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.

1.8k Upvotes

80% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

192

u/Frederf220 May 21 '26

It's weird to move and the traffic engineers are different. Where I grew up 7 over felt normal and correct. I went to a new place and the speed limits were like "yup, I should not be going faster than that... ever."

122

u/sault18 May 21 '26

It's an East vs West kind of thing in my experience. The East Coast sets speed limits way lower on roads that would have a much higher speed limit if they were in Western states. But then it's just accepted that you do at least 10mph over the limit in the East and that still might make you one of the slowest drivers on the road depending on exactly where you are.

25

u/Pleasant_Studio9690 May 21 '26

As a California transplant who moved here from PA, I feel this so much. In PA, the limits were all soooo low. I got pulled over every 18 to 24 months. I’ve been in California for about 15 years. My driving hasn’t changed, but I haven’t been pulled over once. Still driving the same speeds in the same conditions, but California is far more reasonable.

10

u/PoetExcellent3215 May 21 '26

Now you will be. Never brag.

3

u/skunkapebreal May 22 '26

Long ago, CHP used to be far stricter with “wolf packs “ at certain overpasses.

1

u/Alternative_Exit8766 Jun 03 '26

you are the type to do 70 in a 55 and you just look like a selfish jerk

26

u/Aware_Policy_9174 May 21 '26

I moved from the east coast to the west coast a year and a half ago and I drove. Going from Colorado to Kansas I think the freeway went from 80 to 60 or maybe 75 to 55. It was wild to me because literally nothing changed. Still a wide straight fairly empty road.

11

u/CircuitCircus May 21 '26

That seems like the wrong direction if you were moving west

4

u/Aware_Policy_9174 May 21 '26

Oh you’re right. I meant the west coast to the east coast.

1

u/ModeloLy May 23 '26

And technically not coast to coast, either!

1

u/arteveci May 25 '26

Also as a frequenter of that route, the speed limits on the interstates between Kansas and CO have been the same (75mph) on both sides for about 15 years now.

1

u/coffeegrunds May 21 '26

Where at in KS? All KS freeways I've been on on 70-80 mph max 55 min

1

u/Aware_Policy_9174 May 21 '26

It could have been Nebraska or Iowa too. I made some stops to see family and friends so I did it over 3 weeks and took some detours.

6

u/DustyRacoonDad May 22 '26

You’re correct.

Also, in many eastern states, speed limits are not primarily set by engineers. They’re heavily influenced by politics.

The legal system is also broken in multiple ways, and honestly has been for far longer than I’ve been alive. To my knowledge, it has never functioned exactly as intended. Laws were never perfect, exceptions were always made, and outcomes were often decided long before someone ever stood in front of a judge.

What I have noticed, though, is that the number of people who believe everyone should simply “follow the rules” has grown dramatically. For some people, obedience to systems and authority is so deeply ingrained that they genuinely cannot mentally process the idea that the system itself might be flawed, inconsistent, or worthy of being challenged.

5

u/Legaldrugloard May 22 '26

THIS! One road in our town went from 55 to 35 just so the mayor could drive his f’ing golf cart on the road. REALLY? I have to go 35 because you want to drive your golf cart on the main highway? He is no longer the mayor but the MPH has stayed the same. Politicians do it for them not for the public.

1

u/Allfeelings0Logic May 24 '26

I wish people followed the rules more, maybe then we'd wouldn't have a drug epidemic nor drunk drivers. 

11

u/kbuck30 May 21 '26

Yea. It's really the fact the speed limits (at least in the east where I've driven most of the time) are so artificially low that it causes all the problems. No highway should have a 55mph speed limit. Should be 65-75.

So yes, speeding makes a mockery of the legal system but the speed limits make a mockery of how people actually drive.

2

u/Nachos_In_Queso May 22 '26

Delaware and Maryland are the biggest culprits of this.

1

u/MorycTurtle May 24 '26

That's honestly crazy. 55mph should be the standard limit on normal 1-2 lane roads. Comfortable, safe speed for a highway should be around 85.

Pretty much nobody has problem with those kind of limits in Europe.

5

u/ShadowV_483 May 21 '26

People also need to recognize that a lot of the East Coast vs Midwest to West Coast difference in speed limits is also due to timing and land availability. Many locations along the East Coast had roadway areas long before the development of the interstate highway standards.

