Speeding - Willful Disobedience ?

[temporal1]

The remark made above about police sometimes acting as a "lead vehicle" (Like at Daytona??? ) brings up this somewhat off-topic thought - ever notice how when people see a police car on the side of the road ahead of them, they automatically hit the brake, even when traffic is actually moving at a speed below the posted limit? That's guilt at work, not?

I don't think so. I will tap the brakes or cancel cruise any time I see flashing lights on the shoulder no matter my speed (unless already in a traffic jam). It's the law in our state to either slow down or move over, and it's good safety practice as well.

i slow down for all service vehicles, move over for any cars-vehicles on the side of the road, etc.
my father+brothers were in auto body repair, my father was ahead of the curve on driver safety lessons. he was esp strong on being careful of pedestrians, children! no matter how foolish they could be.
he stressed, a driver’s license is a privilege, not a right. so. part of his legacy. his great-granddaughter is begining to hear his lessons.

Yesterday ..
i had an unplanned, unexpected visit with an off-duty police officer, who turned out to be a police chief. as we drove along, i recounted my last speeding ticket (this morning, i realize over 30 years ago.) .. Josh, there’s a goal for you.

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i wasn’t going much over the limit, i was stopped while transitioning from 55 highway to 40 town, on the edge of town. (no excuse. i was over. i was guilty.) at the time, that was $50 cash, all i had with me. i went before the judge - the officer suggested i could request taking a 1 day driver refresher ($125) to have the record removed. i did it.

i told the chief yesterday i did not know the cost of a ticket today, last i recalled, it went up to $75. he laughed and said it is now $160, and, illegal for officers to take cash!

i told him i’m ‘way too cheap to pay traffic fines, parking fines, ATM fees, etc.
i told him my daughter wasted a lot of money in college on all those things, i tried to warn her not to.

[Sudsy]

The 'dead stop' law is quite enforced in our city. No rolling stops. My dad had an cheap old car he used to go back and forth to work over a short distance with stop streets. He was ticketed for rolling stops. The brake pedal would reach the floor before the car got fully stopped. We had stoppers in our garage so he wouldn't hit the end wall. I laugh now but it really wasn't very safe for anyone.

Ever notice just how different it is when you come to a dead stop because a policeman is there watching for it. I do. So, I must be rolling to avoid that little jar of a dead stop. I think the police are usually looking for those that coast through a stop sign with no intentions of a complete or near complete stop. Last time I visited Naples, Florida I couldn't believe all the coasting stops by mainly elderly folk. Stop signs were merely slow down signs. Had to do some defensive driving.

[RZehr]

There is a stop sign less than a mile both directions from our driveway, on the road I grew up on. Flat, wide open country, cars routinely blow through both at cruising speed, sometimes not even tapping the brakes. Lots of accidents. People I know killed at both.
This is a bit different I suppose than on Mountain Merle’s Possum Pathway.

[Neto]

The remark made above about police sometimes acting as a "lead vehicle" (Like at Daytona??? ) brings up this somewhat off-topic thought - ever notice how when people see a police car on the side of the road ahead of them, they automatically hit the brake, even when traffic is actually moving at a speed below the posted limit? That's guilt at work, not?

I don't think so. I will tap the brakes or cancel cruise any time I see flashing lights on the shoulder no matter my speed (unless already in a traffic jam). It's the law in our state to either slow down or move over, and it's good safety practice as well.

Just a tap on the brakes to shut down the cruise function would not result in the abrupt drop in speed I was referring to. (I generally don't turn cruise off with the brake pedal - that would be more of an emergency response for me. I just switch it off manually. But I'm talking about slowing down by around 7 - 10 MPH, and pretty abruptly.)

[Neto]

The 'dead stop' law is quite enforced in our city. No rolling stops. My dad had an cheap old car he used to go back and forth to work over a short distance with stop streets. He was ticketed for rolling stops. The brake pedal would reach the floor before the car got fully stopped. We had stoppers in our garage so he wouldn't hit the end wall. I laugh now but it really wasn't very safe for anyone.

Ever notice just how different it is when you come to a dead stop because a policeman is there watching for it. I do. So, I must be rolling to avoid that little jar of a dead stop. I think the police are usually looking for those that coast through a stop sign with no intentions of a complete or near complete stop. Last time I visited Naples, Florida I couldn't believe all the coasting stops by mainly elderly folk. Stop signs were merely slow down signs. Had to do some defensive driving.

