Just north of Boston on I-93 at 3am there's still plenty of traffic, usually moving at about 70-80 mph. I'm always amazed at how much there is after getting off a red-eye into Logan.

-Zeke

You've GOT to be kidding me. You're looking for a little sticker on the corner of their license plate just so you can go an extra 20 or 30 miles over the limit? All the while I'm sure you're giving your undivided attention to the actual task of driving the vehicle, I'm sure...

The converse is of course that enforcement is a distraction, so it can just as easily be painted as the other side not being interested in encouraging safe driving either.

My only real bitterness is with arbitrary speed limits. Set it according to safety issues, take into account the speed of traffic, don't just pick a number and then enforce it.

Yup, I got busted in the #1 speed trap in America, New Rome, OH. The cop pulled me over, tried to tell me I wasn't wearing my seatbelt. At that time I had a Nissan Sentra with automatic seatbelts... bad cop, no donut. Then he walked around to the front of my car and busted me for not having a front license plate.

New Rome has 60 residents, 1000 feet of road, 12 police officers and 90% of their town budget comes from traffic stops. 80% of their town budget goes to pay their police force, and the other money has been embezzled over the years by the town government. They are notorious for the speed/traffic trap there - they were on 20/20 a few weeks ago.

In Atlanta, all the speed limits within city limits are 55 mph. Of course, average speed is going to be 75-85. If they nail you going 25 miles over, you can lose your license and get a whopping fine. Since everyone is breaking the law all the time, they can pull anybody over any of the time and there is nothing you can do about it; you better just pray that the cops don't hate you.

Most of the speeding tickets that are given out around here are invalid. As I have had it explained to me (I haven't yet had a need to double-check my information):

1. You can be pulled over by the highway patrol for going 1 mph over the speed limit.
2. You can't be pulled over by local police (with radar gun) unless you are going 4 mph or 10% over the speed limit, whichever is greater.
3. All radar traps and most stops must be done in marked cars.
4. The road needs to have less than a 3% grade where you get zapped, so no steep slopes.
5. You need to be able to see the police officer visibly on the side of the road at least 100 yards away, so only straight roads.

Again, this is in Georgia and I haven't had to double-check any of these yet (crosses fingers). I'm also really not sure exactly which of these apply to state troopers and which to local cops. Several of my friends have gotten graders to come out to the side of the road to contest and beat tickets. Also, most police officers have no idea how a radar gun works and may be using them improperly or uncalibrated. I've found the best thing to do is just to set cruise control at the speed limit. Going a few miles over really doesn't get you there any faster and going drastically over is just asking for trouble.

-Biscuits

I'm definately going to be unpopular as I agree with ynot_. If people don't exceed the speed limit in the first place then they wouldn't get a ticket.

We've all been given a driving test and we are certified to drive safely at the legal limits. Unless they start giving tests for speeds way over the legal limit I don't think we can say that driving that fast is safe. It's not just for the other drivers, you may be endangering yourself by driving too fast. Some roads are bad enough even at the legal limits. I've seen people fly around corners and narrowly miss hitting a tree.

Not too keen on the idea of having a GPS linked car which knows the speed limits and won't let you exceed them normally though. I think they'll put something in to override it in an emergency but I doubt it would let you smack the panic button too many times.

- Trevor

If they ever mandate those GPS things, it is always possible to jam small areas. If a few people did that on major streets, they could make those things go haywire. Also, I'm sure it would be possible to set one up with a hidden switch under the dash to disable it/enable it, at least until they got so integrated into the onboard computer that it would essentially be impossible.

-Biscuits

[h1]Some roads are bad enough even at the legal limits. I've seen people fly around corners and narrowly miss hitting a tree. [/h1]

I won't argue that; I know at least one road with a 40mph speed limit where you'd no doubt go over an embankment if you tried.

But that doesn't excuse wide streets with fine visibility, no homes or businesses, no intersections, and ridiculously low speed limits either. I've never gotten ticketed on one; I'm just not blind to stupidity.

In reply to:

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4. The road needs to have less than a 3% grade where you get zapped, so no steep slopes.

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damn i wish they had that little rule in the podunk county offa i43 in wisconsin. I was in a 3 cylinder geo metro doin ~95 only because i had it floored goin down a massive hill.
250$ ticket.

...and that shot your entire budget for your next Metro.

-Zeke

LOL...A couple of glasses of champagne whilst watching Gone in 60 Seconds, and I find that highly amusing.

More than one human silhouette in the cabin? CA Highway patrol is always one driver

Odd, that is exactly the opposite of spotting unmarked cars in the UK, as there are always two cops in the car (compared to most other cars on the freeway in the daytime where there is usually one person).

