problem. The posted limit is also not the problem, even if it seems low to you.
I'm still waiting on you to show me where I said driving slower speeds is more dangerous because the quote of mine you provided is based on TxDOT upping speed limits in DFW due to the 85th percentile rule of drivers as one main factor.
All I've said in those posts your referring to is to have proper driving courtesy. You were provided links from several people showing you that those common courtesy driving ways said to disregard speed limits and look at the overall speed of traffic. At the end of the day, you believed your version of speeding of only going five over as reasonable, but feel anyone going faster is a speed demon.
As for your last example on the rightmost lane, if you can remember my posts before then you should know I never have even implied that. Go back to the Dallas section and reread that thread. I'll say it again for you... Each lane to the left should be passing the lane to their right, and yielding to faster traffic when safe to do so. This obviously means the right lane ideally won't be passing anyone and won't be yielding. This is simple traffic physics and how they drive in places with experienced drivers such as Europe. In America the problem is people don't have the mental capacity to understand driving and most importantly they are too selfish to even care.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Need4Camaro
Typically the real killer is distracted driving. Speed just makes whatever consequence that there may be from a resulting accident, worse.
This. A distracted driver is way worse than someone speeding but paying attention. Give me the driver going 15 over, yielding to faster traffic coming up behind instead of the distracted driver. At least I know the driver speeding is paying attention to all vehicles around him. If not then why else are they yielding like that?
I would say he's being unsafe if he's doing 75 in the left lane and impeding the flow of traffic which have a legal right to do 85. If he's in the right lane and not impeding the flow of traffic then that is also safe.
Yes, I would agree with that. But the comments by the other poster implied that just being on the facility at all doing something around or just under the limit is unsafe if the highway design facilitates faster driving.
I'm still waiting on you to show me where I said driving slower speeds is more dangerous because the quote of mine you provided is based on TxDOT upping speed limits in DFW due to the 85th percentile rule of drivers as one main factor.
All I've said in those posts your referring to is to have proper driving courtesy. You were provided links from several people showing you that those common courtesy driving ways said to disregard speed limits and look at the overall speed of traffic. At the end of the day, you believed your version of speeding of only going five over as reasonable, but feel anyone going faster is a speed demon.
As for your last example on the rightmost lane, if you can remember my posts before then you should know I never have even implied that. Go back to the Dallas section and reread that thread. I'll say it again for you... Each lane to the left should be passing the lane to their right, and yielding to faster traffic when safe to do so. This obviously means the right lane ideally won't be passing anyone and won't be yielding. This is simple traffic physics and how they drive in places with experienced drivers such as Europe. In America the problem is people don't have the mental capacity to understand driving and most importantly they are too selfish to even care.
This. A distracted driver is way worse than someone speeding but paying attention. Give me the driver going 15 over, yielding to faster traffic coming up behind instead of the distracted driver. At least I know the driver speeding is paying attention to all vehicles around him. If not then why else are they yielding like that?
If TxDOT adjusts the posted limit upward, great. All they are doing in such cases is saying that one can safely drive at a faster speed on that facility. To interpret it as driving near the posted limit actually causes an unsafe condition is incorrect.
And your assertion that drivers who are not in leftmost lane should always defer to anyone driving faster by moving to the right, even if they are driving at or near the posted limit, is utterly discourteous and advocating poor driving skills. Whoever taught you this is just completely wrong, and shame on them. I question whether you should be driving on public highways. The basic physics is that anyone who wants to drive faster than folks in the non-leftmost lane, if those drivers are driving at the posted limit, should pass on the left when it is safe to do so. Your spurious reasoning completely disregards and renders irrelevant the posted speed limit, which is THE LAW.
Yes, I would agree with that. But the comments by the other poster implied that just being on the facility at all doing something around or just under the limit is unsafe if the highway design facilitates faster driving.
It was never implied. You just jumped to a made up conclusion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LocalPlanner
If TxDOT adjusts the posted limit upward, great. All they are doing in such cases is saying that one can safely drive at a faster speed on that facility. To interpret it as driving near the posted limit actually causes an unsafe condition is incorrect.
And your assertion that drivers who are not in leftmost lane should always defer to anyone driving faster by moving to the right, even if they are driving at or near the posted limit, is utterly discourteous and advocating poor driving skills. Whoever taught you this is just completely wrong, and shame on them. I question whether you should be driving on public highways. The basic physics is that anyone who wants to drive faster than folks in the non-leftmost lane, if those drivers are driving at the posted limit, should pass on the left when it is safe to do so. Your spurious reasoning completely disregards and renders irrelevant the posted speed limit, which is THE LAW.
I dont know why this is always so difficult for you, or why you want to shame people who taught me how to drive. It is really not that hard. On a typical 3 lane highway, the middle lane should most definitely be passing the right lane. This would follow what Im saying in that lanes to the left should be passing lanes to the right. This creates continuous traffic flow and eliminates rolling roadblocks. Look those up if you don't know what that is.
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) And never, ever, ever on public roads. They all had seatbelts in their vehicles, too, when you had to get them especially installed aftermarket. They'd seen up close and personal what excessive speed does to the human body and were realistic about it and had no desire to do that to themselves or, especially, others. 
