What kind of driver are you?

[yoda313]

So do you drive really fast? Are you a slow poke? Don't drive at all?

I'd like to think of myself as a moderate driver. I try to do the speed limit whenever possible. I don't vary more than 5 above or below the limit in normal conditions.

How about you?

[redwudz]

Moderate. I drive a government vehicle most times so I have to be. No accidents ever and about 100 miles a day driving most times for many years. But I'm not in a major metropolitan area, either.

[yoda313]

Moderate. I drive a government vehicle most times so I have to be. No accidents ever and about 100 miles a day driving most times for many years. But I'm not in a major metropolitan area, either.

Big brother watching eh?

[JohnnyMalaria]

Still alive.

[redwudz]

Big brother watching eh?

No, it's the public. But I drive the same way in my private vehicle.

[jimmalenko]

speed limit. Fixed speed cameras and amount of fines are just too steep these days.

[SCDVD]

There's a big gap between moderate and fast and furious. Fast and furious is a reckless speed demon. It's a big jump from that to someone who always follows the speed limit. I may push the speed limit some on the freeway and go somewhat faster that the 65 MPH posted speed limit but I'm don't drive "pedal to the metal" (fast and furious) either.

[Bjs]

Moderate ... but you all know non-turbo diesel land cruisers don't go fast anyway .

But in my ford ute , out here its 180 ... or the truckies eat you alive .

[gadgetguy]

Moderate. When I was young I was kind of fast and furious, but after paying the fines on a couple tickets and watching my insurance premiums go up, I decided I couldn't afford it any more. Now my license is clean and my insurance is cheap (well, relatively cheap), and I'm just not in as big a hurry these days.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

Always follow the rules of the road!!
Except for the speed limit -- I take that as more of a suggestion than a rule.

[zoobie]

In most of the world, having a car is nothing more than a dream...

[lacywest]

I am like Sammy Hagar .... I can't Drive 55.

I have not had a ticket for almost 2 years [October 2005] ... and so I am eligible for Traffic School if I get another ticket.

I drive for about 35 miles one way ... and about 15 of the miles are on 55 MPH country road.

I did get a ticket for going 90 in a 65 ... in Fresno CA ... on the 99 Freeway. CHP was a dick. Months earlier a different CHP ... pulled me over on the 99 Freeway and gave me a warning for going 90 on the Freeway ... different area on the freeway.

California DMV office sent me a nasty letter ... so I had to watch out for the cops ... and for about 2 years ... I've gotten no tickets.

[DarrellS]

Most of the good drivers must be on this site and the maniacs are on all the other sites.

I try to drive the speed limit but I usually have to drive 5 or 10 miles over the speed limit to keep from getting run over and everyone flys by me like I'm standing still. Even the police officers. I never see them giving speeding tickets but they're always there to help clean up the mess.

[Richard_G]

I drive at a speed appropriate to the road and traffic conditions. This may or may not bear any relationship to the speed limit. GPS camera locator protects me from the fixed tax collectors and good observation helps for the mobile ones. My normal speeds depend on what I'm driving. I have 2 cars and a motorcycle and I tend to travel faster on the bike than in the cars (there's no front numberplate on a bike so the chances of being identified if pinged by a speed camera is a lot less!), but the cars rarely stay below the limit....

Most frustrating time of my life was last week, driving on the German Autobahn with no speed limit, in a van that could only do 75 mph flat out!

[mats.hogberg]

I'm with most of you - appropriate to road and traffic conditions. That rarely puts me over 10-20 km/h over the speed limit (for highways).
Wht really gets to me is the variable speed limit signs when I drive home from work - They always show 50 km/h (std limit is 70) - and the traffic is moving at 10 km/h tops. Then you get closer to "bottle neck", the signs goes down to 30 km/h - and the traffic down to 0. Fortunately, I can take the bike (not motor) most of the time, and get to and from work in half the time!

/Mats

[träskmannen]

I usually go some 20 km/h above the speed limit if the traffic permits it (and the road and weather conditions of course). More than that and I might lose my license and it's not worth the risk.

[TooLFooL]

I HAUL ASS!!!

[TBoneit]

Speed Limit, full stops. On my commute to work I get on the 55MPH highway, get all the way up to approx 35MPH, slow and get off, Going home I may get all the way up 40Mph before it is time to slow down and get off the highway. Most of the other driving on my 6 minute comute is 25Mph. Real speed demon, Aren't I? two traffic lights and two stop signs going and 1 traffic light and 1 stop sign going home. Buy gas once a month, more or less. Last few years even going shopping I'm well under 4,000 miles a year.