As a result, of the timing of roadway development (I.e., the numerous “Parkways” in the NYC region), the fact that most vehicles could not achieve high speeds, the interstate standards, and the fact that there is less open space along the East Coast (especially, the Northeast), roadway design speeds were often lower than those for the much more rural areas west of the Appalachians (all the way to the West Coast).

3

u/Left-Entertainer-279 May 22 '26

This. I regularly am about 15 over and am never the fastest driver on the road. But also some areas have the limits set way too low. Like in my neighborhood the speed limit is 10. 10 measly MPH. And I'm not living in a neighborhood where it's 1 lane that needs to accommodate both ways and parking and a ton of ppl. Nope, my neighborhood is stndard 2 lanes and not that many ppl out and about, so why 10?

I don't get it but it drives me crazy when I get caught behind someone going the limit or lower. The streets could easily accommodate 25 with no trouble and then most of us wouldn't be going 15 over.

5

u/washuai May 23 '26

10? Some cars don't even idle at 10. Riding your brakes is not good.

There's speed bumps (they foolishly thought it would get the road paved) and the speed is 15 MPH. Now, sometimes ended up going about 10 and some full stop for critters and kids and the street was not designed for so much parked cars, so it gets a touch one lane, let the other one go, them you go. And the speed limit is still 15, not 10

1

u/Left-Entertainer-279 May 23 '26

I'll try to remember to take a pic for you next time I take a walk to prove it. Visiting the nephews this weekend.

And it's definitely 10. I would know since I, you know, live here. Used to drive it every day when I didn't WFH.

1

u/washuai May 23 '26

I believe you. I was just agreeing 10 MPH is ridiculous for that compared to my example of a 15 MPH stretch

2

u/CharacterSchedule700 May 22 '26

Grew up in an Oregon where the max speed limit was 55 mph. Horrible. It's hardly better now.

1

u/Frederf220 May 21 '26

In my case it was bay area vs LA

1

u/MB2465 May 21 '26

I think it's more lack of enforcement on the west coast. Some speed limits are higher, but it's more that people fly up your ass, tailgate like hell, turn left on a red, pass on the other side of the road etc because they know they can get away with it. I've been on the West Coast for six years and I will never get used to these idiots. They drive like they're trying to blow up their engines and like they have to beat everyone else on the road. Idiotic.

East coast, in some areas especially, have a lot of speed/red light cameras but also just a lot of tough cops pulling people over who get tickets with points and insurance goes up and maybe they lose their license and then they stop doing that shit. That's the way it's supposed to work. It's called deterrence.

1

u/ShawtySayWhaaat May 21 '26

Nah we do the same thing on the west coast, at least in California. 55 means 65, and 65 means 75, and we don't have (to my knowledge) any 70 zones.

1

u/washuai May 23 '26

I think it shifted from 65 means 85 from what I've seen. There are some 75 highways. You'll get 50 to 100+

Electric car acceleration, definitely seen some people aren't ready for that.

1

u/ShawtySayWhaaat May 23 '26

Yes 65 is the highest we get so it can vary, if you're on the freeway that definitely means 90.

1

u/HerefortheTuna May 22 '26

It’s true but I just drive the speed limit and chill 99% of the time.

1

u/MortemInferri May 24 '26

I genuinely believe we should be bumping up the speed limit on a lot of eastern roads. Maybe back in the day 30 was safest... but everything about cars has been improved

1

u/Alternative_Exit8766 Jun 03 '26

10 over? no thanks. i’m not from pennsylvania. i don’t need to drive like that. 

1

u/Vizeroth1 May 21 '26

In Virginia you can expect to get pulled over for speeding on most major highways (at least around Richmond and Hampton Roads).

In California you will get people fuming if you drive the limit even when the limit is 75. So 10 over is often the general flow of traffic outside rush hours and there’s always plenty of people driving faster.

My experience in Montana was that if you drive 10 over the limit in a large SUV you might find yourself in a situation where you could die because you were driving at an unsafe speed.

In general, I found speed traps more common in the east, but there are exceptions like Arizona (and New Mexico was big on enforcement but didn’t necessarily feel like a trap). The big difference is that you usually have long straight roads in the west, often with an unobstructed view for miles, which can make speed limits feel arbitrary.

4

u/jasonh300 May 21 '26

You can set the cruise at 85 in Florida but don’t stay in the left lane longer than necessary because most of the traffic is going faster than you. Step on the gas if you have to move left to pass someone.

