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How many times have you been pulled over, for speeding, since you started driving?
I'm not asking how many tickets you've been able to talk you way out of.
I'm asking how many times you've been pulled over for speeding.
Oh, man, just noticed this. Sorry about that. Certainly didn't help that you posted 3 minutes after I got off work, hahaha.
Since 2002, when I started driving, I have been pulled over thrice.
September 2009: was tailgated by an absolute lunatic at I-35 N & Slaughter (how appropriate) Lane in Austin, Texas. Austin P.D. ignored the tailgater and cited me for speeding. Revenue generation over safety. Typical.
November 2009: driving my blind friend to his girlfriend's house, I was driving through Shavano Park, Texas, a little enclave of San Antonio that really shouldn't have any right to exist. This podunk burg has abhorrently low speed limits. Completely inappropriate for the purpose of revenue generation. In their defense, their citation fines are also very low. Probably because they make it up through volume!
May 2012: at approximately 3 or 4 AM, I was driving out of Houston, Texas on I-10 on my way home following a friend's graduation party. I had just passed the 65-mph speed limit sign after being in the 60-mph zone & increased my speed from 65 mph to 70 mph. This was all done via cruise control, there were only 3 or 4 cars (myself included) on the entire 6-lane freeway. Shortly after passing the speed limit change and upping my velocity, I passed by a Texas DPS (my first encounter with DPS) Trooper camping in the left lane. I passed him by and gave him nary a thought. After what seemed to be a VERY long time considering the fact that he was after me, I saw flashing red lights in my rearview mirror. For whatever reason (5 over the limit at 4 AM?! ) he decided to pull me over. I pulled over & we had a conversation & he gave me a written warning. My first time with a Texas DPS Trooper and my first warning! Very interesting.
The best I can figure on that last one was that he was fishing for DUIs/DWIs & my driving 5 mph over the limit safely and competently in the middle of my lane of travel gave him probable cause to harass me. Good thing he only wasted my time & didn't try to generate any revenue. I had a greatly increased level of respect for Texas DPS after that! The officer was very polite while still doing his job.
One thing I would like to point out. Notice that I have never been pulled over by the San Antonio Police Department in my own jurisdiction, the roads where I drive the most miles. 99% of miles, if I had to guess. What do you think this means? I'm perfectly competent.....if I weren't, wouldn't I be pulled over more often by a police department that has actual police work to do?
Hope you enjoyed reading! Again, sorry I was so late.
My wife ran afoul of a speed trap. The road is 45 MPH but drops to 35 and then 25 as you come into town. She slowed down at the sign, but the officer gave her a ticket. He said you have to slow down when you can se the sign, not when you reach it.
Nonsense. Are you telling me when I drive I-75 south from Michigan into Ohio I have to slow down to 65mph in Michigan because the speed limit is 65 in Ohio?
I found driving 20+ over the underposted American speed limits with a radar detector and CB radio has prevented me from getting a ticket.
I go 25-30 over sometimes on the highway, and I haven't had a ticket since 1999. And I don't even have a radar detector. I used to have one, but it was a nuisance with all the false alarms.
I go 5-10 above and have never gotten a ticket, I've gotten 2 warnings in my life. Fairly simple really.
There are times I go 10-15 above, but usually in very rural areas where there are no cops. I love driving in rural areas, and get annoyed fast in cities, especially with large amounts of traffic and stoplights with improper programming.
Interstate speed limit in this state is 75. If it was 55 I'd probably still go 75-80... basically I have my preferred speeds and if the speed limit is stupidly low, I will tend to ignore it, but that doesn't happen too often and I play my cards to avoid tickets... I don't let my emotions and ego take total control. Not worth it to save 10 seconds on a stretch of road with a low speed limit. The local cop isn't going to care that I'm trying to be a crusader for higher speed limits anyways.
I go 5-10 above and have never gotten a ticket, I've gotten 2 warnings in my life. Fairly simple really.
There are times I go 10-15 above, but usually in very rural areas where there are no cops. I love driving in rural areas, and get annoyed fast in cities, especially with large amounts of traffic and stoplights with improper programming.
Interstate speed limit in this state is 75. If it was 55 I'd probably still go 75-80... basically I have my preferred speeds and if the speed limit is stupidly low, I will tend to ignore it, but that doesn't happen too often and I play my cards to avoid tickets... I don't let my emotions and ego take total control. Not worth it to save 10 seconds on a stretch of road with a low speed limit. The local cop isn't going to care that I'm trying to be a crusader for higher speed limits anyways.
The two bolded statements contradict each other. If you have decided that your preferred speed should override the speed limit, and would do so even if your preferred speed is 20-25 mph over the posted speed limit, your ego is already fully in control and you just don't know it.
The two bolded statements contradict each other. If you have decided that your preferred speed should override the speed limit, and would do so even if your preferred speed is 20-25 mph over the posted speed limit, your ego is already fully in control and you just don't know it.