In my youth when I worked to 10Pm I used to drive just for the fun of it petal to the metal, Speedometer needle buried past 120Mph. Back then the stretch of I-78 from cental jersey to Pennsylvania was pretty empty. Now I think to myself if I'd blown a tire at those speeds I wouldn't be here now.

I also used to be a Professional driver, 18 Wheeler. Maybe that is why I hate driving now.

[redwudz]

I hold a class A license for big rigs also, along with a motorcycle license. It does give you a different prospective on the rest of the driving world. The area where I drive the most, many people go at either 62MPH or 72MPH average in a 65MPH zone. That makes merging and smooth flow all but impossible. Then I find out we have the highest accident rate per capita for our state. No surprise to me. We have people that stop on freeway on ramps to check traffic before they merge.

Drive fast or slow. I don't care. But respect the rest of the drivers that have to share the roadway with you. JMO.

[TBoneit]

Yup, I always hated the ones that get to the end of the ramp and freeze there. Or the slowpokes doing 45 in a 55 zone, Until you try to pass, then you can't go fast enough to pass them.

The other ones are the ones that have to pass to brake and turn off in front of you.

Needless to say I don't miss driving the rig through rush hour traffic.

However sometimes there is justice. Like the SYT that passed me on the shoulder followed right behind by flashing red lights. Or the being able to wave at the guy that honked his horn and flipped you the bird for being in his way when that truck was going as fast as it could. Wavin g at him getting his speeding ticket. Or leaving that Taxi with all four wheels hanging down on both sides of the divider when he thought he could pass you and cut in at the last minute after paying the NJTPK toll. Or haviong to stop on a off ramp of the BQE until the lame-o that was trying to pass backs out from under the trailer when the ramp got to narrow and so on.

Best one I saw was a guy that blew past me and someone that looked like he was getting a ticket. They both jumped in their vehicles put on the flashers and chased him down.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Yup, I always hated the ones that get to the end of the ramp and freeze there. Or the slowpokes doing 45 in a 55 zone, Until you try to pass, then you can't go fast enough to pass them.

The other ones are the ones that have to pass to brake and turn off in front of you.

Not to mention the seemingly large number of drivers who deliberately accelerate to block you from changing lanes - such as when you are trying to exit or your lane is about to end.

And the fools who keep switching lanes, getting right up people's backsides - being generally aggressive. It's very gratifying when, after 30 miles of this, they are only about 100 yards ahead of you.

Oh yes - and the people who overtake going 0.0005 mph faster than the 'overtakee' thereby blocking both lanes.

[gll99]

I try to be a safe driver.

[mk2006]

there are no bad drivers left in the civilized world. they have all moved to china.

[dadrab]

In all fairness, my wife will tell you I'm an ass behind the wheel. I talk ugly to other drivers when they cut me off, etc., etc...

I don't make obscene gestures and the truth is, I'm all mouth. I try to drive safely, but easily get frustrated with people who have no business on the road.

I drive a 1987 Mistubishi Montero (that's a Pajero for all you folks not in North America). Stock, it came from the factory with a whopping 92 horsepower. Fortunately, there are folks that own Monteros who are a lot smarter than me. One of them figured out that the engine in an old gasoline Montero is almost identical to the one in a Mitsubishi Starion (Dodge Conquest) except that it's fuel injected and turbo charged. That's the engine (at about 200 HP) that now resides under the hood of my old truck.

So, I can break the law frequently - but I don't. Like many of you here, I'll push an interstate speed limit to about 9 miles over. Those that do more than that are on their own, but law enforcement will leave you alone as long as you're not about 12-15 MPH or more over the limit. A ticket for less that 10 MPH over the limit will get thrown out of court in most US juridictions unless there are other charges or a school zone involved.

I mostly use my truck now for off-roading and having fun. It's a very capable 4WD especially with limited slip differentials front and rear.

I will admit that it's rather fun surprising the young punks in their hot-rod Civics and such by whooping their asses in a 20-year-old SUV. I even had one kid follow me home to ask, "What's under the hood of that thing?" 8)

... but you all know non-turbo diesel land cruisers don't go fast anyway .

I'd love to see that thing and maybe ride a trail in one. We didn't get the diesels here - turbo diesel or not - and the gas burners are very expensive. I restored a 71 model Landcruiser, but never used it so I sold it.

Our family car is a Honda Odyssey. It's rather like a sports car on steroids. It's fast, handles well and you can pack a bunch of stuff in it. I get a few thrills from that.

I've now gone on long enough...

Good topic this week. Thanks.

