Am I too scrupulous here? (speed limits)

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what part of I don’t speed faster than what I feel is safe do you not understand. If the flow of traffic is only going 65 or 70, it is not like I am weaving trying to pass everyone. That would be stupid and dangerous. Let me assure you that the flow of traffic is a lot of times going 80 mph on the open roads so 80 mph is safe. If there is no one on the road then as long as you have good tires that are not going to have a blow out, then going as fast as you want would be safe. I feel I have given the impression that I am some reckless driver, which I am not. There is a reason I have a clean driving record. I am very careful at breaking the law and am very safe when doing so.
 
The part about “I feel” is the part that’s raising red flags, for me.

There are a lot of dead people who were “safe at” breaking the law.

The fact is, the law is there for our safety. Laws don’t just come out of nowhere - each law that is made is based on lots of experience and study of how accidents happen. Usually, they come from people who have been involved in serious accidents, and from the family members of people who have been killed. For example, did you know that the yellow flashing pedestrian lights were invented by the mother of a little girl who was killed in a blind cross walk?

Our feelings, though, can be very deceiving. We can feel as if we are in danger when we are not (such as on a roller coaster) and we can feel safe when we are about to drive straight off a cliff - as so many people have done. As I’m sure the person who accidentally killed that little girl felt perfectly safe speeding through that crosswalk, and felt that they were generally a safe driver.
 
the law is not based on our safety for speeding; it is based on how much money they think they can make as well as how much gas we should use. The speed limit was lowered to 55 during the Iran crisis because it was thought that people would use les gas by going slower. That had nothing to do with safety. Then the law was raised back to 65 or 70 in the 90s. However, there are certain places where the CHP does not want to even patrol or give out tickets since they feel the speed limit should be even higher. We were discussing this in a psychology course. This is probably how I got off with a warning for the first two times I was pulled over since I was only going 80 and 85 mph. The third time I got pulled over I was really upset though since I was only going 75, it was down a hill and I wasn’t even trying to speed. There was no arguing with that cop and I just can’t believe that for all the times I should have got and defintitley deserved a ticket, I got away with it and the one time I probabyl should have been let off, I got one.
 
wjp984 said:
the law is not based on our safety for speeding; it is based on how much money they think they can make as well as how much gas we should use. The speed limit was lowered to 55 during the Iran crisis because it was thought that people would use les gas by going slower. That had nothing to do with safety. Then the law was raised back to 65 or 70 in the 90s. However, there are certain places where the CHP does not want to even patrol or give out tickets since they feel the speed limit should be even higher. We were discussing this in a psychology course.
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All kinds of things get discussed in college classes; if it isn’t within the instructor’s area of expertise, then it was just a discussion of people’s opinions; perhaps even just the instructor’s uneducated opinion - just because he has a Ph. D. doesn’t mean he knows everything there is to know about everything.

Were there any police officers or law makers present at this psychology class, to give an expert opinion on this particular issue?
 
of course not but it is just a theory and I think it might have something to do with the reason I was let off with warnings for speeding at 80 mph and 85 mph. I should have started a new post since I added to my old one.
 
I speed a lot. I’m not scrupulous about this in the least.
I assume this is a venial with very little moral consequence.
I really don’t worry about it.
I’ve been driving for 30 years and have never caused a car accident.
 
wjp984 said:
of course not but it is just a theory and I think it might have something to do with the reason I was let off with warnings for speeding at 80 mph and 85 mph. I should have started a new post since I added to my old one.
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It’s nice to get off with just a warning, but it won’t always continue. You’d probably better get used to paying high insurance premiums.
 
I’ve noticed that I try to stay near the speed limits, but that there are situations where temporarily exceeding the speed limit isn’t a bad idea.

For example, yesterday I was on a highway with a speed limit of 65. I was probably going maybe a few mph over 65, almost directly behind a truck with an attached trailer. Well, suddenly, a two 2x4s started flying out of the trailer. I was definitely speeding to get solidly ahead of that truck, lest my little junky car get smacked by a flying 2x4 and I end up in the hospital.

Normally I try to stay near the speed limit but there’s from time to time situations where speeding is probably safer than not.
 
JimG said:
It’s nice to get off with just a warning, but it won’t always continue. You’d probably better get used to paying high insurance premiums.
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nope because I am not stupid. You can get rid of one ticket every 18 months by going to traffic school. I got my one and only ticket (I guess I struck out with being pulled over the third time) a year from last July and have since been extremely cautious while speeding. In January I can once again take my chances until I get another ticket. However, in the worst case scenario of me getting a second ticket in the next 4 months I will beg the judge to let me go to traffic school a second time. The second ticket becomes public record but lawfully, insurance companies can not raise your rates if the case is dismisses which it will be providing the judge agress. The court gets 30 more dollars by saying yes and I am pretty sure I can convince a judge to agree. That way my insurance will never go up as long as I can be more cautious in the probation period of 18 months and in the worst case scenario that I hope will never happen, beg a judge to let me go a second time to traffic school if I get a second ticket.
 