No, that just shows he is not dumb enough to blindly follow stupid political decisions. You do realize the 55mph speed limit died because every American driver ignored it (i.e exceeded the posted the speed limit).
Over the past 25 years, I've driven a full sized van about 30k miles a year, my personal vehicle 15k and a motorcycle another 15k. About 60k miles driven per year. I seem to get tickets about every 3 years or every 180k miles. Every single time I get a ticket* is because I wasn't paying attention for a few seconds and my speed got away with me. And I consider myself a professional driver who always pays attention, uses cruise control, drives the condition of the road that I'm on and the time of day. One, two and three lane highways are all different animals where the dynamics of traffic change constantly. Sometimes I'm the hero and other times I'm the obstructionist. Every day it's a game out there mostly of people that drive a lot and have a long way to go with time restraints "because we work and are not retired", and people that have no time restraints, can plan their day well in advance and take their time getting there.
A few things I do that I've learned the hard way over the years. I don't challenge anybody. I don't get even or get punitive with anybody. I don't give eye contact unless a thank you is warranted. All I do is get around the lanes and work it as best I can without interfering with others driving habits. Some of whom like to play "auto psychology" with you as you make your way in front of them. Perhaps speeding up a bit to see how fast you are passing them I guess. Or sometimes I get blocked. Either way I have the patience to endure this stretch of road that I'm on as I know the dynamics will change in a few miles anyway.
One of the best inventions is the I-Phone white earphones where I can talk to myself and let the stress out a little without looking like someone who actually talks to themselves.
*At least in CA we can go to internet driving school once every 18 months of good driving.
The two bolded statements contradict each other. If you have decided that your preferred speed should override the speed limit, and would do so even if your preferred speed is 20-25 mph over the posted speed limit, your ego is already fully in control and you just don't know it.
All that he meant is that there are tactical considerations to be made to reduce the chances that he'll be caught by police. Ignoring a law does not mandate a cavalier attitude towards getting caught while doing it (i.e. letting your emotions get the best of you). Speeding generally and avoiding speeding during times of elevated risk of getting a ticket is just sensible. Also, if it comes down to egos, I would much rather follow my own ego than the egos of greedy and power-hungry politicians - they are humans too, you know, not members of the ego-less master race. Fortunately for drivers there are many other factors for good driving other than egos, emotions, and laws. If there weren't the world would be a lot more boring than it is today. I also notice that you conveniently ignore the bolded portion below:
Quote:
Originally Posted by stockwiz
basically I have my preferred speeds and if the speed limit is stupidly low, I will tend to ignore it, but that doesn't happen too often and I play my cards to avoid tickets... I don't let my emotions and ego take total control. Not worth it to save 10 seconds on a stretch of road with a low speed limit. The local cop isn't going to care that I'm trying to be a crusader for higher speed limits anyways.
Some people have entitlement syndrome and go out there as crusaders because they think they have the right and/or have something to prove, or they are just impulsive and don't think before they act. . More power to them. Enough of them and change can be made. That's not how I operate, I go about things more stealthily and when caught admit my violation and don't try to lie about it.
Yeah speed limits are low, but on the other hand, I'm not going to be the one getting tickets to create societal change.. I pretty much know what I can get away with, when I can get away with it, and go about it in a semi-respectful manner, slowing down when I see police officers, or knowing they may be around, kind of like a game of chess or strategy.
The times I sped the most were when I had long commute times. My commute time is all of 7 minutes, or 2.5 miles, so I am not ever in a real rush most of the time. I suppose that has something to do with it.
If the national speed limit was ever reduced to 55, I would become a crusader, and go my usual 75-80 on the interstate, until I could no longer afford it, then I'd simply stop travelling. The times I do bend the rules I only do so when the flow of traffic in a given area is going way above the speed limit anyways. I wouldn't be the sole person to be doing it. This happens quite often in my trips to eastern WI.. areas where the speed limit is 35 but should really be 45, and people are all about 50. When it's too low people in eastern WI just ignore it and go what they think they should.... suburbanites with long commute times always drive more aggressively.
Last edited by sholomar; 04-22-2013 at 09:35 AM..
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) he decided to pull me over. I pulled over & we had a conversation & he gave me a written warning. My first time with a Texas DPS Trooper and my first warning! Very interesting.
I'm perfectly competent.....if I weren't, wouldn't I be pulled over more often by a police department that has actual police work to do?
Every single time I get a ticket* is because I wasn't paying attention for a few seconds and my speed got away with me. And I consider myself a professional driver who always pays attention, uses cruise control, drives the condition of the road that I'm on and the time of day. One, two and three lane highways are all different animals where the dynamics of traffic change constantly. Sometimes I'm the hero and other times I'm the obstructionist. Every day it's a game out there mostly of people that drive a lot and have a long way to go with time restraints "because we work and are not retired", and people that have no time restraints, can plan their day well in advance and take their time getting there. 
