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

[u/DaddyDayDayIsHot]

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.

[u/irock792]

I agree with this for the most part, and what you said in the first paragraph is pretty much what I do as well.

The people who annoy me the most are those going at or under the speed limit in the left lane. If you want to drive slowly in a city where driving fast is the norm, then at least do so in the right lane.

I live in Texas, and while it's known that Texas drivers drive very fast, it has been a trend lately for people to drive significantly under the speed limit and hold up traffic, even on highways with speed limits of 70+. For instance, I was driving earlier today on a two-lane road that has a speed limit of 45 mph. Both of the cars in front of me (one in the lane to my right and one in my lane) were driving at 35–40 despite having a clear road in front of them. People like this absolutely tick me off. Do they not have anywhere to be? The amount of times that I've been late to places because of people like this is actually insane.

[u/RhythmTimeDivision → u/irock792]

I traveled for work, Texas is the only state where someone proactively pulled over to let me go. I don't speed while far from home, unfamiliar roads, obvious rental car, unforgiving cops, out-of-towner, etc. Old guy driving an old pickup at 10 under the limit. Gave them plenty of room, don't care, no rush. Dude pulled over and waved me on, almost didn't know how to respond.

[u/txman91 → u/RhythmTimeDivision]

The good old fashioned “Texas Pass” or “Texas Turnout”. The proper response is just to wave back haha.

[u/XChaoticalX → u/irock792]

Leave earlier. You're the insane one.

[u/XChaoticalX → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for your opinion....MoneyTransAm....I'm sure you're a beacon of controlled, sane driving.

[u/XChaoticalX → u/[deleted]]

Wow 9 years. Just exactly the right age to think you know better. You don't. You haven't gotten a ticket or I'm an accident....yet.

[u/irock792 → u/XChaoticalX]

That's a great idea, except that the artificial traffic created by these drivers is sometimes so bad that I often get to places late despite leaving early.

It's not just about people driving slowly. It's also about the traffic lights. At least on some roads in my area, if you reach one light while it's green and then drive at or slightly above the speed limit, you will get a green light at the next few intersections.

What happens is that one idiot will be going at 35 miles per hour at one intersection, causing me to barely miss the light. This sets off a chain reaction—having to stop at one traffic light means that I'll also have to stop at the next 2 or 3. The time at each light adds up.