Speeding - Willful Disobedience ?

[Mountain Merle]

I hate to say it, but most of yall sound like you are making excuses for your speeding habits. Now, I give Fidelo grace for his Nascar race to get to his left exit in a mile and a half; I would do the same thing. But here's what I'd like to know and be honest. You've got a nice, straight road and light traffic, with no excuses for driving over. How fast do you drive then?

[JimFoxvog]

But here's what I'd like to know and be honest. You've got a nice, straight road and light traffic, with no excuses for driving over. How fast do you drive then?

My old Prius shows a calculation of my miles per gallon instantaneous and for 5-minute intervals. I usually get the best mileage between 45 and 55 miles per hour. So, if I'm not in a hurry (I'm usually not) I go between 45 and 55 mph. When someone comes behind me I'll speed up, especially if it's not a good passing area.

[ken_sylvania]

If the speed limit is 70 and everyone drives 80 then maybe the limit should be lowered to 60 so everyone will drive 70. By everyone, I mean most people.

PA did an experiment recently. They raised the speed limit on some roads from 65 to 70, doing a traffic study before hand and then six months later. They found that the median speed didn't change much, and that the speed limit increase reduced the number of ten-miles-over violations significantly.

[Neto]

If the speed limit is 70 and everyone drives 80 then maybe the limit should be lowered to 60 so everyone will drive 70. By everyone, I mean most people.

PA did an experiment recently. They raised the speed limit on some roads from 65 to 70, doing a traffic study before hand and then six months later. They found that the median speed didn't change much, and that the speed limit increase reduced the number of ten-miles-over violations significantly.

The last time I was out in Oklahoma (where the speed limit is 75) I noticed that people on the whole, have slowed down since it was first raised. Back then, the typical traffic flow was at 80 to 85. Now (a year ago, actually) it was pretty close to the speed limit. At least it seemed that way to me.

When I took driver's ed (summer of 71, when I was 15 1/2) the speed limit on all of the back roads was 65 MPH. Dodging potholes, I remember the teacher telling us that "You don't have to drive the speed limit."

[appleman2006]

I'm reading down thru all the comments and it sounds like most of yall are making excuses for wanting to keep speeding.
I'm not always squeaky clean in this area myself, but on a four lane road I enjoy my drive a lot better when I just stay in the right lane, drive the speed limit and let the others pass me by. It's so much more relaxing. Don't mean to digress from the speeding subject, but what about stopping at stop signs? I only know of one other Anabaptist besides myself in our area that actually stops. Including my wife. Although I am trying to train her!

Not sure where you are from but I can assure you that had you been driving on the highway I was yesterday for almost 3 hours (the 401 from Windsor to Kitchener, Sudsy will be very familiar with this stretch) you would not of felt at all comfortable driving in the slow lane at the speed limit because of cars constantly riding your bumper. While the posted speed limit is 100 Kms. you will not be pulled over at 125 on most days. Maybe at 130. At 130 you had better not be parked in the fast lane as you will still have a constant line of cars passing you.

The fact is that while the law officially states the speed limit is 100 we all know that law is not enforced and so in my opinion it is not the law.

I do not like this fact. I consider it a contributor to eventual anarchy. In fact it is one of the reasons I do not like big government. Having too many laws simply means that the enforcement of them becomes arbitrary and almost impossible both to keep them all as well as to fairly enforce them all.
For those of you that actually obey all the laws of the land without exception, I applaud you. But before you pat yourself on the back too much may I suggest that either you really do very little or you are woefully ignorant of a lot of laws out there. And since ignorance is not a guaranteed proof of innocence in a court of law you are just as guilty under the law.

I do try hard to obey the law where I know it is enforced as well as where I see it makes sense even when I know it may not be enforced or the chances of me being caught are small. Labour laws, safety laws, labelling laws, tax laws, are just a few of the things that we deal with daily and which I try really hard to obey if at all possible even when I know many of my direct competitors do not and will never be apprehended for it.

But here is another thing for some of you that feel really good about yourselves in always trying to obey the law. When you buy you food or clothing or go out to eat, or even when you hire a contractor, do you always patronise the cheapest place available? Because i can assure you that if you do you are probably helping someone else break the law whether it be labour, safety or tax laws. and as far as I am concerned when you consistently do that you are as good as breaking those laws yourself.

