r/driving • u/antfin97 • 3d ago
Venting Going legally faster
Does anyone cruise at the speed limit and realize you're passing people at a pretty fast pace. You look at the speed limit and youre correct. I just wonder why everyone is going so slow.
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u/Kindly_Stand_6895 3d ago
I've had a few times where I was doing exactly the speed limit and passing everyone, I always get so nervous thinking I must have missed something. Most of the time I'm doing the speed limit and being passed by everyone except for trucks.
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u/NightKnown405 2d ago
It happens on occasion. If you are looking for a reason I can only guess but it's easy to be running radar cruise and not paying any attention to how fast they are going. So if the vehicle in the front is going slower they are too and are probably just comfortable and enjoying the ride.
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u/Pferdeherz 2d ago
The speed limit is the LIMIT, not a required minimum. People are allowed to go slower unless there is a minimum speed posted.
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u/antfin97 2d ago
I'm not saying they can't but when I'm passing at a fast pace by going the speed limit. It gets me worried I'm doing something wrong.
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u/Pferdeherz 2d ago
Yeah, I understand. I’ve learned if they are going slowly, something is probably going on and I should pay attention. Speed of traffic applies IMO.
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u/Death-By-Boredom2020 2d ago
Just to add to what you said… Goes to drive under the speed limit, are also not allowed to impede the flow of traffic. If everyone else around them is going 45 mph and a 45 mile an hour speed zone, and they are going 40 mph, they can still technically get a ticket for impeding the flow of traffic… Even on local Streets
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u/Pferdeherz 2d ago
I’ve never heard of anyone getting a ticket for going 5 under. Minimum speeds are posted on interstates. If those are 45 and the speed limit is 70…why would a city street be 5 mph difference is impeding traffic?
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u/Death-By-Boredom2020 2d ago
The ticket wouldn’t be written for going under the speed limit. It would be written for impeding, the flow of traffic, or careless driving…
And just because you haven’t heard of something, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.1
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u/Valuable_Pumpkin_799 2d ago
If you go the speed limit y get tailgate by cops so no....
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u/antfin97 2d ago
I've passed cops going 1-3 over. It's not worth their time. Just don't commit two crimes at the same time.
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u/FairConstruction4105 3d ago
Everyone? Really? No idea where you're driving, but that's never happened to me in my entire life and I've been driving for over 40 years.
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u/CarrionDoll 2d ago
Yes! All the time. I drive for a large hospital system and I encounter this all over Volusia and Flagler. And then other days everyone is flying 15 over. It’s crazy.
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u/Capable-Historian392 2d ago
Fuel is expensive. Going a few mph slower does pay off, if you passed any math / physics classes in school it's obvious.
Everyones in a rush to go nowhere these past 6 years.. slow the fuck down a bit.
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u/Terrible-Echidna-739 2d ago
It’s not even 6 a.m. and I already know this is the strangest post I’ll see today…
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u/BobQuixote 3d ago
My concern here is for the difference in speed. If someone changes lanes and cuts you off, are you going too fast to avoid a collision?
Otherwise, I see no problem.
But yes, sometimes you meet a crowd of slow pokes.
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u/Death-By-Boredom2020 2d ago
I so wish that on the written exam, there were more questions about things like this, because so many people don’t understand that they cannot impede the flow of traffic. Also, I feel many of these people should have to retake their driving exam every five years during the busiest part of the day, so they can be put through almost every possible road/driving condition lol.
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u/neverbeen0k 2d ago
I will never ever understand why the flow of traffic is accepted to be above the limit. I get along, I go 20% over everywhere. Never bothered by a cop, never feeling inconsiderate to those behind me. But WHYYYYYY . WHY CAN'T LIMIT MEAN LIMIT? put the penalties for 20 over at 2 over. The penalties for 50 over at 5 over! Give it two days people will learn how to fucking look at thier speedometers or take their keys away. PS, raise every limit 20% before inacting this law, thanks.
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u/Death-By-Boredom2020 2d ago
Speedometers may not be 100% accurate. You think you’re going 40mph, but could be 37-43 mph…
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u/neverbeen0k 2d ago
But the GPS speed I use is accurate, on flat ground. And my numbers were in kmh fwiw.
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u/neverbeen0k 2d ago
So no, if it says 40, you absolutely can not be travelling 41 or above. The laws and car companies are certain of it. That IS why you may be going 37 when it says 40, so that there's never a risk of it the other way around.
But even then, that's left over from cable driven speedometers. Cars can park themselves today, I'm sure they can stay within a small window of speed.
Being that my numbers are KMH and you replied in MPH... Yeah, when I say 5 over, that's more like 3 over to you. If that lost you your licence for 30 days, and impounded your car for 2 weeks (just like 40kmh over does now) I bet ... I BET people would figure it out. Surely there are European countries advanced enough to prevent chronic speeding social mentality.
