Does Anyone Drive the Speed Limit Anymore??

[spideyman]

I have about a 30 mile commute to work each day. I drive a 4 lane divided highway with a 55 MPH speed limit. I set my Prius cruise control on 55 and people blow by me like I am standing still. Big SUV's, semis, mid size sedans, small cars...etc..etc..etc. all pass me as though they are in a big hurry to get nowhere. If I drove that way, more than likely I would get pulled over and receive a ticket, but I seldom if ever see anyone pulled over. So, I am just curious, does anyone drive the speed limit anymore??

[Rae Vynn]

*raises hand* I do.
And, I did when I drove my Buick, and when I drove my Malibu, and now with my Prius. Just as many people pass me as ever!

I laugh, though, cuz I'm getting better gas mileage than the lot of them...

Besides, who really wants to get to work FASTER?

[tanglefoot]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(spideyman @ Jun 1 2007, 02:07 PM) [snapback]453470[/snapback]</div>

I have about a 30 mile commute to work each day. I drive a 4 lane divided highway with a 55 MPH speed limit. I set my Prius cruise control on 55 and people blow by me like I am standing still. Big SUV's, semis, mid size sedans, small cars...etc..etc..etc. all pass me as though they are in a big hurry to get nowhere. If I drove that way, more than likely I would get pulled over and receive a ticket, but I seldom if ever see anyone pulled over. So, I am just curious, does anyone drive the speed limit anymore??
[/b]

I do!

It is a rarity though. I wish people would slow down a little.

I was highway driving at night last week when someone flew by me. I was thinking "slow down...slow down" When I crested the next hill, they were on the shoulder with a county mounty with the disco's on behind them. I guess they didn't pick up on my telepathy.

[Rae Vynn]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tanglefoot @ Jun 1 2007, 01:10 PM) [snapback]453476[/snapback]</div>

I do!

It is a rarity though. I wish people would slow down a little.

I was highway driving at night last week when someone fly by me. I was thinking "slow down...slow down" When I crested the next hill, they were on the shoulder with a county mounty with the disco's on behind them. I guess they didn't pick up on my telepathy.
[/b]

Yay! *cue theme song* Another one bites the dust....

Those speeders do make it hazardous out there. I feel very little sympathy for them when they do get caught.

[Danny]

You're on PriusChat - most of us have changed our bat out of hell driving habits for the sake of higher mpg.

Except for tag - he was pulled over the first night he had his Prius while taking it home.

[thebrattygurl]

I hear using Cruise Control on the Prius reduces the MPG. You may want to research it though, as it was Prius Chat hearsay.

I also drive the speed limit, although it's 70 mph on the highway I use to go to work. Most importantly, I avoid getting behind big trucks, so my car hood doesn't get damaged.

It's amazing how much road rage I see daily. Drivers use the right lane to speed past other cars, they cut other people off, get into car fights...heck...one car even stalked a guy down and killed him!

I know this happens in cities all of the time, but I live in Arkansas!

[Swanny1172]

I don't, at least not on the highway. There is just no reason for a 55MPH or even 65MPH speed limit on controlled access highways. I do obey them in town and especially in neighborhoods.

What really bothers me is people who do drive the speed limit in the passing lane. It seems like some folks are self-appointed traffic monitors and think by driving the speed limit in the passing lane that they will slow everyone else down. Do us all a favor and leave that job to the police. All you are doing is causing people to pass on the right which is much more dangerous.

[thebrattygurl]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ Jun 1 2007, 03:19 PM) [snapback]453487[/snapback]</div>

I don't, at least not on the highway. There is just no reason for a 55MPH or even 65MPH speed limit on controlled access highways. I do obey them in town and especially in neighborhoods.

What really bothers me is people who do drive the speed limit in the passing lane. It seems like some folks are self-appointed traffic monitors and think by driving the speed limit in the passing lane that they will slow everyone else down. Do us all a favor and leave that job to the police. All you are doing is causing people to pass on the right which is much more dangerous.
[/b]

That drives me nuts! The left lane is intended to be a passing, not traveling lane. ARGH!

[Swanny1172]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rae Vynn @ Jun 1 2007, 04:12 PM) [snapback]453480[/snapback]</div>

Yay! *cue theme song* Another one bites the dust....

Those speeders do make it hazardous out there. I feel very little sympathy for them when they do get caught.
[/b]

Wrong.

Several studies have shown that slower drivers cause more accidents than do speeders. A comprehensive review of accident studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that fast drivers had fewer accidents than slower drivers. On a freeway, the safest speed found was 10 mph over the average traffic speed. That's over the speed of the traffic, not over the speed limit. Traffic speed is already aver the limit, and maximum safety occurs faster than that. Why? Accidents happen to people who drive their cars into something. Those people who are good at driving, drive fast. Those who are poor drivers, drunk, drugged, inexperienced, drowsy, slow-witted, nervous, scared, or otherwise impaired, drive slower. Their slowness does not save them. The slow drivers have about 10 times the accident rate of the fast ones.

"The accident involvement rates on streets and highways in urban areas was highest for the slowest 5 percent of traffic, lowest for traffic in the 30 to 95 percentile range and increased for the fastest 5 percent of traffic."
Samuel C. Tignor and Davey Warren. "Driver Speed Behavior on U.S. Streets and Highways." Institute of Transportation Engineers: 1990 Compendium of Technical Papers, 1990 August, p. 85.

[Danny Hamilton]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ Jun 1 2007, 03:25 PM) [snapback]453496[/snapback]</div>

Wrong.

. . . .

Those people who are good at driving, drive fast. Those who are poor drivers, drunk, drugged, inexperienced, drowsy, slow-witted, nervous, scared, or otherwise impaired, drive slower.

. . . .

"The accident involvement rates on streets and highways in urban areas was highest for the slowest 5 percent of traffic, lowest for traffic in the 30 to 95 percentile range and increased for the fastest 5 percent of traffic."
Samuel C. Tignor and Davey Warren. "Driver Speed Behavior on U.S. Streets and Highways." Institute of Transportation Engineers: 1990 Compendium of Technical Papers, 1990 August, p. 85.
[/b]

Help me understand this. Are you saying that if the "good" drivers drove slower they'd get in more accidents? Or are you saying that if the "poor drivers, drunk, drugged, inexperienced, drowsy, slow-witted, nervous, scared, or otherwise impaired" drivers drover faster they'd get in less accidents?

I'd agree that driving drunk, drugged, drowsy, or otherwise impaired would cause more accidents regardless of the speed, what I'm curious about is if having more reaction time available, a faster stopping time, a shorter stopping distance, and a smaller turning radius (all effects of driving slower) would make a good driver even safer?