Why Do People from Minn drive sooo slow? (price, law)

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Do they have a ban in MN for driving and talking on a cell? every jag I run into on the road who is not paying attention is talking on their phone!!! I admit I maybe too aggressive on the freeways 15-20 over.

ok, everyone else is driving slow because you are driving 90 and they are only going 70--ok

[Thegonagle]

For years, I was quite the lead-foot. I probably had 10 speeding tickets in 15 years. I don't do that anymore. I drive at or near the speed limit on the freeways because they will pull you over for going 70 in a 60. I don't feel like wasting any more money or time in court on speeding tickets, and I find that I'm a better, more relaxed driver when I'm not constantly scanning for squad cars.

State patrol currently has a bunch of unmarked cars that are not Crown Vics--they've used Chrysler 300s, Chevy Impalas, Pontiac G6s, Tahoe SUVs, and almost anything else they can fit their equipment in. I don't even notice them until, were I speeding, it would be too late. To me, it's just not worth the risk of a ticket on the highways anymore. The speeder vs. cops game I used to play is over for me. (And I save a small but not insignificant amount of gas, maybe 5-10% vs. the olden days.)

In the city, driving 40 or 45 on narrow city streets with cars parked on both sides and with sight lines limited by buildings, curves, etc., is generally pretty asinine. At 30 MPH, you can still stop in a pretty short distance if you have to. At 45, it's dicey, and you're far more likely to kill someone . For instance, do you know the difference in survival rates of pedestrians and cyclists hit by a vehicle going, say, 25 (assumes a little time to start braking from 30 MPH) vs. 40-45? If you've never looked into it, check it out--it's astounding.

Furthermore, in case you didn't know, every traffic signal in Minneapolis has been controlled by a master computer in the traffic engineering building since the mid-late 70's. This allows them to coordinate the signals for "waves of green" on one ways, so trying to speed down Portland faster than the wave isn't going to get you anywhere faster.

And on two ways, if you drive the same route at the same general time of day, you might notice that you wait at the same red light at the same intersection every day. Speeding along Washington just means you'll be first to the same red light everyone else has to stop for. Oh, and the traffic division of the Minneapolis police is ruthless. They don't give warnings. They write tickets.

I've finally figured out the 100% reliable solution to my speeding ticket problem: Don't speed. So that's why I "drive so slow."

And if you ever see me in Milwaukee, it means I took a wrong turn, and I'm just trying to figure out which direction it is back to the interstate.

[BJBoxcars]

Very simply: because they don't know how to drive! Many states require you to take a course with many more hours than 6 behind the wheel. Many high schools on each coast have students taking driver's education for a full semester sharing time with other students for 5 months.

Why do Minnesotan's stop on ramps instead of increasing their speed to merge smoothly? Why do they try to instantly merge (backing up traffic behind them) instead of using the acceleration lane to increase their speed? Why do they sit in the left lane on freeways/highways instead of moving to the right to let faster traffic pass? see above: "to pi** you off" / "out of spite" Ridiculous! Immature!

Even Mn DOT has started to recognize the problem by extending the double white lines on acceleration lanes so you can't immediately merge and slow down traffic behind you. (exam: Mpls south of dwntwn merging onto I-94 - - bravo!)
And about a year or more ago, WCCO-TV had a DOT person on trying to explain how to merge.

Again, Milwaukee City - they don't know how to drive!

[Milwaukee City]

Another trend I have seen is 60mph in the center lane...aaaggghhh!!! move over. It must be that the Minn drivers I encounter are all from rural Minn. However when I come to the Twin Cites I feel like an Illinois driver in Wisconsin. I live downtown Milwaukee so drivers in any large city that live downtown drive more aggressively b/c everyday we have to deal with people not from the area that are all confused and scared.

[Huckleberry3911948]

hey im not from minn but i know you,
you were the guy behind me yelling and honking and playing bumpers with me in the fast lane yesterday
by the way i was doing 88 in a 60.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Another trend I have seen is 60mph in the center lane...aaaggghhh!!! move over. It must be that the Minn drivers I encounter are all from rural Minn. However when I come to the Twin Cites I feel like an Illinois driver in Wisconsin. I live downtown Milwaukee so drivers in any large city that live downtown drive more aggressively b/c everyday we have to deal with people not from the area that are all confused and scared.

If the speed limit on a freeway is 55, the right lane is for going 55. The center lane is for going 60 or slightly faster. The left lane is for going 65, maybe 70. If you are going faster than that you need to slow down.

[northbound74]

^I always thought that if the speed limit is 55, then it's 55 for all lanes, not just the slow lane. At least that's what they taught us in Arkansas.

Compared to most, well every other city I've been to, Minneapolis has pretty good drivers, it seems. Anyone who thinks otherwise should go to Dallas, Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans and the whole state of Louisiana... and about 45 or so other states...
I was pleasantly surprised that such a large number of people in the Twin Cities actually go the speed limit. Never seen that in a big city before. Kudos to you all.

As for flashing lights to get people to move over, those people just come across as absolute jerks who think their time is more important than anybody else's. Sure-fire way to invoke road-rage. I've only experienced it in New York state. Pull a stunt like that in Kansas City, and you'll probably get shot at. Seriously.

[Double]

If I'm in the left lane, going any speed, and someone coming up behind me is obviously going faster, I just move over and let them pass. I'm not trying to be a state trooper and keep people under the speed limit. After they pass me, I just move back into the left lane.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by Double

If I'm in the left lane, going any speed, and someone coming up behind me is obviously going faster, I just move over and let them pass. I'm not trying to be a state trooper and keep people under the speed limit. After they pass me, I just move back into the left lane.

Same here. I'm not perfect, though -- I don't drive while constantly looking out my rear view mirror.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by northbound74

^I always thought that if the speed limit is 55, then it's 55 for all lanes, not just the slow lane. At least that's what they taught us in Arkansas.

Compared to most, well every other city I've been to, Minneapolis has pretty good drivers, it seems. Anyone who thinks otherwise should go to Dallas, Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans and the whole state of Louisiana... and about 45 or so other states...
I was pleasantly surprised that such a large number of people in the Twin Cities actually go the speed limit. Never seen that in a big city before. Kudos to you all.

As for flashing lights to get people to move over, those people just come across as absolute jerks who think their time is more important than anybody else's. Sure-fire way to invoke road-rage. I've only experienced it in New York state. Pull a stunt like that in Kansas City, and you'll probably get shot at. Seriously.

It is, but rules are rules and reality is reality. There is a big difference between speeding in the left lane verses the right lane.
Flashing your brights is illegal, no?