[TBoneit]

Yup, I always hated the ones that get to the end of the ramp and freeze there. Or the slowpokes doing 45 in a 55 zone, Until you try to pass, then you can't go fast enough to pass them.

The other ones are the ones that have to pass to brake and turn off in front of you.

Not to mention the seemingly large number of drivers who deliberately accelerate to block you from changing lanes - such as when you are trying to exit or your lane is about to end.

And the fools who keep switching lanes, getting right up people's backsides - being generally aggressive. It's very gratifying when, after 30 miles of this, they are only about 100 yards ahead of you.

Oh yes - and the people who overtake going 0.0005 mph faster than the 'overtakee' thereby blocking both lanes.

I had one of those types that doesn't want you to pass when I was on the NJTPK middle of the night. Every time I tried to pass he sped up. so I just stuck the petal down as I was empty and we rode down the road like that til my exit. I was actually hoping a State Police would come along but no such luck.

Here in NJ we actually have some roads that are dangerous by design. Think about it, a two or three lane road with a 55Mph speed limit for Cars and a 45 MPH speed limit for trucks.

[cal_tony]

I've always been an adrenaline junkie with a need for speed. In town or on hwy s, I do the speed limit or less. On sparsely traveled backroads, and there are lots of them where I live, the sky's the limit.
Tony

[TheFamilyMan]

Moderate. I've done delivery and courier jobs when I was in college here in the San Francisco bay area. I've seen it all, and still do to this day. Defensive the operative word: I'd wish every driver would pay attention to the traffic around them, and not take it personally if someone needs to make a lane change or pull onto the hiway in front of them. For all you CA residents: remember when 55 mph was the speed limit on I-5? Nowadays, if you aren't driving 75 on I-5 you'll get run over, and the CHPs don't even bother with you.

[anosis]

I am like Sammy Hagar .... I can't Drive 55.

I have not had a ticket for almost 2 years [October 2005] ... and so I am eligible for Traffic School if I get another ticket.

I drive for about 35 miles one way ... and about 15 of the miles are on 55 MPH country road.

I did get a ticket for going 90 in a 65 ... in Fresno CA ... on the 99 Freeway. CHP was a dick. Months earlier a different CHP ... pulled me over on the 99 Freeway and gave me a warning for going 90 on the Freeway ... different area on the freeway.

California DMV office sent me a nasty letter ... so I had to watch out for the cops ... and for about 2 years ... I've gotten no tickets.

You realize you might have still gotten a break. CA law considers anything over 35 from the speed limit wreckless driving and that goes from an infraction to a misdemeanor. So if you where going 91 MPH he could have been even a bigger jerk and write you up for wreckless driving. Anything over 25 might mean that you could not even go to traffic school - more about this later. I found this out the hard way when I got caught on I5 doing 100. Had to go to Bakersfield to the judge because anybody getting a ticket in their jurystiction has to come to court there no matter if you live 8 hours away. The judge there has huge poster ads all over I5 warning drivers and it is no scare tactic - he means it. So I got a 450USD fine and a 15 day suspension. Since then I have taken it a lot easier. So I got to spend an entire afternoon in his court and there where literaly people form all over the state. That is also where I found out that if you where going 26 miles over the speed limit you may not get a chance to go to traffic school to wash that ticket off your record.

Anyhow, I still go over the speed limit but only 5 over in the middle lane where everyone else that likes to go 80+ can fly by me on the left.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

hehe, I can relate.
My very first ticket was for 97 in a 35. If he had seen me 2 or 3 blocks sooner it would have been well over 100, which is automatic arrest in Colorado. More than 20 over the limit in that county is considered "Excessive speed" and an automatic court date.
I got 6 points on my licence (you only get 12 before it's revoked) and a hefty fine.

My second ticket ever was for 98 in a 75. Same county...
New court date and 6 more points. Technically, I should have lost my licence. Everybody in traffic court that night was pleading "no contest". I didn't know what that meant, so when I had to get up in front of the judge she asked me how I plead to the charges and I said "Guilty.".
Then she asked me if I wanted to change my plea and I said "The charges agains me are true and correct. I did it.". She told me she admired my honesty and the fact that I was adult enough to actually own up to what I did and decided to let me keep my licence since it was only my second offense ever.
BUT, because it was also my second "excessive speed" violation in less than 18 months, the 12 point penalty stood and she fined me $986.00!!

At least I got to keep my licence and didn't have to go to driving school...

[Paul_G]

I got caught doing 42mph in a 30mph zone and got a 60 quid fine/3 penalty points. I am more cautious now with those revenue generating cameras (which are not even situated in genuine places for safety reasons).