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> Virginia as a whole has some pretty absurdly pro police laws, at least re: driving (Full disclosure: have never driven in the USA), but without wishing to so

> Virginia as a whole has some pretty absurdly pro police laws, at least re: driving (Full disclosure: have never driven in the USA), but without wishing to sound like a know-all, how about sticking to the speed limit? I've been dinged exactly twice for speeding since getting my licence almost exactly 30 years ago this month. No points in either case. It's not hard, honest. My wife might disagree, but her licence, her problem :)

sharken 5y ago
A modern car with cruise control, either adaptive or not, will make the task of keeping to the speed limit a breeze. The only improvement would be that the car always knew the speed limit for any stretch of road.
- Wistar 5y ago
  Many modern cars have traffic sign recognition systems that extract the speed limit. The BMW system is fairly amazing to watch work as the speed limit display changes juuuust as you pass the sign and are surprisingly good at reading signs that are even partially obscured. Although I can't remember exactly which cars feed the detected speed limit into their adaptive cruise control systems, I think some of the Range Rover models do. Some even allow you to set a percentage or absolute speed value above or below the speed limit that you want the car to travel. Others use a speed limit database and GPS/accelerometer system to establish the speed limit.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 5y ago
    When I was driving in the EU I had a car that used gps to pull the limit (but never actually enforced that you followed it). It was really cool to hop on the Autobahn and see a symbol for none pop up in the indicator. It looked like a nonsmoking sign without the cigarette in it.
- ghaff 5y ago
  I haven't used (non-adaptive) cruise control in years. I find that a lot of the time in the Northeast US roads are busy enough that you have to be constantly dropping out of cruise control or end up driving in ways that are suboptimal other than for keeping the cruise control active. To be honest, I just stopped using it at some point and just don't think to use it even when it's a match for conditions. When I get adaptive cruise control--presumably when I eventually get a new car--I may well change my tune.
  - kwhitefoot 5y ago
    Adaptive/traffic aware cruise control makes life so much easier, especially in heavy stop-go traffic. Tesla's Autosteer works really well.
- kwhitefoot 5y ago
  Teslas recognize speed limit signs. Driving on Autosteer my Model S respects speed limits unless it recognizes that it is on a dual carriageway (divided highway for US readers) in which case it allows you to speed if you want to but warns you that you are over the limit. Mercedes have had this feature as an option for many years.
mdoms 5y ago
> I've been dinged exactly twice for speeding Not to be a know-all but why not stick to the speed limit?
- dictateawayyyee 5y ago
  Because it is very dangerous to drive at the speed limit on a 55-65mph interstate. You'll get 18-wheelers harassing you, even if you stick to the slow lane and don't mind paying extra attention to the on-ramps every mile. And those semi trucks almost never get pulled over; their job is hard enough.
  - worik 5y ago
    > You'll get 18-wheelers harassing you, even if you stick to the slow lane and don't mind paying extra attention to the on-ramps every mile. And those semi trucks almost never get pulled over; their job is hard enough. Where I live (Aotearoa) trucks do not act like that. They are heavily policed and drive to the speed limit. It is very common to see a truck stopped on the side of the road with a police officer checking it. Good
  - Diesel555 5y ago
    The person you replied to is being sarcastic. Their response to the quote is a also a near quote of the parent post.
  - klyrs 5y ago
    Funny, I've run that line in front of a judge, challenging a ticket for 45 in a 35 that feels like 50 should be safe. He said "That's the most lethal road in the city. Next time, turn up your radio and ignore the honking." I paid full price.
    - dictateawayyyee 5y ago
1MachineElf 5y ago
>how about sticking to the speed limit? Remove speed limits on the highways and you have a deal sir.
hammock 5y ago
alistairSH 5y ago
how about sticking to the speed limit? Because the speed limit in much of the US is below the “natural” speed of that roadway. We have highways where 80+mph is the norm, but the posted limited can be anywhere from 55-70mph (I-95 along the east coast). Driving the speed limit actually becomes dangerous. At this point, speed enforcement becomes a hit-or-miss affair, where you’re at the mercy of the police officer. Better hope he’s having a good day and you don’t “look suspicious”, etc. Making it even worse, that same interstate (I-95) has the limit vary from 55-70 depending on state/town - the highway itself didn’t change, just the jurisdiction. And yes, the states with the lower limits are notorious for ticketing out-of-state drivers. And that’s just the highway. Secondary roads through small towns are just a racket. https://www.newsweek.com/police-chief-quits-after-report-reveals-half-citys-budget-alleged-traffic-traps-1673256 https://www.newsweek.com/police-chief-quits-after-report-rev...
- criddell 5y ago
  I think in most places, the speed limit is set to the 80th percentile speed. If there is a road where people routinely drive much faster on, you might want to ask for your county to do a speed study on that road. In some places, you may be able to use the lack of an up-to-date speed study as a defense against a speeding charge.
- oneplane 5y ago
  Since when is a speed limit not a rule/law but a 'feeling' for a 'natural' speed? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. That essentially just escalates as everyones 'naturally' speeds up as a herd and then the whole point of having rules is moot.
  - ghaff 5y ago
    You could also ask when is walking across the street against a red light or outside of a crosswalk a "feeling" about whether it's a safe thing to do that doesn't impede traffic--even though it violates the law? The fact is that there are plenty of laws we somewhat violate on a daily basis. This has its own set of problems but it's the way things are essentially everywhere.
cryptonector 5y ago
American highways for decades now have been designed for very high speeds, often 100mph or more, but the speed limits are set much much lower than that. Perhaps you are in Europe, where speed limits are generally just the natural speed for the roads they're posted on, and the roads are designed for natural speeds that are appropriate for their uses. Lucky you, if so. Here in the U.S., speed limits are set to give police probable cause to stop anyone, any time.
- cycomanic 5y ago
  > Perhaps you are in Europe, where speed limits are generally just the natural speed for the roads they're posted on, and the roads are designed for natural speeds that are appropriate for their uses. Lucky you, if so. What are you talking about? With the exception of Germany all countries in Europe have maximum speed limits and I have no idea what you mean by natural speeds. Sweden which has highways that are in better condition than pretty much all US roads I've driven on has a maximum speed of 110 km/h (as has Australia btw) , Spain has 120 km/h, France 130 km/h. All lower than the US 85 miles/h.
  - cryptonector 5y ago
    Your roads are often designed with natural speed control devices. Things like making them narrow, or lining them with trees, etc.
    - cycomanic 5y ago
      Highways certainly have not, and for other roads it highly depends, just like in the US. But the Bundestrassen in Germany (the next larger roads after highways) have a speed limit of 100km/h and are very straight and definitely not artificially narrowed. I'm actually not aware of any roads without a specific lane separator (like highways) that have speed limits above 100km/h in Europe (I certainly could be wrong though).
    - SOLAR_FIELDS 5y ago
      Reading your comment makes me think you’ve never driven in Europe whatsoever. Driving on your typical E road (say E6 or E4 in Sweden) is no different in design than any US interstate. In fact, driving on regional highways is mostly roughly equivalent in design with USA state highways, except roundabouts are often in place of street lights.
chrismcb 5y ago
Because im and places it is designed to catch you. But I got a ticket in Zurich for doing 16 kph in a 15 kph zone.

