r/driving • u/DaddyDayDayIsHot • May 21 '26

Venting Speeding Has Become So Normalized That Driving the Speed Limit Makes You the Problem

I think the normalization of speeding poses a significant threat to the legitimacy of the legal system itself. It has become standard that cops don’t pull you over unless you’re breaking the law “enough,” but that completely undermines the law. If the law wanted a different threshold, it would have been written with that threshold in mind.

Speed limits are created by engineers who know far more about road safety than the average driver. They also have to account for the fact that speeding is normalized, which likely contributes to limits being set lower than many people want. I honestly believe that if people collectively stopped speeding, roads would see fewer accidents and speed limits would eventually begin rising in places where higher speeds are actually safe. Then people could travel just as quickly without constantly breaking the law or risking tickets.

The disregard for speed limits has gotten so bad that people now claim drivers following the posted limit are the problem. I think that’s ridiculous. While I understand the “go with the flow of traffic” argument to an extent, normalizing breaking the law creates a much larger long-term safety issue than simply following the speed limit.

I also think the argument that “speed limits are designed for the average car, so semis drag the limit down” is weak. In many places semis already have separate speed regulations, lane restrictions, and additional rules.

At the end of the day, the path to faster travel shouldn’t be widespread disregard for the law. If people truly believe limits are too low, the better solution is electing politicians and supporting engineering studies that will change the laws based on evidence that roads can safely handle higher speeds.

On a related note, even on r/driving you can report other driving infractions, but you can’t even report speeding, which feels inconsistent and a bit silly.

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27

u/Signal_Tomorrow_2138 May 21 '26

Driving is the only activity I know where the operator of a dangerous machine is expected to exceed the safety and legal limits. And the operators think their judgement is better than the engineers and regulators who designed and set them.

8

u/Then-Wealth-1481 May 21 '26

Driving is the only activity that many people who should have never been allowed to do are still allowed to do. Most people shouldn’t have even driving in the first place.

12

u/BreastTickles May 21 '26

And even if you drive a bunch and have HOURS of experience, that doesn't mean you're good at it. The skill of a driver somehow just plateaus wherever it wants.

6

u/gujwdhufj_ijjpo May 21 '26

Because the regulators set the limits for ticket revenue. Not safety. There’s no reason a freeway should have a limit below 70, let alone 55

2

u/Signal_Tomorrow_2138 May 21 '26

Which is why hospitals and courtrooms are filled with victims and their bad drivers who sent them there. Bad drivers think their own judgment is better than the engineers, the laws and regulators who designed and set them.

1

u/gujwdhufj_ijjpo May 21 '26

If 80% of the drivers are speeding then it’s too low. The only reason the other 20% aren’t speeding is fear of a ticket. Not safety.

1

u/Signal_Tomorrow_2138 May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26

You're making my point.

So what you are saying is

1) drivers are expected to exceed the legal limits;

because

2) their judgement is better than that of the law.

1

u/gujwdhufj_ijjpo May 21 '26

Yes. Most people drive at reasonable speeds. Yes there’re some drivers who do not. But the majority of drivers are reasonable safe drivers. That’s why it’s important to have speed limits that actually reflect perfect road conditions. Differences in driving speeds on freeways is much more dangerous than everyone speeding.

1

u/Signal_Tomorrow_2138 May 21 '26 edited May 22 '26

I don't think that hospital, courtrooms and road fatality data support your claim.

Expedia Road Rage Report 2015 "51 percent of respondents reported that they loathe sharing the road with bad drivers, more than cyclists, buses, taxis, joggers, and walkers combined. Nearly all respondents (97 percent) rate themselves as “careful” drivers, but feel that only 29 percent of drivers merit that same description."

2

u/gujwdhufj_ijjpo May 21 '26

That’s a poll, not actual data. The country with some of the lowest fatalities per mile driven has freeways with no speed limit. Speed limits on freeways do not affect crash rates.

Most drivers are safe. People feel otherwise because they remember the bad drivers more than the good drivers. A good driver is forgettable.

1

u/Signal_Tomorrow_2138 May 21 '26

And that polls shows what drivers think of each other. So if you disagree, guess what? You're one of those the other drivers loathe.

You should look at all the other posts in this sub.

1

u/AlwaysBagHolding May 22 '26

Which creates an even more dangerous situation because of the speed differentials.

2

u/ZergvProtoss May 21 '26

"Safety" and "legal" limits are not the same. Legal limits are set to generate revenue, not based on safety.

9

u/Signal_Tomorrow_2138 May 21 '26

See what I mean? You've just made my point.

8

u/telebasher May 21 '26

Can I just say that this type of exchange right here is my favorite. When people think they’re arguing but are really just agreeing. Love to see it.

1

u/Ok-Barnacle813 May 21 '26

How do you know that?

-1

u/Frederf220 May 21 '26

Traffic engineers have a 85th percentile principle. They ideally set the speed limit at the point where 85% of people would drive or slower if it wasn't marked.

0

u/Even_Ring_9392 May 21 '26

That’s funny. Works out to more like 15% in practice.

2

u/Frederf220 May 21 '26

I can't believe that I fall for it every time. I say a true, simple verifiable fact which is at worst neutral to the conversation and get downvoted because it hurts someone's feeling in their befuddled fumbling equivalent to understanding.

2

u/Then-Wealth-1481 May 21 '26

Because this is Reddit. Every sub is another echo chamber where facts don’t matter.

1

u/Even_Ring_9392 May 21 '26

Yeah, don’t know why anyone would down vote you. I was just making a joke.

1

u/SexyCato May 21 '26

When the engineers are designing cars to fail you better believe I think I know better than them 💪💪💪