driving in the states.

M

mo manchester

New member
a question of interest.
all you american boys and girls, dont you get frustrated having to drive at 55mph limit. ( ideal speed in third gear to floor it,so tempting eh?)
I had a freind who went to the states. and he said the filth are like ninjas who will just appear from nowhere (lights flashing) is this true.

can you overtake in any lane on the motorway(freeway). do you have erratic drivers and bastards who weave in and out.

our limit is 70mph as you probbly know. but then it easier to get 80,90,100mph. and slow again, whereas to go from a 55mph limit to 100mph you will be going twice as fast as everyone else. hardly incospicuous.
i must say i have seen somme pics from the gallery and it looks fab driving ibn the sun down the freeway in your polished 4 in the states.
where as we get 20 mins of sun and the rest of the year overcast and rain
:(

thanks boys and eunuchs.
 
G

Gary

Moderator
mo manchester":2h698ecv said:
a question of interest.
all you american boys and girls, dont you get frustrated having to drive at 55mph limit. ( ideal speed in third gear to floor it,so tempting eh?)
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People usually do ~10 mph over the limit on highways.
Depending on where you drive, what roads, some states, cops are real PITA and they will pull you over doing 5 mph over.
In rural areas, limit is 65 mph, and 55 mph in city.
In southern/midwest and western states, limits are higher (65-70 mph)
In Boston area, you can do 65 in 55 area no problem.

mo manchester":2h698ecv said:
I had a freind who went to the states. and he said the filth are like ninjas who will just appear from nowhere (lights flashing) is this true.
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Not really.
If you know how speed trap works, you can ususally anticipate them.
They need a space to park/hide their cruisers.
It's more tricky in states that have motorcycle cops.
A good radar/lasor detector would help a lot.

mo manchester":2h698ecv said:
can you overtake in any lane on the motorway(freeway). do you have erratic drivers and bastards who weave in and out.
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It is illegal to pass on right lane here.
But I see it all the times, at least in Boston.

mo manchester":2h698ecv said:
where as we get 20 mins of sun and the rest of the year overcast and rain
:(
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That what the AWD is for. :)
 
D

db

Active member
There is a highway in North Dakota that has a 75 mph speed limit. I found that a lot fewer people were speeding on it compared to other slower highways. Apparently, most people are satisfied with 75mph. Not me, but others.
 
S

SuperWhite92

New member
Most every highway in Colorado is 75mph. Usually down to 65 through cities and 55 through Denver.

Most everyone goes 75, which allows me to get up to 82 or so, which seems to be the optimum fuel efficiency point, since I averaged ~32mpg on the way to NA2005
 
M

mo manchester

New member
32mpg thats good. ( unlless it was motorway driving, then it doesnt sound too promising)
i have to put £10 spongebobs in ( about $20 spongebobs) every other day for local driving.
bear in mind we pay nearly 5 spongebobs for a gallon of juice i dont get to go out on mad journeys too often..
 
C

celicat93

New member
I haven't seen a place that's 55mph in years, I believe it was Nixon who set a national speed limit of 55 in response to the oil embargo, but that was lifted before the 80's. When I was stationed in California they had a 55 speed limit but everyone still drove 75 - lol - so they thought they ought to raise it since there were still a few people driving the speed limit and it was causing accidents. Generally people drive 5-10 mph over the limit and get away with it, 5 over is pretty safe since it skirts with the accuracy of the speed detection devices and is arguable in court. Indiana raised their limit to 70 and 75 in places, that's the beauty of the States, that they have a level of rights to regulate thing the way they see fit, but it can be a pain if you happen to be in the wrong state or if you have a state like California with it's gargantuan economy and it sets regulations that it knows will affect the rest of the country because industrial producers are going to adjust their products to fit californian standards (ahem - emissions)
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Yeh, AZ is one of the better states for driving IMHO. They have that nice long stretch between Phoenix and Yuma with nothing but open roads where you can see cops from miles away... :D
 
J

jprine01

New member
celicat93":1rl6t60g said:
I haven't seen a place that's 55mph in years...
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What? I'm in Chicago just north of you and every highway is 55 around the city. 294 is the toll road that gets you North-South the fastest and its 55mph speed limit, everyone drives 75 even semis and nobody gets pulled over, I mean not a soul (@75). I'm usually the one in the left lane driving 85-90. I think the whole speed limit thing is rediculous... If your going to set the speed limit to 55 your shouldn't let everybody drive 75. Then when one person is doing 80 on accident insted of getting a 5mph ticket for going 5mph over the "standard" you get a 25mph ticket because you just happen to break that "ok" barrier.... I say change the speed limit to the speed that is ok!!!
 