sharken 5y ago

A modern car with cruise control, either adaptive or not, will make the task of keeping to the speed limit a breeze. The only improvement would be that the car always knew the speed limit for any stretch of road.

Wistar 5y ago
Many modern cars have traffic sign recognition systems that extract the speed limit. The BMW system is fairly amazing to watch work as the speed limit display changes juuuust as you pass the sign and are surprisingly good at reading signs that are even partially obscured. Although I can't remember exactly which cars feed the detected speed limit into their adaptive cruise control systems, I think some of the Range Rover models do. Some even allow you to set a percentage or absolute speed value above or below the speed limit that you want the car to travel. Others use a speed limit database and GPS/accelerometer system to establish the speed limit.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 5y ago
  When I was driving in the EU I had a car that used gps to pull the limit (but never actually enforced that you followed it). It was really cool to hop on the Autobahn and see a symbol for none pop up in the indicator. It looked like a nonsmoking sign without the cigarette in it.
ghaff 5y ago
I haven't used (non-adaptive) cruise control in years. I find that a lot of the time in the Northeast US roads are busy enough that you have to be constantly dropping out of cruise control or end up driving in ways that are suboptimal other than for keeping the cruise control active. To be honest, I just stopped using it at some point and just don't think to use it even when it's a match for conditions. When I get adaptive cruise control--presumably when I eventually get a new car--I may well change my tune.
- kwhitefoot 5y ago
  Adaptive/traffic aware cruise control makes life so much easier, especially in heavy stop-go traffic. Tesla's Autosteer works really well.
kwhitefoot 5y ago
Teslas recognize speed limit signs. Driving on Autosteer my Model S respects speed limits unless it recognizes that it is on a dual carriageway (divided highway for US readers) in which case it allows you to speed if you want to but warns you that you are over the limit. Mercedes have had this feature as an option for many years.

mdoms 5y ago

> I've been dinged exactly twice for speeding Not to be a know-all but why not stick to the speed limit?