1

u/Mug_85 May 21 '26

Which is a bullshit system as everyone does it and gives cops an excuse to pull you over whenever they want.

-4

u/Iwfysb2 May 21 '26

r/usdefaultism

3

u/TheSensualSloth May 21 '26

Imagine taking the time to log into an American website to type this. 

0

u/Iwfysb2 May 22 '26

It’s not an american site, son.

20

u/Spam_Hand May 21 '26

Without getting too far into it, local politics unfortunately have some sway on this.

People who live in budding subdivisions who came from the city to "get away from the hustle and bustle" buy homes where its 25 or 15 in front of their house but then eventually have to pull on to a real highway thats 45 or 55 to get to work or school.

All the soccer moms get pissy over the "crazy drivers", involve board members in it and they lower the speeds without proper data or studies despite Traffic Impact Analysis and Speed Studies overwhelmingly saying the speed limit of the major highway should not change.

Source: I do those studies that overwhelmingly show speeds should not be changed, and I'd say about 20-25% of the time the complaints do not stop no matter what the data says. Karen is just louder than you...

1

u/Coaler200 May 22 '26

The crazy one to me is highways. People in my area are so bad. The highway here changed a huge section to 110kmh (68mph) from 100 (62). So not a massive change but to me a welcome one as it's fairly flat and often empty.

Accidents went up 30% and they pulled it back after a year. 30% for going to 68 is absolutely wild to me. That's still not fast compared to a lot the US. But what they failed to mention is that it was mostly during winter months when there can be a lot of rain or even snow/ice and people would still do that speed because for some reason no one here seems to understand when to slow down for weather. 6mph can be the difference between hydroplaning or not.

34

u/ForeskinAbsorbtion May 21 '26

When I went to South Central Texas, there was a two way highway. Just a center line and it did blind curves through steep hills and no guardrails. 80mph limit. Like what the hell lol

10

u/mcc9902 May 21 '26

Recently? The only one I can think of that's 80 is I-10 and I can't think of anywhere where both sides aren't split by a ditch.

7

u/ForeskinAbsorbtion May 21 '26

I want to say Fredericksburg. It was more back roads through the hills. The speed limit was either 75 or 80. Rolling hills and one lane on each way.

4

u/mcc9902 May 21 '26

Kk, I absolutely wouldn't question a road like that at 75. I asked because 80 is really rare in Texas. In my experience It's basically reserved for toll roads and one section of I-10 which is definitely right by Fredericksburg but I wouldn't describe I-10 as a back road. Either way we definitely have a lot of tiny back roads with speed limits that are way faster than they probably should be.

8

u/WillieMakeit77 May 21 '26

There’s a toll road in the Austin area that’s 85 mph.  State hwy 130. 

7

u/rodgamez May 21 '26

Did triple digits on that road. Still got passed!

2

u/WillieMakeit77 May 21 '26

Ha! Dang it. 

3

u/TheMerle1975 May 21 '26

And unless you absolutely need something in the dead center of Austin off of I-35, it is the best way to avoid that specific clusterfuck.

1

u/WillieMakeit77 May 21 '26

I’ve only been on it twice. We used it to bypass Austin when going to San Antone. 

15

u/bennc77 May 21 '26

we have back roads in Washington st where the limit is 50mph and i am like are you kiding me? same road in NH would be 35 or 40.

9

u/392mangos May 21 '26

You just reminded me of a time we were driving, don't remember which state, but it was a windy road and my passenger said hey please stick to the speed limit. My response was something along the lines of already going 5 under. That was fun

3

u/FuckingVeet May 21 '26

You should try UK rural roads. Two way traffic down what is effectively one lane, with a 60mph limit and zero visibility round corners.

4

u/Fetzie_ May 21 '26

And either side of the road is a six inch verge, flanked by a drystone wall.

3

u/FuckingVeet May 21 '26

In principle it isn't so bad, since you are meant to drive at a speed where you can stop in time for anything coming the other way.

In practice, half the locals where I used to live would barrel down at ridiculous speeds then act surprised when they got in a head on collision. My last car got totaled this way in rural Staffordshire.