Again I am not making excuses for breaking the law. I am just saying that the issue is not nearly as black and white as some of us would like it to be.

[Sudsy]

I hate to say it, but most of yall sound like you are making excuses for your speeding habits. Now, I give Fidelo grace for his Nascar race to get to his left exit in a mile and a half; I would do the same thing. But here's what I'd like to know and be honest. You've got a nice, straight road and light traffic, with no excuses for driving over. How fast do you drive then?

To be honest, it depends on my impatience to get somewhere. Being older I don't put value into how long it takes me to go from point A to point B as I once did. Now I just put on cruise control at or under the speed limit. However if traffic begins backing up behind me on a stretch where passing is dangerous (i.e. hilly and stretches of solid no passing lines), I will pull off and let them by. At other times I will up my cruise control a bit over to see if this reduces the backup behind me.

Since the speed limit enforcement is flexible to some extent based on driving conditions, although the law sign reads 'limit' or 'maximum' I don't see breaking this kind of law being one of sinning unless our reasons for breaking this law is for selfish reasons and not for the safety of others. Our conscience is also a guide to how we live.

Lets take wearing a gold wedding band as a literal prohibition. Is it immodest to wear one ? Does it draw the wrong kind of attention (excessive adornments) away from godly actions (i.e. good deeds) ? What if the wearer believes it identifies them as married and that will discourage approaches to treating them as unmarried ? (I know some have said it doesn't but presents a challenge, which I don't believe is generally true). Is it then a sin for those who wear one ? I think not, no more than I would see sticking to a speed limit, come hell or high water, would be. Not to get into the wedding band debate but just to say that certain areas are not always to be applied literally, like hating our family to be a Christ follower. We need to consider other aspects in determining the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law. Imo.

[Neto]

Ohio traffic law used to put heavy trucks as 5 MPH below automobile traffic. That allowed a person in a car to stick to near the speed limit, and not be run over by everyone else, because the truckers were mostly driving 5 MPH over, which put them at or near the auto speed limit. I'll admit that back after the federal limit was put down to 55 MPH, I once drove for hours across Kansas, drafting behind a semi tractor-trailer rig. We were running at around 70.

Now that I am older, and probably a bit slower on the reflexes, I really don't like the interstates anymore. There are so many more trucks & other vehicles on the road than there were back in the 70's, and also especially comparing the eastern US (of which I consider Ohio to be a part) to the central states (like Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, etc.).

[ohio jones]

To be honest, it depends on my impatience to get somewhere. Being older I don't put value into how long it takes me to go from point A to point B as I once did. Now I just put on cruise control at or under the speed limit.

For the sake of those of us who do care how long it takes to get there, please, please do not set your cruise under the speed limit unless you're the only one on the road, or on a multilane road with very light traffic. At the limit, yes, but not intentionally below. Please.

[Sudsy]

In Ontario most heavy trucks hauling goods are required to have speed limiters.

A speed limiter is an electronic device that is installed in heavy trucks, and caps the speed at a maximum of 105 km/h. Most large trucks driven in Ontario are required to use speed limiters.

So, even though a major highway (i.e. 401) has a posted speed limit of 100 km/h, these speed limiters can be set at 105 km/h. Why ? I don't understand. But that doesn't mean these trucks stay lined up single file in the right hand lane. With varying hp and weight of load, some will pass others.

What I also don't understand is why there are no speed limiters put on how fast any vehicle can go except a law enforcement and ambulances. Why are vehicles allowed to be built with hp that could take them to well over double speed limits ? Why do speedometers even show numbers beyond (i.e. 80 mph or 130 kmh) ? If we don't want people to speed for safety reasons, then restrict the speed a vehicle can go. Seems too simple, I guess or I'm missing something in my logic, which is very possible.

[Aurien]

I hate to say it, but most of yall sound like you are making excuses for your speeding habits. Now, I give Fidelo grace for his Nascar race to get to his left exit in a mile and a half; I would do the same thing. But here's what I'd like to know and be honest. You've got a nice, straight road and light traffic, with no excuses for driving over. How fast do you drive then?