Driving on your state expressway or interstate

[Tiggeroo]

or any other large major highway, what would happen to you if you drove the speed limit or even 5mph over the limit?
I usually drive the expressway or parkway 7-8mph over the speed limit which would be 72-73. Sometimes I might be 10mph over. I have found recently that even if I am 10mph over I am getting run off the road. I recently called the aggressive driver number because a driver was on my butt in a scary way. There was no way I could get into the right lane because of other drivers and I was 15mph over the speed limit and not going to go any faster. Also cars whiz by me and have to be going 90mph on a regular basis.
How can the police ticket you for going over the speed limit on such a road when to drive the limit would get you killed.

 

[MelanieC]

On the PA Turnpike, it's not uncommon to go well over 90 and sometimes higher. This is the average speed, it's not just one person doing it.

 

[Tiggeroo]

This is what I mean. Yet if you get a ticket in NJ for going 90 you will get fine, insurance points and surcharge fees. Your car insurance will be high for 3-5 yrs. (this will happen to NJ drivers even if the ticket is in another state) And if you drove the Pa Turnpike at even 75 you are a hazard to the flow of traffic.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

OP I can feel your pain, I live in close to the NJ/PA/NY borders so I travel major highways in 3 states very often. They might as well raise the speed limit on the NJ turnpike or the NY throughway to 90mph, or put up a sign that states something like "Moving at less than 85mph is a hazard to your health and well being"

 

[Tiggeroo]

I don't mind driving 80mph. DH had a couple speeding tickets from driving these roads and we are just getting our insurance down. I am paranoid about getting another ticket so I'm cautious. He and I have to travel the interstates daily. So we either drive too slow or risk tickets every day. I think this should be a defense in court.

 

[Michelle67]

If you try to drive the speed limit on I-5, someone is likely to run up your tailpipe. Most of the time, the police leave people alone if they are all moving along together and nobody is getting stupid (weaving, tailgating, etc). If you start weaving in and out of traffic, you're begging for a ticket.

 

[lulu71]

I think that it's no problem to go the speed you want to go, fast or speed limit, but don't stay in the left lane unless you are passing. You mentioned that you were in the left lane so I wonder why you couldn't have gotten over unless you were just driving along in the left lane? I also think that it is expected that you have to accelerate faster than your normal speed to pass.

Bottom line IMO is this - if you are going to cross your tires into the left lane, do so while accelerating to pass or don't get in the left lane.

Of course all bets are off in traffic snarls but it doesn't sound like that is the case here.

 

[Kathi OD]

Tigger, you're back in Jersey, where taking to the highway is like being on a racetrack...everyone is trying to be in first place. Seems you forgot that when the sign says 60, it really means 85 or 90. Even the state police don't seem to stop anyone unless they are moving much faster than everyone else on the road.

Seriously, you shouldn't just be driving in the left lane, it's really for passing. So make sure that you stay in the far right lane as much as possible, at least until you work yourself back into the race. There is nothing more annoying than someone in the center or left lanes that is not keeping up with traffic.

Oh, and stay off of 287, the Parkway and Turnpike for the time being....we don't want to read about you having heart failure as the guy behind you drives up and over your car just to get ahead.

 

[DVC-Don]

Before gas got so expensive I always locked the cruise at 5 mph over the posted limit. Nowadays I lock it in on the limit (and get better mpg).

 

[Suzie Zoo]

This is why I don't drive on the thruway/interstate/major highway.

I take side roads and go the speed limit.

 

[Tiggeroo]

I drive these roads all the time. I would guess if I was in the passing lane it was because I was passing but something happened that caused people to brake up a bit. So I was stuck in the passing lane and couldn't get out because the people in the right lane had braked up and traffic had backed up. No big deal, things had slowed down for some reason but the guy behind me didn't care.

 

[KristaTX]

I drive the speed limit on the vast system of DFW highways and toll roads. As long as I move out of the left lane if someone is behind me driving faster than me, I do just fine and don't seem to make people mad.

I don't want to get a ticket. Plus speeding decreases your MPG and increases the risk of having a bad accident. I never understand why people are so insistent on driving over (or under) the speed limit, or why it is such a widely accepted practice .

 

[C.Ann]

I always drive exactly what the posted speed limit is - because (A)there is a "reason" for it - and (B) it's the law and therefore I am obligated to abide by it.. If weather conditions are extremely bad, I will drive even slower (rain coming down so hard you can't see the road in front of you; icy conditions; snowing hard; etc.)..

If someone wants to ride "on my bumper" - then so be it.. I always travel in the right lane and they can either pass me, or rear-end me if my car suddenly konks out.. At that point they are responsible for any damages to my car and physical injuries to me and/or my passengers..

As long as I am drivng within the confines of the law, I will not allow anyone else to "dictate" how I drive - no matter how annoying they "think" they are being.. I've gotten extremely good at ignoring impatient drivers..

 

[Kathi OD]

I drive these roads all the time. I would guess if I was in the passing lane it was because I was passing but something happened that caused people to brake up a bit. So I was stuck in the passing lane and couldn't get out because the people in the right lane had braked up and traffic had backed up. No big deal, things had slowed down for some reason but the guy behind me didn't care.

My bad for assuming you were what Jim Gearhart (Jersey 101.5) calls a "left lane D***."

I once actually got out of a ticket on the NJ turnpike by telling the officer that I was afraid if I didn't drive as fast as I was someone would rear-end me.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Doing the speed limit here would put you standing still compared to some people. I drive 450 miles a week and I find that at 70, even 75, I'm being passed like I'm sitting still. This past Sunday I went to Providence, R.I. and I was doing about 80 and I was still being passed up.

 

[Barbossa]

I'm an old fart hypermiler, so if traffic isn't bad I'll set my Civic's cruise control to 65 (the speed limit). If I do this in the slow lane, then anyone who doesn't like my speed can go around me. If I'm in the middle lanes, though, I'll move if I'm holding up traffic.

 

[Tiggeroo]

My bad for assuming you were what Jim Gearhart (Jersey 101.5) calls a "left lane D***."

I once actually got out of a ticket on the NJ turnpike by telling the officer that I was afraid if I didn't drive as fast as I was someone would rear-end me.

Hehe to the Gerhart reference. I've heard him say it.

 

[kydisneyfans]

The flow around here seems to be in the 75-80 range for all traffic, including semi's. The State Police won't touch you until you are above 85 on open road.

The traffic flow on I75 for those with Ohio plates is closer to 100 mph. For some reason it is only the Ohio drivers going that fast.

 

[Amlee]

On I-65 if you do 70(which is the speed limit), then your going to get ran over!

I was doing 80 in the slow lane and people were passing me like I was standing still.

Just this morning, I slowed down in a construction site to 55 (which is the law) and just about got hit.

 

[pr surfer]

I've done over 100 on both the Florida Turnpike in Osceola County and on I-5 in San Diego County, and have had police officers pass me