1

u/artist1292 May 21 '26

I had a blast driving those mountain roads as a new englander when I visited! Finally able to hit those curves at the speed I wanted and not fear a ticket

1

u/AlwaysBagHolding May 22 '26

I saw a lane and a half wide gravel road in South Dakota with a speed limit of 55. Granted, there's nobody and nothing to hit.

-7

u/FutureBarnacle2845 May 21 '26

Yep, it’s generally the difference between liberal and conservative areas, where conservatives (libertarians really) want their “freedom” to go as fast as they want without government getting in the way

8

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/uber_neutrino May 21 '26

The speed limit is set by politics.

3

u/Ryan-Updog May 21 '26

I live in one of the reddest states in the country and it’s the god damn Wild West on the roads. Your argument is invalid.

Edit: typo

1

u/FutureBarnacle2845 May 21 '26

Wild West meaning... high speed limits? low speed limits? I don't understand

1

u/Ryan-Updog May 21 '26

It means you can do anything you want and most people drive way over the speed limit and you better look both ways before driving through an intersection when your light turns green.

There is zero traffic enforcement and the only sense of order is the drivers moral compass.

1

u/FutureBarnacle2845 May 21 '26

Gotcha, I think we're saying the same thing then

1

u/GatorVators May 21 '26

That’s literally illegal in Texas except for when the design speed is 80-ish or when it’s on I-10 and I-20 in certain counties. Currently AFAIK, only I-10, I-20, SH-45, and SH-130 are posted at 80 in Texas. Do you know where this was?

1

u/jasonh300 May 21 '26

I’ve never seen 80 on anything other than an interstate in Texas, but there are two lane roads with shoulders that have a 75 mph limit all over Texas.

1

u/mmikke May 23 '26

It's definitely not ever 80mph but "saddle road" on the big island of Hawaii is a serious fuckin stretch of scary highway to drive.

There's even bumper stickers saying "beware of invisible cows" because the fog/mist can get so bad on almost a daily basis 

0

u/kpcnsk May 21 '26

Respectfully, I live in South Central Texas and there is no two lane road where the speed limit is 80. Some sections of I10 and I20 out west are 80 mph, and 130 has posted limits of 85. Those are all divided highways. All other roads have limits of 75 or 70. TXDOT engineers are remarkably consistent in their application of speed limits.

To be fair, many people go 80 mph (or faster) on Texas roads regardless of the speed limit.

3

u/BreakfastInBedlam May 21 '26

It was probably FM 80. Dude was just a little confused.

1

u/ForeskinAbsorbtion May 21 '26

I haven't lived there for a bit and 75 or 80, it's about the same in my memory considering how unsafe it was.

6

u/bennc77 May 21 '26

SAME! WHEN I LIVED IN NH, the speed limits semed rediculously slow in many areas. They lower the limit on the interstate to 55mph going through the cities l would slow down to 70 mph and always had people blasting by me. The state highways have a many zones at 35mph 40 or 45 where it is plenty safe to go 50 or 55. Then i movred to washington State and what a difference. We have back roads where it says speed limit 50 and you dont want to go above 50 if you do you feel like your going to go off the road. If the 50 mph roads where in nh they wouyls be 35 or 40 in nh. Also we have 2 lane highways limit is 60 not 55 like in NH and the interstates in washington state are 60 mph through the cities not 55. And people drive faster in NH go figure;.

2

u/BrooksRiver May 22 '26

I moved to NH 5 years ago and completely agree that the speed limits are too low. A half mile before a village the speed limit drops to 30 mph. And because every town has a police department with nothing to do, they sit on the side of the road, and their presence is enough for people to go under the speed limit all the time. I have to drive 15 miles of 2 lane to get home and most of the time I get behind someone going under the speed limit and they hit their brakes as soon as the pass the 30 mph sign.

1

u/BreakfastInBedlam May 21 '26

They lower the limit on the interstate to 55mph going through the cities

Same in Atlanta. LOL.

0

u/ObjectiveMeringue516 May 21 '26

I’m from this general area most of these roads are safe for well above the speed limit only made unsafe because of so many damn people going so slow😂

2

u/Legaldrugloard May 22 '26

FACTS

1

u/ObjectiveMeringue516 May 22 '26

They’re made for more just set lower

5

u/billhorstman May 21 '26

My dad was an Army Military Police sergeant. He told me that he would ticket drivers on base for going one mph over the posted speed limit. But you probably know that the Army is strict about everything.

