Speed vs. Tickets

DRWWE · Jan 6, 2005

I'm curious. How fast do you regularly drive the freeways in your bimmers? (I don't mean what is the fastest you have driven.) How often do you get tickets and at what speed? Also, what is your age?

Basically I'm wondering what the cops' average threshold is for pulling people over.

I usually cruise at 78-80 on the interstates here (limit 70) and have never been pulled over. I'm 41 and am driving a 530i E39.

[driving2]

MyHarley · Jan 6, 2005

Experience for 2004:

Ticket at 71 Posted 65

Ticket at 81 Posted 70

Ticket at 74 Posted 70

Ticket at 41 Posted 35

Ticket at 84 Posted 70

Age: 44

Female

It stems from having a cool car...........I once stated to a State Trooper, "I thought we could go at least 7 to 8 over a posted speed limit on the interstate or highways." He said, "really, that's a rule, never heard of that rule." He laughed and laughed the whole time he was writing the ticket......... [hihi]

manuel · Jan 6, 2005

i usually drive ~70. ive gotten 1 ticket, 96 on a 65MPH. im 22...

jonnyk · Jan 6, 2005

over here we can normally get away with 10% over the speed limit due to speedo acuracy do you not get that over there

///M SPEED · Jan 6, 2005

MyHarley said:

Only 4 over? WOW! That really sucks. Most police give at least 5MPH leeway...

Some small counties/towns will pull you over for 1 MPH over, because it can be a good source of revenue.....

codex57 · Jan 6, 2005

It depends on the area. In SoCal, the general rule is 70 and under, not a chance. 80 and under should be ok as long as you gradually slow down to 75 if there's a cop. Above 80 is when it gets risky.

Norcal drivers generally seem to drive slower.

In the Sacramento/San Joaquin area, I'd routinely go 80-85. Not many other people drove that fast so I knew I was apparently pushing it for the area (in LA, most of the freeway would be going that speed). I never paid too much attention to the cops in Sac County cuz, well, I was the traffic DA (shoulda seen how my boss and the head traffic judge drove). [hihi]

SF/Oakland area seems to be 75 tops. 70 really.

San Jose/South Bay drivers drove like LA drivers and seemed about as bad. Speed was about the same, although the idiocy shown was different.

Big Daddy · Jan 6, 2005

Having spent 22+ years as a police officer and time in the legal profession I can say that most of the time officers will allow up to 10 mph over the limit. Here is Washington state your save at 5 over, but very risky at 10. Codex is right in that if your pushing it and see an officer but fail to slow down he can lower his standard and cite you. Most agencies leave at what speed an officer cites up to the officer. It use to get my attention if I clocked you on radar/lidar at even 5 over and you continued to cruise past me at 5 over while you looked away like, "what cop". Also officers consider the condition of the vehicle when making a stop. Is it a ratty POS that at even 5 over is unsafe, as well as the age, attitude and attention of the driver. I was more apt to give leeway to a mature attentative driver in a nice well kept car than to the immature stereo blasting rust bucket. If you are stopped your attitude plays a major role in the decision to cite.

I once stopped a lady for an illegal left turn and when I contacted her she told me she was from out of town and did not realize the turn was forbidden. I would have given her a verbal warning except that when I looked at the documents she had handed me one was her husbands business card. He was a ranking officer in a large police department. When I took the card back to her car and asked for her driver's license she said that her husband had told her if she ever got stopped to give the officer his card. I explained that I had asked for her license, registration and insurance card and she had failed to give me her license instead giving me her husband's business card (this in itself is a crime - failure to surrender license when required) The arrogrance helped me decide, I wrote her a citation for an illegal left turn.

Sorry for the long post, by the way I am 50 and have not had a citation in 34+ years. I got my last one in Orange County California when I was 16.

bmw046series · Jan 6, 2005

I know a guy who was issued a ticket he was going 35 in a 25 and he said to the cop well the speed limit should be 35 and the cop replied, if the speed limit were 35 then you'd drive 45.