I think you’re just trying to wind us up, wjp. You think you’re so clever you can hoodwink the judges and the insurance companies. Think about what slick-talking excuse you’re going to give to your Eternal and omniscient Judge when he asks you why you deliberately and repeatedly disobeyed a perfectly moral law for frivolous reasons. Let alone explain to him why you laugh when others give frivolous reasons for their grave sins.
 
well I suppose that depends on the good I can also do with the clever mind God has given to me and I would hope God would find this whole scenario amusing also. I honestly should not have the least of worries if speeding is the worst thing I have to answer for. There are plenty of other things I am more concerned about since most likely that will not be the case. But you are right. I am just having some fun seeing what kind of responses I will get although I have not said anything untruthful and do believe it is not a sin to safely break the traffic laws. There is no changing my mind but I do not think anyone is dumb for disagreeing. If anything, I think it is more of a sacrifice and pennacne of its own not to speed and follow the rules. Perhaps you can donate an extra $200 to charity instead of paying the ticket you probably would get occasionally by going as fast as the majority of people. I probably should stop posting on this thread now since it is getting old and although I enjoy arguing, there is no winning or losing this one.
 
wjp984 said:
well I suppose that depends on the good I can also do with the clever mind God has given to me and I would hope God would find this whole scenario amusing also. I honestly should not have the least of worries if speeding is the worst thing I have to answer for. There are plenty of other things I am more concerned about since most likely that will not be the case. But you are right. I am just having some fun seeing what kind of responses I will get although I have not said anything untruthful and do believe it is not a sin to safely break the traffic laws. There is no changing my mind but I do not think anyone is dumb for disagreeing. If anything, I think it is more of a sacrifice and pennacne of its own not to speed and follow the rules. Perhaps you can donate an extra $200 to charity instead of paying the ticket you probably would get occasionally by going as fast as the majority of people. I probably should stop posting on this thread now since it is getting old and although I enjoy arguing, there is no winning or losing this one.
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Don’t you think it is a sin to be manipulative? And while you are speeding down those empty roads, this could happen to you:
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is that a deer? I almost hit a deer once. They are such stupid creatures. The thing just stood there and I had to swerve. Luckily I did not hit anything but I could have.
 
Flopfoot said:
Lately I try to drive the exact speed limit, even when there are no other cars ahead and it would be safe to go quite a bit faster, because I figure that breaking the speed limit is against the law and hence it would be a sin. Am I being too scrupulous with this? Do you think it is okay to break speed limits sometimes, or should we always drive below the speed limit?

I find it pretty hard because I don’t want to drive too much below the speed limit either, in order to be courteous to other drivers who might get stuck behind me (I fig, they can’t really complain if I’m right on the speed limit) so then while I’m driving, half the time I’m just watching my speedometer…
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I hear you mate. I have had the same thoughts on many occasions, in my area the speed limits vary from 60 down to 50 for 10-15 metres and then back up again, 50 down to 40 etc and then 70 down to 50 :confused: :confused: :confused: Take the princess highway, Heathcote for example, one minute your doing 100kpm then its ups to 110kpm than BAM right down to 70kpm with approx 25-30 metres notice, thats where the police love to hide out.

I admit I am guilty of doing 5-10k’s over in most areas, sometime I stick the limit. There was one occasion where a police car came out of nowhere and I had to put my foot down to overtake cars in the left lane to let the coppers pass. I am working on this, trying to be more conscious of my speeding. I have never been booked for speeding (does not make it right I know) however I have a couple of friends who are police officers and most of the time 5kpm over the limit is excusable, anything over is an offence.
 
Flopfoot said:
Lately I try to drive the exact speed limit, even when there are no other cars ahead and it would be safe to go quite a bit faster, because I figure that breaking the speed limit is against the law and hence it would be a sin. Am I being too scrupulous with this? Do you think it is okay to break speed limits sometimes, or should we always drive below the speed limit?

I find it pretty hard because I don’t want to drive too much below the speed limit either, in order to be courteous to other drivers who might get stuck behind me (I fig, they can’t really complain if I’m right on the speed limit) so then while I’m driving, half the time I’m just watching my speedometer…
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We, from what I have been taught, are not so much obliged to follow the letter of the law as its spirit. So in many cases, I don’t think it would be sinful to go over the speed limit, which is set, I believe, considering hypothetical traffic conditions, other roads, the amount of bends in the road, etc. They won’t put up a sign that says “65 when nobody’s on the road, 55 if there are a few others on it, 45 if there are many on it.”
 
tvdxer said:
We, from what I have been taught, are not so much obliged to follow the letter of the law as its spirit. So in many cases, I don’t think it would be sinful to go over the speed limit, which is set, I believe, considering hypothetical traffic conditions, other roads, the amount of bends in the road, etc. They won’t put up a sign that says “65 when nobody’s on the road, 55 if there are a few others on it, 45 if there are many on it.”
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Go ahead and drive whatever speed you want. Just be prepared to face the consequences of your decision.
 
paramedicgirl said:
Go ahead and drive whatever speed you want. Just be prepared to face the consequences of your decision.
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“Whatever speed I want” ? I think you misread my post. Rarely ever do I go well above the speed limit. There’s a difference between doing 63 on a 55 with few on it and 63 in a residential 30. I’m not likely to be ticketed on the first; on the second, yes.
 
tvdxer said:
“Whatever speed I want” ? I think you misread my post. Rarely ever do I go well above the speed limit. There’s a difference between doing 63 on a 55 with few on it and 63 in a residential 30. I’m not likely to be ticketed on the first; on the second, yes.
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Are you talking MPH? Where I live, you can almost always “get away” with driving up to 10 KPH over the speed limit. The cops will usually not bother you for that. But it depends on the road and traffic conditions. I’m a big fan of cruise control. It keeps me from speeding.
 
well we get away with up to 10mph so we get to speed an extra 4mph more than you before getting a ticket.
 
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