Survey: Most States Allow Speed Cushion

[zzyzzx]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050613/ap_on_re_us/autos_speeding

Survey: Most States Allow Speed Cushion
Mon Jun 13, 7:50 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Authorities patrolling U.S. highways tend to give motorists a cushion of up to 10 miles per hour above the speed limit before pulling them over, says a survey by a group of state traffic safety officials.

This practice creates an unsafe comfort level at high speeds and is a potential safety hazard, according to the report being released Monday by the Governors Highway Safety Association. The group found that 42 states allow drivers to regularly exceed the speed limit before they are stopped.

"This cushion truly exists across this country and in some cases is more than 10 mph above posted limits," said Jim Champagne, the association's chairman.

"Law enforcement needs to be given the political will to enforce speed limits and the public must get the message that speeding will not be tolerated," said Champagne, who also is executive director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.

Since 1994, 38 states have increased their speed limit, the report said. Congress in 1995 allowed states to raise limits above 55 mph in urban areas and 65 mph on rural roads.

A study released in 1999 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimated an increase in deaths on interstates and freeways of about 15 percent in the 24 states that had raised their speed limit in late 1995 and 1996.

The survey's release comes ahead of the association's forum this week on ways to address speeding. The goal is to make recommendations for states to consider.

"As a country, if we are going to reduce the carnage on our roadways, speeding must be given the same level of attention that has been given to occupant protection and impaired driving," Champagne said.

States reported that highway patrol officers and other authorities said enforcing traffic laws has become difficult because of uncertainty in highway safety budgets, the focus on homeland security and a shortage of officers due to retirements.

Nineteen states lack a statewide database to log speed-related citation data, the survey found. That makes it hard for policy-makers to reach conclusions about the effectiveness of their enforcement efforts.

The survey said 10 states have some kind of aggressive driving law: Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Utah and Virginia.

[Cobra]

Don't car speedos read high anyway? So if someone is doing 10mph more than the speed limit anyway then their speedo is actually reading 15-20mph more than they know they should be going?

[zzyzzx]

Don't car speedos read high anyway?

I have not heard this before. I always assumed that it was 100% accurate.

[BJ_M]

my last van I had checked out as it seemed way off - it was (stock tire size etc) ...

when it said 70mph , it was doing only 63mph and at 90mph it was doing 78 i think ....

I was told that that many models are known to be way way off - because same sensor etc were used in different models with different tire dia. and gear ratios and even the wrong pick up units were sometimes installed ...

many even police speedo's are off also -- contrary to popular belief ..

[yoda313]

Hi,

I thought thats what radar detectors were for??? To give you that cushion until cops show up on the blip???

Not that I have one of course.

Kevin

[BJ_M]

not legal everywhere - like here : (

[jackal70058]

Here in Louisiana we have 5 MPH cushion. You're only allowed 10 over if you're passing and in the left lane/passing lane.

Radar/laser detector is a good idea. They even have one that will jam up the radar equipment. Illegal some places, but not here (yet).

I would recomment it when traveling a lot on the Interstate or the Causeway.

[Bodyslide]

In GA, it's a 5 MPH.

[thecoalman]

I've passed many State Troopers sitting on the side of the road well above the speed limit. I follow the flow of traffic though so I'm usually going as fast as everyone else. IMO it's not the speed limit that causes accidents but the idiots that don't drive correctly. My top 3:

1. People driving much to slow, especially the ones in the passing lane cruising along the same speed as the people in the regular lane.

which leads to *******'s in #2.....

2. Weaving in and out of traffic and passing on the right, of course there probably wouldn't be as much as this if the ******* in #1 was in the correct lane.

3. Following someone way too close, there's no excuse for this. Your not going to get athere any faster by tailgating.

BTW one quick observance, if your driving a little faster than you should be and you see a cop on the side of the road..... don't hit the brakes..... your already caught. Your only going to possibly cause an accident.

[bugster]

Don't car speedos read high anyway?

Here in the UK (and probably most of Europe), to the best of mu knowledge vehicle construction regulations require a speedometer to be accurate to within 10% of the indicated speed at 30Mph. This is only ever checked at the factory, never again. Even the UK MOT test has no check on speedo accuracy. I assume most other countries are similiar in this respect.

Howver, if you get stopped for speeding, having a defective or innacurate speedometer is not a valid defence!

[smearbrick1]

my last van I had checked out as it seemed way off - it was (stock tire size etc) ...

when it said 70mph , it was doing only 63mph and at 90mph it was doing 78 i think ....

I was told that that many models are known to be way way off - because same sensor etc were used in different models with different tire dia. and gear ratios and even the wrong pick up units were sometimes installed ...

many even police speedo's are off also -- contrary to popular belief ..

I think the tire diameter and data like that is stored in the car's ECU and is totally dependant on the model of the car. IE: cars with 17 inch wheels would be programmed differently than a car with 15 inch wheels. Same goes for gear ratios. You can't just swap out the front or rear differential on a 4x4 without expecting the speed sensor to be off.

[BJ_M]

exactly - but like i said - they dont bother to always reprogram them it seems - when they build them

[MackemX]

yep 10% is the figure I've heard over the years .

I remember an old car where I did this and the speedo was well out . Maybe one day they will invent an optical speedo that looks at the ground

[zzyzzx]

In GA, it's a 5 MPH.

Are you sure? I drove there for years at 5-10MPH over the limit without getting pulled over. Of course that was in the 80's.

[thevoelk]

It's been a while since I've gotten a ticket, but last time looked, there was no where on the ticket for cops to cite you for doing less than ten over. At least in MD.

@zzyzzx
You gotten one recently to see this?

[LSchafroth]

Here in Iowa the speed limit is 65, but the average speed is 70-75mph.

They pull you over only when you hit 75 or more. They are raising the limit to 70 in July, but doubling the fines and reducing the cusion to about 3-5mph over.

Guess I will need to slow down after they raise the limit.

LS

[SquirrelDip]

not legal everywhere - like here : (

I grew up in Vancouver where the enforcement of speed is high - I actually had a ticket once for doing 23mph in a 20 zone... After that I made good use of a radar detector.

Finished university and moved to Toronto - was very dismayed to find that radar detectors were not permitted. However... When they can, people generally drive very fast and the enforcement tolerance is pretty high - never really needed a detector while living in Toronto.

I've probably also slowed down over the years... (Depends on what I'm driving - driving my wife's 4Runner I tend to do the posted speed, driving my Acura I tend to drive a bit over, driving my Suzuki I should probably be pulled over...)

[BJ_M]

[VideoTechMan]

I got pulled over a few times when driving out of Texas going just 5 over the limit....only got off with a warning, but it just makes me cautious about going through certain areas, especially when you are near small towns.

Most of the time I go 5 over....so its no big deal for most states.

I thought about a radar detector, but I heard that some state troopers have devices that can detect if you have a radar detector in your car. Since I have a CDL, I have to be very careful about not getting any kind of ticket, since moving violations in your personal car can also harm the commercial side too. And for truckers, having any kind of radar detector is illegal.

VTM

[Bodyslide]

In GA, it's a 5 MPH.

Are you sure? I drove there for years at 5-10MPH over the limit without getting pulled over. Of course that was in the 80's.

I have a few friends in law enforcement. I asked them and they said that 5 mph is safe anything over and they get ticket happy.