Bmw 325i 7803 · Jan 6, 2005

bmw046series said:

Well go figure...

I usually cruise at 75-80 if it goes with the flow of traffic, and slow down to 60-65 if I spot a patrol car (which I'm gifted in doing) I have yet to be pulled over, I'd rather not brag. [paranoid]

I do agree anything anywhere over 80 is asking for trouble. The 34-35mpg the 330i gets at 75-80 even goes downhill once you go into 85-90 territory. The engines noticeably louder, and I know from experience it takes 3500rpm to cruise in 5th at 100mph.

MyHarley · Jan 6, 2005

Big Daddy said:

meanie............ [wiggle]

Big Daddy · Jan 6, 2005

MyHarley said:

Haha, I could tell you a lot of stories but maybe I better shut up now!

MyHarley · Jan 6, 2005

that's okay Big Daddy, I get out of as many tickets as I get.....the older the policeman the better for me...... [clap]

MrElussive · Jan 6, 2005

Here in NJ most of our highways are 50mph, and all the highways I use are 50mph. I choose my speed depending on the highway. On the Palisades Interstate Parkway, which I use every day to get to school and back, it is a 50mph zone and I can safely go 62mph. I have never been pulled over on this highway. I also use route 4 on a daily basis for my commute to school and back, also a 50mph zone but much more traffic, so I usually don't go faster than 58mph.

I go 30mph in 25 zones, 40mph in 35 zones, 48mph in 40 zones, and ~60mph in 50 zones. My speeds are based on roads I know I can safely exceed the speed limit on. When I am traveling on unknown roads, I usually back down my speed quite a bit. Every once in a while, to get it out of my system, I do double the speed limit of every zone (even your insurance company doesn't give you a "pat on the back" for being a good driver).

Here's a general tip: If I were pulled over for 4mph over the speed limit, I would explain to the officer that perhaps my speedometer is not properly calibrated...it's not uncommon for speedometers to be off by 3-4mph, and this gives you some "lee-way" but don't be surprised if you are pulled over for going 29mph in a 25 zone, for example. Remember that the speed limit is a speed LIMIT (not a "you can go a few mph over this speed" sign), and TECHNICALLY, this LIMIT is based on "conditions permitting". If it's raining or crappy weather, it is your duty as a driver to reduce your speed to a safe rate if necessary.

I have several speeding tickets and I can't even count how many times I've been pulled over in my short 5 years of driving, and although I hate pigs and dealing with them, I have found that as I have gotten pulled over so many times, I know how to deal with cops much better. For example, the last time I got pulled over, was because I spun my rear tires in front of one cop directing traffic and floored it in first gear up the street right to the next cop (massive traffic jam and there were cops directing traffic at every block). Got pulled over for like 10 minutes and I drove away ticket-free...didn't even get a ticket for my 15% tint after the officer pointed it out. It's all about the communication skillz....

aNoodle · Jan 6, 2005

In Georgia, it is illegal for the police to pull someone over using radar unless they are clocked going 10 over the speed limit. There are all sorts of caveats for school zones, residential neighborhoods, whether it's a sheriff or tropper, etc. But on the freeways, staying at 8 over is pretty safe. That said, I've had 5 tickets since I got my 3 series. It just wants to go fast....that's not operator error, officer!?!

Abdoman · Jan 6, 2005

I have a friend that's an officer and she usually only pulls over people that are going 10mph over. I usually trave 7 over on the highways.

One time I was driving through a small town that was know for giving speeding tickets. I was traveling 40 (the speed limit), when I saw the 45 mph sign. I sped up to 45 and a police officer pulled me over and told me that I was speeding because I sped up before I passed the sign.

He didn't give me a ticket, but what the hell. I mean he knew I was trying to obey the speed limit............