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celicat93

New member
ah well I wasn't counting tollways, guess we need to narrow down what we're discussing here

jprine01":3ojnje8t said:
celicat93":3ojnje8t said:
I haven't seen a place that's 55mph in years...
Click to expand...

What? I'm in Chicago just north of you and every highway is 55 around the city. 294 is the toll road that gets you North-South the fastest and its 55mph speed limit, everyone drives 75 even semis and nobody gets pulled over, I mean not a soul (@75). I'm usually the one in the left lane driving 85-90. I think the whole speed limit thing is rediculous... If your going to set the speed limit to 55 your shouldn't let everybody drive 75. Then when one person is doing 80 on accident insted of getting a 5mph ticket for going 5mph over the "standard" you get a 25mph ticket because you just happen to break that "ok" barrier.... I say change the speed limit to the speed that is ok!!!
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C

CelicaCS

New member
In Holland most highways are 75 mph (120 km/h), and some are 65 (100 km/h). I live about 20 mins. drive from the German border, and on quite a lot of higways there are NO speedlimits there. So to test the Celi, I always go to Germany and floor it like a madman :D
 
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C-dubb

New member
highways here are 55 and freeways are 70...everyone usually drives 10 or so over without trouble....the good thing is there are lots of backroads with no police for miles and miles...
 
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nynoah75

New member
I lived for 5 years in Germany. I miss never having to look for cops as I drive on the Highway. Not to mention all the great B roads. If there is a straight plain the Germans will still put curves in the road. Every road is built like a track. They all have banked turns.

America highways are poo
 
S

Simba

New member
celicat93":2dhrtrej said:
I haven't seen a place that's 55mph in years, I believe it was Nixon who set a national speed limit of 55 in response to the oil embargo, but that was lifted before the 80's.
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Nixon signed it into law. It was peddled primarily by DOT and several drooling idiots (Ralph Nader, etc). However, enforcement was up to the individual states, but the DOT used the tried and true "do what we say or we'll withhold highway funds" nonsense.

It was repealed in 1995.

The "flow of traffic" generally varies between 10-20 over the posted limit in most locations, depending on congestion. I typically do 75-80 in 55 zones, and.. ur.. considerably more in 65 zones. ;)
 
E

edv-tek

New member
My friend was telling me in Northern Virginia where highways are 55-65 MPH. The police can put you in JAIL a day for every mile an hour over when you vehicle is past 20 MPH over the speed limit. And they will any confiscate radar detectors.
Another friend and I was going to meet our friend in Virginia. I informed him of this and he just laughed and dove his ususal 20+ since he is a habitual line stepper. Our friend in Va. confirmed my story and we drove 65+ on the way home. No bad ending on this story.

Let me see here....85 in a 55. Why that's 30+ = 11 days in the pokie.
 
S

Stubble

Active member
I love how Quebec does it. Since everyone speeds there, they put the speed limits on freeways around town at a ridiculous 70 km/h. Everyone does 40 km/h over, so The Man gets the average traffic speed he wants - 110. On the main highways, it is 100 km/h, so rightfully so everyone drives at 140. Fantastic system, and from what I saw, the cops are on board!
 
B

beej

New member
Stubble":1nqmzqzp said:
I love how Quebec does it. Since everyone speeds there, they put the speed limits on freeways around town at a ridiculous 70 km/h. Everyone does 40 km/h over, so The Man gets the average traffic speed he wants - 110. On the main highways, it is 100 km/h, so rightfully so everyone drives at 140. Fantastic system, and from what I saw, the cops are on board!
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we get fined here for doing 4 km/h over the speed limit
 
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