I only 20 but I have my share of tickets although half are in state i visit maybe 3 times a year south carolina. My first ever ticket I was pulled over for going 79 in a 70 ( I was actually being passed by other cars) on I-95 coming back from a fishing trip in charleston, SC. I was pulled over by an unmarked crown vic. They had a dog, which I swear wanted to eat me sniff around my car which pissed me off but oh well then they sent me on my way with a $50 ticket. Ticket number 2 was in Atlanta about 100 feet from the speed limit changing to 65 so I got pulled for 81 in a 55 had to go to court and beg for them not to yank my license I got off with 250 bucks in a ticket 60 for DD and 24 hours of community service. Ticket 3 again in SC this time I was in the middle of nowhere on a two lane road that goes through a town where there is a building the size of an outhouse with police on the outside (I need a photo of this) anyway I was careful to drop my speed down to the 30 mph in the town well I see the "You are now leaving town" sign so I proceed to speed up.....bad idea I get nail doing 53 in a 30. Here is the kicker the cop sits in his driveway and watches TV with a radar gun and then controls the stop light at the end of town so he has time to catch you. Well the ticket was only 75 bucks and he said "dont worry this aint gonna be reported to no one so your insurance aint gonna go up" so I paid that. Ticket 4 again in SC this time I was pulled over in charleston going 12 over by an unmarked MAROON CONVERTIBLE CAMARO in all my days of speeding I was never so pissed. Also here in Atlanta the speed limit on I-75 drops to 45 mph in the city which is ridiculous because no one ever goes that speed unless there is traffic.

I am also 20. here are my tickets...

Driving without a license - I was 16 years old and it was my first ticket. 25 hours of community service.

Speeding 64 in a 40. Like $150

No seat belt - $25 + not completely stopping at a stop sign - like $90

careless operation or something like that - I was in a friend's '71 Ford Torino and I tapped the gas a little while passing a parked cop. I forgot how much.

no seatbelt - $25

speeding - 92 in a 70 - about $200

speeding - 53 in a 40 - about $150

improper display of license plate - $90 - had the temp tag in the window


Those are the ones I can remember.

I hope it was the original a much better flick.

Anyways, what I’ve started to do, because i can't stop driving 80+. When I fly past a cop, and I see him coming to get me. I will just pull over and stop and wait for him. I've gotten out of 3 speeding tickets doing this, 1 was 30mph over, and the others were like 15-20 over. But then once, when I tried it again, I got a ticket, on the NYS thruway (toll road) doing 76 in a 65. I was really pissed at the cop, he shouldn’t be pulling people over for 11 over the limit.

Then I drove back from Miami fl, to Upstate NY. In 17hours, normally 24hours car trip. 100+ the entire trip. Not a single ticket, and without a radar detector.

Hampshire (UK) is funny - they have several unmarked Subaru Impreza's and have great fun when a riceboy in a Nova tries to race them.

The other successful stealth car they had was a V6 VW Corrado.

Gareth

While we are on the subject, here are some tips to getting treated a little better when you get pulled over (this is for minor stuff, you're on your own if you're going 150mph in a school zone during construction.) Most of these tips were told to me by actual police officers.

1. Pull over AWAY from traffic. Like you and I, cops don't like to be hit by cars. Unfortunately, a lot of cops DO get hit by cars each year while standing by someone's door. So, instead of pulling over at the side of the road, use a parking lot or at least pull over as far as you can away from the road.

2. Put on your hazard lights. This is for the same reason as above. In addition to the police lights, your hazards will help warn other drivers to slow down. This also helps in case your grandmother drives by: Then you can tell her that your car broke down and the police man was helping you out!

3. If you have any tinted windows, or if it's dark out, lower all of your windows. Even if it's cold outside and even if nobody is in the backseat. The reason that tinted windows are illegal in most states is because police can't see into the car. It has nothing to do with your ability to see out. Otherwise, dark sunglasses would be illegal.

4. Turn on your interior dome light(s). Again, this will help the officer see inside the car and put them more at ease.

5. Turn off the car and put the keys on the dashboard. Turning the car off should be a no brainer, but putting the keys on the dash lets the officer know that you have no plans of making a run for it.

6. Most important: Don't lie. People lie to the police all the time and there is nothing more that will make them unsympathetic towards you. And they can smell a liar from a mile away. If they ask why you rolled down all your windows, admit your windows are tinted and you wanted them to be able to see inside. If he asks why you were speeding, don't make up a story about your wife about to give birth to your first born. Instead, admit you were careless and are embarrised about it. You don't need a good excuse, you just need to show that you are a good person who made a bad decision and feels bad for it.

I hope this helps a few of you. It won't get you out of anything real bad, but it might make the punishment a little less. But if the officer is having a really bad day or you're in a city that has monthly quotas and it's the 31st at 11pm, good luck!

Hampshire (UK) is a pain.