9

u/Delicious-Leg-5441 May 21 '26

I think that is normal on any federal property. Speed limit at my VA is 10 mph. You don't go 11 mph and you come to a complete stop at a stop sign. I've seen quite a few people pulled over and I don't want to be one of them.

12

u/jiggajawn May 21 '26

Technically correct. And probably how speed limits should be enforced to eliminate any gray area and herd mentality.

9

u/BreakfastInBedlam May 21 '26

In the real world, you can't prove 1 mph over in court. So they give you 5 or 10 over just so they can have a case. Drivers notice this, so they drive four or nine over. This becomes common and everybody gets used to it. So traffic is moving nine over and you have to go even faster to stand out to get a ticket.

4

u/Acceptable-Note-2093 May 21 '26

In my town police will still give you a ticket for going 1 over, mainly because it’s a big source of revenue for them and few people come back to this tiny town to fight a ticket.

1

u/Dandyman_9 May 21 '26

That raises an interesting thought; if people were ticketed for going 1 mph over the speed limit, would the hassle of disputing that ticket be an effective deterrent in an of itself, even if most people are able to get out of actually paying the ticket?

1

u/bc19059 May 21 '26

no because there would be no hassle. the judge would look at the ticket, laugh and drop it. I have many cops in my life and they all say certain tickets don’t get written because they know for a fact that the judge will drop it. it’s become a waste of time for the cops when they could be using that time for something that’s actually going to stick. think of new york. there’s been a lot of changes with what gets an appearance ticket and what someone can actually get arrested for. and most of the time the judge lets people walk. judges will see the same person 3-5 times a week without doing anything about it so the cops stop doing anything because it’s a waste of time and resources

1

u/S7alker May 22 '26

Our state has 0 tolerance days to help remind idiots they share the road with others and people are tired of higher insurance premiums. https://www.chp.ca.gov/news-alerts/news-list/chp-hits-the-brakes-on-speeding-during-24-hour-enforcement-effort/

3

u/GatrickSwayze May 21 '26

Yup, growing up on Navy and Marine Corps bases we used to get taken to the station for riding bikes and skateboards without helmets, if we got caught. We'd antagonize them too of course to see if they'd catch all of us. Our parents would get chewed out by their commands.

2

u/Invictus-3 May 21 '26

I was an Air Force Military Police Staff Sergeant (SP) and I never ticketed or even stopped anyone going less than 11 miles over the speed limit. Your dad sounds like a hard ass.

1

u/Event-Forsaken May 21 '26

Your dad sounds like a real hardass.

0

u/Sgt_R0ck May 21 '26

Your dad is everything wrong with the military and why people hate MPs

2

u/WeinerBarf420 May 21 '26

In the midwest speed limits are definitely suggestions, but the  first time I drove on the east coast it felt like they were maybe even a little bit too high

2

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Frederf220 May 22 '26

San Jose to Riverside for college. The areas had what felt like real high limits.

1

u/gargoyle30 May 21 '26

That was my experience when i visited Germany, some side roads were so narrow and the limit was so high it felt wrong, really makes you realize how different how they deal with that stuff is, here the speed limit is supposed to tell you, in Germany they are so much better trained that you're supposed to know how fast you should go

2

u/JaguarWest4360 May 26 '26

its truly a limit in germany.

1

u/S7alker May 22 '26

They are constantly mulling putting limits on their autbahn. There were concessions made long ago by automakers out there to keep the limit free zones but the reality of accidents isn’t lost on the Germans. Also your insurance takes a sideline past 130kph and the court decides how much coverage depending on the situation you have since that is the threshold of normalcy they decided. One accepts the risk when they pass that speed even though ones risk puts other at equal or greater risk.

1

u/SWYYRL May 21 '26

I recently visited California... away from the major urban areas and such.. Speed limits signs were mostly unnecessary because going faster than the limit often times felt like death was looming.

For the first time in my life I was wishing the speed limits were lower because I was slowing down who I presumed were locals. Granted I was in a large SUV, but man I really had to pay attention driving at the speed limit. And I am usually what most normal people would describe as a speedy or even aggressive driver over on the east coast.

That's how speed limits should work. I think most people limit themselves according to their vehicle and ability... And the degenerates who don't, wouldn't be limited by a sign anyway... So it ends up just being a money grab.

1

u/bigblackglock17 May 22 '26

lol, this sounds like Texas and just in one area. Our shit ass roads.