Section_8 · Jan 6, 2005

aNoodle said:

Not only is it illegal (really?), but damn near impossible, might as well pull the entire interstate over around here! It's either a parking lot crawling at 10-15.. Or it's an autobahn 6 lanes wide doing 80.. I've seen school buses here laden with kids doing 75 on 285 (interstate loop around the city) passing folks.. Grandpa's in their buick's are not to be blown off here!

Seriously though, the average speed here of the majority of drivers is 5-10mph faster than the limit.. Right after rush hour (8-10 at night) you better be doing 80 or in the far right lane on any of the local interstates.. There was a big push here in Atlanta at the end of last year to curb speeders in 'notorious' areas of town. That lasted for a few months, then back to normal.. [burnout]

Personally, I'm just 'ahead' of the pack, I'm not the guy screaming by at 100mph in the left lane, but I am the guy passing you in the left lane, then getting in front of you to make room for the person about to pass 'me'. No tickets (knock on wood!) with the bimmer yet, and that's 14 months and counting.. I haven't had a ticket in 3 years, nice to have affordable insurance rates..

Blake2043 · Jan 6, 2005

I live in KY, around here you can usually go close to 80 and when you see a police officer just cut it down to about 75 and they dont do anything. I usually go about 72-75, i set the CC and just sit back. I figure most police officers will not pull you over for 7-10mph violations. Althought 103 is pushing your luck, I learned my lesson after almost losing my license.

Section 8 you are so right about Georgia, I have never gone so fast without wanting to. I drive through GA about 4-6 times a year and every time i feel like im getting pushed around. I always dread going through downtown when I am on I-75. I once saw 6 Police Officers pull over 6 cars at once, i was about a half mile behind them.

Section_8 · Jan 6, 2005

Blake2043 said:

no kidding, I never had an accident in my life, had 2 within 2 years of moving here in 97. 1 my fault (dang it..), 1 not.. Been ok since, one speeding ticket out of state right after that (forgot I wasn't in Georgia, doh!). I've learned how to 'push' my way around I guess - that makes me a 'local' on the roads here now I think.. [spank]

Yah right where it makes a 2 exit break for North Ave going south on the 75/85 merged madness downtown, right before that really really tight bend, and then it goes 'underground' for a small stretch.. That's their parking lot for lunch, and catching folks 'passing through'. Do 55 there always, if nothing else but to avoid all the ladders and paint buckets that slide off trucks in that tight bend..

aNoodle · Jan 6, 2005

Section_8 said:

Yup...check out OCGA, our state code 40-14-8...http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=40-14-8
"(a) No county, city, or campus officer shall be allowed to make a case based on the use of any speed detection device, unless the speed of the vehicle exceeds the posted speed limit by more than ten miles per hour..." But there are caveats, and state troopers get their own rules somewhere else (would have to look into that). When's the last time you saw a state trooper on the highways in Atlanta!?!

Read the one before that too....ever noticed those goofy "Speed dection devices" signs...well they can't pull you over with something like 500 feet of those either....we start a campaign to put more of those up along the freeway! LOL.

aNoodle · Jan 6, 2005

Blake2043 said:

I live in KY, around here you can usually go close to 80 and when you see a police officer just cut it down to about 75 and they dont do anything. I usually go about 72-75, i set the CC and just sit back. I figure most police officers will not pull you over for 7-10mph violations. Althought 103 is pushing your luck, I learned my lesson after almost losing my license.

Section 8 you are so right about Georgia, I have never gone so fast without wanting to. I drive through GA about 4-6 times a year and every time i feel like im getting pushed around. I always dread going through downtown when I am on I-75. I once saw 6 Police Officers pull over 6 cars at once, i was about a half mile behind them.

Ha, so true! But 75 is tame! Try GA-400...the autobahn of Atlanta. If you're going under 70...you are a road Hazard and I'm not exaggerating!

Speed vs. Tickets

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