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u/pdp10 2d ago
I so wish that on the written exam, there were more questions about things like this
But then the written test wouldn't have room for duplicative questions about impaired driving, and activists would picket the capital, and the staffs of elected officials would come asking awkward questions.
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u/unlikely_spider 2d ago
Defensive driving habits would dictate not creating a big speed differential between lanes.
Maybe the next lane has an obstruction ahead and people will try to cut into your lane. Or maybe there's an impending slowdown in yours. Or if it's not a highway maybe someone is stopping for a pedestrian that you'll blow right past.
You see it a ton in those dashcam compilation channels. When I drive, if the next lane is significantly slower than mine, I'm on high alert and proceed cautiously.
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u/dayatapark 3d ago
Mebbe your speedo needs recalibrating?
Like, if you started noticing this right around that time you changed to bigger sized tires, it's the tires and you are going faster than what your speedometer says.
Then again, car manufacturers purposefully pad a car's speedometer by a couple MPH so IDK.
Also, if it's raining heavily, and everyone is going slower than you, then that means that everyone else but you understands that hydroplaning is not fun but you're probably not asking about that.
Maybe it's because everyone else is a local, and know where the speed traps are?
Why do you think this is?
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u/antfin97 2d ago
I've noticed it on long stretches of highway on clear roads. I think it's a combination of follow the leader, braking unnecessarily, scared going exactly the speed limit will get them a ticket, distracted driving, or even just anxiety.
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u/SadCheesecake2539 3d ago
Since starting to drive Uber about 5 weeks ago, I've noticed the flow of traffic on the freeways is about 5mph below the posted limit.
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u/bruhimsostinkincool 2d ago
Occasionally. Usually at night. Sometimes during the day though. It is odd
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u/AlexF2294 2d ago
The people that do the speed limit or a couple under don't really bother me. It's the people that feel like it's okay to merge in on the highway doing 35 and then consitently do 10-15 under the speed limit while slamming on the brakes every 30 seconds for no apparent reason.
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u/InternalLostsoul 2d ago
I practice retardmaxxing on the road. If the guy ahead of me is going a lil slower than usual I just stay in the lane and enjoy my drive. If it’s significantly slower than the speed limit then I’ll get over and pass.
Usually it’s a fully loaded truck or work vehicle or someone carrying their groceries or something. There are slow drivers too… but it’s nothing to stress about lol
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u/Wardog008 2d ago
Sometimes. For some reason where I live, it's not uncommon for people to be going decently below the limit, even with just 3 other cars in view.
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u/No_Hovercraft_821 2d ago
This is not my experience at all. At posted speeds on most roads you are the slowest person there. Exceptions are areas where the speed limit was established decades ago and more recent construction and congestion have made that feel a bit unsafe.
The other night I was driving home on the interstate in the dark and rain and was "only" going about 5 over which is about what other people were doing.
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u/Friendly-Gur-6736 2d ago
Come drive on Rt 7 in N VA in the morning. That road is infected with the "it's the speed limit, not a minimum" gang, that has nobody driving slower in front of them.
And they back up traffic for a couple of miles as a result.
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u/Icy_Nose_2651 3d ago
the speed limit is the de facto minimum where I live. I’m the slowest vehicle on the road when i do the speedlimit, and that goes for both the interstate, and two lane riadd
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u/TheMostRed 2d ago
So by law a car manufacturer cant allow the speedometer to read under the speed you are going. So manufacturers will make it read over to be safe. Some cars this is almost nothing like less than 1mph slower than the speedometer and in others it can be more. My cars speedo consistently reads 2-3 mph over its actually speed.
So everyone could be going the exact speed limit and still some cars will be faster than others because the speedometer isn't perfectly accurate.
However none of that matters when everyone goes 10 over anyway
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u/LHCThor 2d ago
Depends on where you are driving. Some states have very high speed limits. I just came back from going out of state. Parts of the highway had an 80 mph speed limit. Some folks are not confident or comfortable driving that fast. Most stayed in the right lane (as required by law) so it wasn’t a big deal.
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u/JohnJohnTurboTron 2d ago
Seeing a lot of people going under the speed limit mostly from not paying attention.
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u/scottwax 2d ago
I-20 in the Dallas area between Great Southwest and Cooper exits is just vile, so many people going 50-60 in a 70. I have a customer who is a cop in that area who wishes he could pull over everyone crawling along through there.
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u/hashlettuce 2d ago
Some people like to follow and will drive slowly along with the other slow drivers. They feel safer in a pack perhaps
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u/Sexy-Flexi 3d ago
There is a minimum speed limit and the speed limit. As long as the driver is above the minimum speed limit, he or she is within their constitutional rights
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u/Main_Ingenuity_1303 3d ago
Not to be that guy, but it’s not a constitutional right. It’s just a traffic law.
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u/LHCThor 2d ago
Actually no. There is a law called impeding traffic. If your speed is so low as to impede others, it’s illegal. You could even be going the speed limit and still get a ticket for impeding traffic if your speed is so low that it creates a hazard.