Reminds me of the trip home from the airport after our honeymoon (1983). It was dark already, and December. I had left my 72 Dodge Coronet at the airport, and somehow, sitting that week or so, the master cylinder went out. That was a single piston master, and I had to just keep stopping to put in more brake fluid. Made it the 2 hours drive home OK, and then I rebuilt the MC the next day or so, but I did have a bad headache (from the stress) before we got safely home.
But anyway, if pumping the brake doesn't get enough braking power to actually stop, then something is REALLY wrong. (There is also always the emergency brake.)

[Aurien]

Obeying traffic laws seems to be a problem for a lot of Anabaptists. Speeding, not wearing seatbelts or not having children in carseasts, doing rollings stops. I can understand why someone who isn't Anabaptist or Christian would try to stretch the limits of traffic laws but what's our excuse? Nearly 6 million vehicle accidents occur in the U.S. each year. Why wouldn't we want to drive as safely as possible?
I do understand that sometimes going above the speed limit so as not to impede the flow of traffic is the safest thing to do. Why speed at other times though?

[Fidelio]

The 'dead stop' law is quite enforced in our city. No rolling stops.

That is a tough one with these modern, new fangled cars. A lot of cars now shut the engine off when you stop. I have seen this happen at stop signs. I think this feature will promote rolling stops.

[Mayberry]

Some interesting comments here, and from extensive travels I understand that traffic laws are often local interpretations on the part of both drivers and law enforcement. Our area is somewhat casual, with both regular drivers and law enforcement not being too up tight about the smallest details.

But I ask, what you do with this real-life experience? A friend is driving down Interstate 80 (I-80) when he is pulled over by a state police officer for impeding the flow of traffic. We were traveling the speed limit (in the right lane) and everyone else was traveling a good 10+ miles per hour over the limit. After being stopped, my friend resumed the trip, going with the flow of traffic. After he was some miles distant from the officer who pulled him over, he again slowed down to the speed limit. A second police stopped him and told him that he was impeding traffic, and if he did not maintain the speed of other traffic around him he would receive a ticket for “impeding traffic” and would be ushered off the interstate. What do we do with these instructions of law enforcement officers who supposedly represent the law in both intent and practice?

This really happened. What are your thoughts?

[silentreader]

If the goal of traffic laws is public safety, what do we make of the time that speed limits were lowered on some roads because of the "Oil Crisis"?
Or was that only a Canadian event?

[Fidelio]

Some interesting comments here, and from extensive travels I understand that traffic laws are often local interpretations on the part of both drivers and law enforcement. Our area is somewhat casual, with both regular drivers and law enforcement not being too up tight about the smallest details.

But I ask, what you do with this real-life experience? A friend is driving down Interstate 80 (I-80) when he is pulled over by a state police officer for impeding the flow of traffic. We were traveling the speed limit (in the right lane) and everyone else was traveling a good 10+ miles per hour over the limit. After being stopped, my friend resumed the trip, going with the flow of traffic. After he was some miles distant from the officer who pulled him over, he again slowed down to the speed limit. A second police stopped him and told him that he was impeding traffic, and if he did not maintain the speed of other traffic around him he would receive a ticket for “impeding traffic” and would be ushered off the interstate. What do we do with these instructions of law enforcement officers who supposedly represent the law in both intent and practice?

This really happened. What are your thoughts?

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. There is a stretch of Interstate 75 in Detroit where the limit is 55 and cars will be going 70+. Sometimes I have to get on, merge into the first of four lanes, then get to the far left for a left exit to I-96 in about 1.5 miles. You really can't wait for a break and make the exit, so you have to speed just to get across, then if you slow down in the left lane to the speed limit, they will run up your bumper and then whip around you with attitude.

Frankly, as much as I fail to drive the speed limit, mostly by inattention (which in itself, I suppose is a sin), by far the larger problem is keeping my cool when other drivers are being rude and aggressive. For example, there is a left turn where the left lane is turn only, and the next lane is straight only with a third lane for straight or right turn. Every time I get to that light, someone turns left from the second lane illegally. It is hard not to crowd them out because "they are wrong," but I think now that I have become aligned with Anabaptist teachings, maybe the way to do it is yield to them. It is not my place to correct them, right?

BTW, I always maintain that it is okay to drive up to just under 5 over on the freeway, somewhat less on surface streets. Most speedometers will read 1-2 mph high do actually if you do exactly 70 on the speedometer, you probably are doing 68 or so.