They have zero fixed speeding camera sites and rely totally on mobile and handheld devices, meaning my GPS speed camera detector is no use while I am in the county. I actually avoid driving through Hampshire if I can for just this reason...

He did say it was 3am... probably not much traffic.

Yeah, not much traffic if any. I'll admit it, I was driving irresponsibly. But I was not driving dangerously. There is a difference.

Oh well, I learned my lesson. I hope.


p.s. It was actually my car's fault anyway.

I always would constantly maintain a visual scan for highway patrol, including scanning for unmarked cars, which isn't easy

I used to do that, but after getting too many speeding tickets I figured it was easier to just go the speed limit. Now I only use that method when I'm drinking and driving.

Dead right here, I've gotten out of WAAY more fines than I've been pulled over for. I'm always nice and apologetic, yes sir, no sir, here's my gun, would you like me to remove the clip? Believe it or not, showing my gun first is a sure fire way to win trust. Most expensive ticket: 11 miles over in FL. $176. Cheapest: 50 in a 25, mandatory court date, $60.50. in AL. Now that I work in the government and know damn near all the cops in my city, I haven't gotten a ticket in 5 years.

The funniest one was when the mayor called me on my cell and said he needed me in his office NOW, so I dropped what I was doing, hopped in the car, and off I was. Got clocked doin a litle over 60 in a 30, the cop asked me where I was in a hurry to get to, I told him, he kinda laughed like there was NO WAY the mayor is calling this 25 year old kid, and went back to his car. Meanwhile I pulled out the cell and proceeded to call the mayors secretary. While I was on the phone, he overheard me talking to her, recognised the I really WAS talking to Becky, and tore the ticket up and told me to get going. Hehehe... Of course, when I got to his office, the big emergency was that he couldn't get a word file to open (because it was a word perfect doc). Doh!

New slogan:

VNC prevents speeding tickets!

Tell me. If only I wasn't at lunch, or had he explained the problem rather than just "Get over here"

$325 just too damn much for a speeding ticket.

Bet the PD has brand new everything. Luckily
here speeding tickets only cost $75 unless you
get caught in like a construction or school zone.
Then they are still only $150-$200..

Useful things to look for in the UK, in order as vehicle closes

The most obvious sign - very bright headlights (although most Impreza turbo drivers go for the same type:-)

Antennas non-standard for type of vehicle

Anything suspicious in the front grille - okay, sometimes it'll be a strange mod by a teenager, but best to play it safe

Police cars almost always have 2 occupants if on duty

Police cars tend to have 2 rear-view mirrors

Police cars very rarely have any stickers in the back windscreen - and definitely no dealer stickers.
--------

On the topic of speed limits, I am more than happy to drive 20mph in town, but on a wide motorway with no traffic in the middle of the night - 70 is nonsense. There was a guy stopped a couple of weeks back at 140mph in a 70 zone, was let off because the judge and jury agreed he wasn't driving dangerously, and I have seen 180mph done safely in certain situations.

The Association Of British Drivers states the case best. And until the govt make sensible speed limits, I will almost certainly use my own judgement on safe speed when out of town. If that means keeping very alert, using detectors and playing the game with Mr. Plod, then so be it

In Australia, the police could be driving almost anything. They have Australian, Japanese and European built cars. I've even heard tell of people being booked by on-duty police driving a ute! The most unlikely one I ever saw was a family sedan, that had a cartoon character novelty sunshade in the rear window. I would never have picked it.

We get booked for doing the speed limit + 3km/h. 25km/h over the speed limit attracts a mandatory 1 month suspension of our driving license. 45km/h over the limit means a 12 month suspension.

Richard.

I don't generally speed at all. There is one exception, of course, and I got caught. When I first moved to San Antonio my wife stayed in Houston to sell the house. On weekends I'd drive home to see her, which is about a three hour drive. It also happened that our anniversary fell on a weekday during this time, so I worked it out so that I could take half the day off and drive out to see her. She had no idea and it was a real suprise.

Trouble was, I got caught doing 85 in a 70 trying to get to her work before she left. This isn't so bad, except that I realized a *month* after the fact that my driver's license had expired. This was a complete suprise, I simply never thought about it. Apparently the cop hadn't checked, which was a very good thing: I can't imagine my wife's response if she'd gotten a call from jail two hours away on our anniversary.

Police cars almost always have 2 occupants if on duty

In the UK that's a fairly good (negative) indicator - IIRC, UK police regs say that they aren't allowed to stop you unless they have 2 officers in the car - the rule is there mainly to protect the officers from violence and career-threatening accusations of improper behaviour.

I wish that rule applied in the US. Of course, if I had the "magnivision" that tfabris apparently has - I wouldn't have to worry about looking for an extra officer in the car!

the rule is there mainly to protect the officers from violence and career-threatening accusations of improper behaviour

gee...video cameras work for us...and make for some great episodes of Cops.