Funny how in EVERY state the asshats on the interstate are from out of state! The speed limit on 81 in Virginia is very low in some parts- especially near Roanoke.
That NC change is ridiculous. Cars are safer than ever, and they are built to drive at speeds higher than, e.g., 55. How to create frustration on the roads, geez. And thus isn’t all about revenue? Right.
I got a speeding ticket in New Zealand, 109 kph in a 100 kph zone (68 mph in a 62 mph zone).
The cop told me they start ticketing at 4 kph (2.5 mph) over the limit. The ticket was only about $25US though.
Never been bagged in VA, but I keep it well under 80.
If NC is ticketing at 1mph above the speed limit, they are going to find out pretty fast what will happen. Car speedometers are not that accurate, they can be as much as ± 5mph, depending on the kind of speedometer. To ticket someone for doing let’s say 66 in a 65 could be challenged in court, and someday some lawyer is going to get tagged and they are going to take it outside local courts and win. There is a reason cops given a window, usually they won’t ticket if you are 5 mph or less over the limit, on interstates usually it is 10mph. I was involved with a group that was trying to get rid of the 55 mph speed limit, and one of the things study after study found was that localities set the speed limits based on what the ‘natural flow would support’ -5 to 10ph, knowing that it would likely trigger a lot of people going over the speed limit. There is a road near me where the speed limit drops from 45 mph to 25 mph on this relatively wide road, it was there because there used to be a school in the area, but that school closed a long time ago, but the limit stayed…and a cop is always right at where the limit drops, hidden behind a fence…
That’s what I was thinking. Additionally, are the radar speed detectors the police use that accurate that they can actually defend a +1 over the speed limit ticket?!!?!
It’s always strange to see a slightly different speed on your GPS than on your actual speedometer. It makes me wonder if they set the speedometers to read high so we think we’re going faster than we are.
Police officers in HI are supposed to regularly calibrate their speedometers and have to testify to it and bring supporting documentation in speeding cases.
@guidedbywire Speed limits on US highways tend to not be followed, to the point where actually driving the speed limit can be a hazard because you’re going too slow compared to the rest of the traffic. 82 might be a bit much, but 70 to 75 is so normal that it isn’t even illegal where I live (It is speeding, but you are allowed to speed in California if the general flow of traffic is going at about the same speed as you are. In fact, you can get ticketed for driving the speed limit if everyone else is driving faster and it creates a hazard.). I wouldn’t say not speeding quite addresses the issue that we have 75 MPH highways, whether we post 65 or not, and going after the people driving according to traffic conditions isn’t really addressing that.
Apparently the NC 1-mile-over-the-speed-limit thing is much ado about nothing. The NC DOT runs a public awareness campaign about speed limits every year, and the headlines came from an overblown tv report.
They don’t direct the highway patrol or any other police force about how they should enforce the speed limit while running the PR campaign. And the NC Highway Patrol has said they aren’t changing anything about how they enforce the speed limit.
The whole kerfluffle is basically due to lazy journalism.
http://raleighpublicrecord.org/news/2016/03/23/ncdots-new-speeding-crackdown-overhyped/
An update from the OP… Court date was today. Attorney secured from @MomofWildChild 's contacts. Upon advice of attorney, completed an on-line defensive driving course in advance of the court date. Result was a downgrade to a non-moving violation (no points!). A relief to have that resolved!!
Pretty sure I’ll be the driver next time we travel through Virginia
Excellent report! Glad it got resolved so favorably.
Do you mind sharing the attorney fee?
Glad it was resolved. My kids went through the same thing and had the charge downgraded (also hired attorneys)
Love that CC can make things like that happen (the connection, the favorable outcome). Glad to hear your news, @jasmom.
We just got home from a trip that took us through Virginia on 81 both ways. I watched my husband’s speed, and reminded him about this thread. He was careful. We saw 3 or 4 drivers pulled over for speeding each way. In a couple of cases, the driver had earlier flown past us at ridiculous speeds. I was so grateful for this thread.
@busyparent , just sent you a PM.
@silverlady , glad to have provided an effective cautionary (if expensive) tale.