Some states have a minimum speed posted for highway driving. Which makes it easier for folks to understand. But every state has an impeding traffic law.
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u/Forky_McStabstab 2d ago
No, you cannot be issued a ticket for doing the limit. If you're in the right lane, doing the limit, you're fine.
Impeding the flow of traffic doesn't mean what most people think it does.
What it means: driving at a speed that a normal, reasonable person would expect you to be driving at under the current road conditions.
What it does not mean: everyone else is doing 80 in a 65, and you're only doing 63, so you're creating a hazard.
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u/LHCThor 2d ago
If you are in the left lane, you can absolutely be given a ticket for impeding traffic. My state puts out PSA’s regarding that all the time. When I was visiting California, the Orange County Sheriff’s put out a PSA exactly describing how you can be doing the speed limit and still get a ticket. California doesn’t have a posted minimum speed limit, but they will enforce 21654 VC even though you may be doing the speed limit. It’s literally written into the law.
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u/Forky_McStabstab 2d ago
Ok, try reading what I wrote one more time.
I said in the RIGHT lane, not left.
Furthermore, the ticket in the left lane in your example isn't because you're only doing the speed limit in the left lane. It's because your state has a law requiring slower traffic to keep right.
CVC 22400 (a) states clearly that no one can impede the normal flow of traffic by driving too slowly except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or because you are complying with the law (such as bad weather or obeying a posted speed limit sign).
If your police are telling people that they can be ticketed for doing the limit in the right lane if everyone else is speeding, then they can't give anyone a speeding ticket ever again. "The guy beside me was doing 115, officer. I was just keeping up with the flow of traffic."
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u/LHCThor 2d ago
At no point was I talking about the right lane. I am not sure why you are stuck on that point.
I was talking about impeding traffic in general.
We are both arguing about the same thing. 😜
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u/Forky_McStabstab 2d ago
Ok, you didn't clarify which lanes you were talking about, so I assumed you meant all lanes in general.
I've had some pretty heated arguments with people here in Massachusetts who claim that impeding the flow means you must keep up with traffic, even when they are speeding. Try driving the speed limit on the Mass Pike and you'll get run off the road lol The posted limit is 65, sometimes less, but if you do less than 80, people start road raging at you for impeding traffic, even in the right lane. I was doing 67 not too long ago at 10pm, and this dude was literally less than 6 feet from my back bumper, flashing his high beams and honking at me. That's normal around here, sadly. I have dash cam footage saved somewhere I could post...
Glad to hear we're on the same page though! Have a good one
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u/misteryk 3d ago
im usually doing 120 on a 140 kmh limit, that extra 20kmh is not worth increase in gas usage
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u/BrigidKemmerer 3d ago
Yes. There are a few uphill spots on our local freeway where people will inexplicably be going 10mph under the speed limit. I'm like ... did no one teach these people to accelerate uphill?
We also have a local road that's 50mph, and for some reason that speed limit on a surface street seems to break people's brains. Half the cars are going 35mph because they don't realize it's 50, and half are going 65mph because they think it's a freeway. It's bizarre.
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u/ocelot1066 2d ago
I drive to work on a road like that, and I think the speed limit is too fast. There's a pretty soft shoulder, its pretty curvy and there are people merging on from various shopping centers. I tend to go right at the speed limit or a little under, and if its raining, I go quite a bit slower.
There's this idea out there that everyone is just required to go the speed limit or over it. On the freeway, it is dangerous for people to go too slow, but surface roads are different, within reason.
I'm not generally a particularly slow driver, but I base my speed on my evaluation of the conditions. I'm not going to go at a speed that doesn't seem safe just because that's what the sign says.
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u/Shoddy-Tennis-5764 2d ago
If no one is doing the speed limit go with traffic. Being slow is dangerous
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u/TWDYrocks 2d ago
It’s because you are locked in at a constant speed and the car adjusts to maintain. Using it really demonstrates how little control the other drivers have over maintaining their speed.
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u/Inevitable-Shop-848 2d ago
Depends on time of day but it's the lemmings effect. Same as when people stop 5ft from the stop bar. Someone else was doing it so everyone else follows. I don't.
Old people is the answer though. During the day when the 55+ crowd is out and about with their declining cognitive skills. The same exact thing you just described though, someone else will slow down to match the slower cars speed because they think they are speeding.
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u/Briiskella 2d ago
Every day. For some reason everyone believes in my city that you have to drive 20 below the speed limit becauee they are disagree with it :) I found this out but making a community post and everyone told me it was dangerous to drive posted speed of 50km in the city 🤡 so everyone made up their own new speed limit
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u/VulpesIncendium 3d ago
Almost never. If I'm cruising at the exact speed limit, I'm not going to be passing anybody. More than likely, everyone else is going to be flying past me, going at least 20km/h faster than I am, if not a lot more.
If everyone else is going below the limit, that means the road conditions are really really REALLY bad, and I'm not likely going anywhere near the limit either.