Going with someone who drives beyond speed limits

[mikekle]

When I was young, I drove way too fast, Now everyone says I drive way too slow. When you get older, for some reason, you want to live a lot longer.

I try to keep within in 10 mph of the posted limit. There are a ton of speed cameras in Maryland and they are set at 11 mph above the limit, BUT on an interstate, the ‘flow of traffic’ may be much higher than 10 over the limit. Going at the posted limit on an interstate may actually make you a hazzard to other drivers. You may be driving at 65 in a 55 posted zone, but there will be huge semi trucks tailgating you along the way.

In Georgia, the state is considering making it ILLEGAL to drive BELOW the speed limit in the left lane (aka passing lane). I hardly ever see anyone driving at the speed limit (except on a rainy or snowy day), and it really is a huge hazzard to drive below the limit.

Im exactly the same, I used to drive fast when I was in my early 20s, but now that I am almost 40 yrs old, Ive been frequently called a grandma behind the wheel! LOL But I dont mind, Im quite content going about 65mph on the interstate, in my state, 70 75 is the posted speed limit, but most people do about 80-85, I rarely see many people getting pulled over, so I guess it is not really enforced. But Im always in the far right, slow lane anyway!

I do tend to agree it all depends on experience and what kind of car you are driving, surely a sports car running very low profile tires is much safer at higher speeds than my saturn Vue SUV, but it also depends on the age/experience of the driver, people can be taught to drive safely at very high speed, the problem is alot of un-experienced people think they know how to drive fast, and are usually younger.

My biggest gripe when driving is the timing of red lights so you end up stopping at every single light…I think this is set up this way for a reason, and is wasting alot of fuel, especially when 20+ cars are made to stop at a red light when ZERO cars are the intersecting street!!! This happens all the time in my area and makes me quite upset.

My other gripe is slow trucks, I somehow get stuck behind semi trucks that cant seem to go over 20 mph and take 1/4 mile to get up to that speed! LOL

 

[thewanderer]

Yes, I absolutely agree with you. The point of the law is to reduce accidents and keep people safe, if you are driving significantly below the speed of traffic, especially if you are driving in the fast lanes you are a serious hazard. Even if it means driving 5-10 miles above the speed limit it is far better (and safer) to drive at the speed of traffic.

I should qualify this by saying that you must never go faster than you can safely drive. If you are driving faster then make sure to leave more space, drive extra defensively etc, but if you keep that in mind, my above post applies.