dictateawayyyee 5y ago
Because it is very dangerous to drive at the speed limit on a 55-65mph interstate. You'll get 18-wheelers harassing you, even if you stick to the slow lane and don't mind paying extra attention to the on-ramps every mile. And those semi trucks almost never get pulled over; their job is hard enough.
- worik 5y ago
  > You'll get 18-wheelers harassing you, even if you stick to the slow lane and don't mind paying extra attention to the on-ramps every mile. And those semi trucks almost never get pulled over; their job is hard enough. Where I live (Aotearoa) trucks do not act like that. They are heavily policed and drive to the speed limit. It is very common to see a truck stopped on the side of the road with a police officer checking it. Good
- Diesel555 5y ago
  The person you replied to is being sarcastic. Their response to the quote is a also a near quote of the parent post.
- klyrs 5y ago
  Funny, I've run that line in front of a judge, challenging a ticket for 45 in a 35 that feels like 50 should be safe. He said "That's the most lethal road in the city. Next time, turn up your radio and ignore the honking." I paid full price.
  - dictateawayyyee 5y ago

1MachineElf 5y ago

>how about sticking to the speed limit? Remove speed limits on the highways and you have a deal sir.

hammock 5y ago

alistairSH 5y ago

how about sticking to the speed limit? Because the speed limit in much of the US is below the “natural” speed of that roadway. We have highways where 80+mph is the norm, but the posted limited can be anywhere from 55-70mph (I-95 along the east coast). Driving the speed limit actually becomes dangerous. At this point, speed enforcement becomes a hit-or-miss affair, where you’re at the mercy of the police officer. Better hope he’s having a good day and you don’t “look suspicious”, etc. Making it even worse, that same interstate (I-95) has the limit vary from 55-70 depending on state/town - the highway itself didn’t change, just the jurisdiction. And yes, the states with the lower limits are notorious for ticketing out-of-state drivers. And that’s just the highway. Secondary roads through small towns are just a racket. https://www.newsweek.com/police-chief-quits-after-report-reveals-half-citys-budget-alleged-traffic-traps-1673256 https://www.newsweek.com/police-chief-quits-after-report-rev...

criddell 5y ago
I think in most places, the speed limit is set to the 80th percentile speed. If there is a road where people routinely drive much faster on, you might want to ask for your county to do a speed study on that road. In some places, you may be able to use the lack of an up-to-date speed study as a defense against a speeding charge.
oneplane 5y ago
Since when is a speed limit not a rule/law but a 'feeling' for a 'natural' speed? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. That essentially just escalates as everyones 'naturally' speeds up as a herd and then the whole point of having rules is moot.
- ghaff 5y ago
  You could also ask when is walking across the street against a red light or outside of a crosswalk a "feeling" about whether it's a safe thing to do that doesn't impede traffic--even though it violates the law? The fact is that there are plenty of laws we somewhat violate on a daily basis. This has its own set of problems but it's the way things are essentially everywhere.

cryptonector 5y ago

American highways for decades now have been designed for very high speeds, often 100mph or more, but the speed limits are set much much lower than that. Perhaps you are in Europe, where speed limits are generally just the natural speed for the roads they're posted on, and the roads are designed for natural speeds that are appropriate for their uses. Lucky you, if so. Here in the U.S., speed limits are set to give police probable cause to stop anyone, any time.

cycomanic 5y ago
> Perhaps you are in Europe, where speed limits are generally just the natural speed for the roads they're posted on, and the roads are designed for natural speeds that are appropriate for their uses. Lucky you, if so. What are you talking about? With the exception of Germany all countries in Europe have maximum speed limits and I have no idea what you mean by natural speeds. Sweden which has highways that are in better condition than pretty much all US roads I've driven on has a maximum speed of 110 km/h (as has Australia btw) , Spain has 120 km/h, France 130 km/h. All lower than the US 85 miles/h.
- cryptonector 5y ago
  Your roads are often designed with natural speed control devices. Things like making them narrow, or lining them with trees, etc.
  - cycomanic 5y ago
    Highways certainly have not, and for other roads it highly depends, just like in the US. But the Bundestrassen in Germany (the next larger roads after highways) have a speed limit of 100km/h and are very straight and definitely not artificially narrowed. I'm actually not aware of any roads without a specific lane separator (like highways) that have speed limits above 100km/h in Europe (I certainly could be wrong though).
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 5y ago
    Reading your comment makes me think you’ve never driven in Europe whatsoever. Driving on your typical E road (say E6 or E4 in Sweden) is no different in design than any US interstate. In fact, driving on regional highways is mostly roughly equivalent in design with USA state highways, except roundabouts are often in place of street lights.

chrismcb 5y ago

Because im and places it is designed to catch you. But I got a ticket in Zurich for doing 16 kph in a 15 kph zone.