-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
North Carolina to begin enforcing posted Speed Limits
- Thread starter Kaladin
- Start date
- Status
Technosteve
Banned
the insurance is cheap in NC but thats about it.
SapientWolf
Trucker Sexologist
The problem is that the speeders eventually catch up to the slow pokes and create bumper to bumper traffic even though it's not necessary. If the speeders are able to go ahead then you still get good separation. Speed is rarely the primary factor in an accident.
Overall, I think safe following distance and keeping with the flow of traffic is more important than not going over the speed limit by a small amount.
Hell, on the highway you can sometimes drive 30kmph over and it's fine. As long as you are with the flow of traffic. I often see people driving 130kmph.
CastleRybread
Member
This is so fucking stupid. This stage gets more and more backwards the longer the Republicans take over.
So does that mean we get to pull over all the cops on capital that do 60 between downtown and 440?
So does that mean we get to pull over all the cops on capital that do 60 between downtown and 440?
NoblesseOblige
Banned
No. The laws almost always have exceptions for emergency and public safety vehicles. Which the police fall under.
Dougieflesh
Member
What a stupid and cheap way to try and get easy tickets.
speed limits are definitively a safety measure. however, being anal about the specific speed limit is not. The cushion is basically to account for the fact that speedometers aren't that precise.
Interestingly enough it's been proven adding more road doesn't solve congestion issues, it just creates more congestion.
tornjaw
Member
Clearly neither of you live in/near San Antonio, Texas. The daily high-speed collisions and accidents are wearing.
I always drive 5 over. You will never see me go faster than that and I have never gotten a speeding ticket. Usually turn on cruise control at that point. But, not everybody has cruise control and it's pretty hard to keep it at the exact limit at all times, that's why a buffer is needed, we are human drivers (for now). Yes some people abuse it, but I don't see a problem with 5 over. Here in Phoenix if you are going only 5 over on the freeway, you are going damn slow sadly.
Considering that the bill they passed to get these toll roads approved prevents these adjacent roads from being maintained/widened/changed, no, they can't. But that's against the NC State Constitution as is. But they didn't give a shit even though people raised holy hell about it because they knew what was going on. And if you've seen the exits in the area, you'd know that they already needed to be widened. But instead of doing that, they keep trying these moronic tricks to try and maintain traffic flow (Hint: Not working at all).
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
The only way at this point for every US city to maintain traffic flow would be to remove drivers from the road, which means alternative transportation. It doesn't sound like you're interested in solving the problem for the city as much as for yourself.
Um that's the actual rule from the federally mandated MUTCD, the only way to lower it from that are new speed studies that change 85% speed or a safety concern based off the tracking of crashes on the road. Most roads are designed 10 mph higher than posted speed limit, unless it's a Texas farm to market road.
Speeds limits always seemed weird to me. This may have changed since I left, but I remember a lot of freeways in the Chicago suburbs were marked at 55 MPH, yet from my experience traffic was routinely moving at 70-78. Technically you of course could get pulled over going 20 above the limit, but 55 seemed unreasonably slow for these big 4 lane freeways.
CastleRybread
Member
It was a joke. They cruise out of the police station at 20 miles over the speed limit, but on the other side of downtown love to nail people doing 45 when it drops to 35 whole in the midst of a huge incline.
Premium Quality
Member
Can't help to think this is another way for minorities to get screwed over by the system.
shadowsdarknes
Member
We are talking about buffer zones and whether they should exist.
Giving people a few mph of leeway isn't going to hurt people in any significant fashion. Just sounds like an excuse for revenue and more reasons to be pulled over.
Giving people a few mph of leeway isn't going to hurt people in any significant fashion. Just sounds like an excuse for revenue and more reasons to be pulled over.
Yeah, same.
It sounds to me like you have no interest in learning how the area in question is growing and how it can't handle any more traffic on the roads despite them continuing to expand.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
Racket.
Really? I've heard cops around here say they don't fuck with anyone unless they're going 10-15 mph over the speed limit(unless school zone or something like that), and only the biggest dick would bust you for going 5mph over.
Really? I've heard cops around here say they don't fuck with anyone unless they're going 10-15 mph over the speed limit(unless school zone or something like that), and only the biggest dick would bust you for going 5mph over.
CastleRybread
Member
I keep waiting for the traffic lights on 540 to fix the issues with flow from merging. That would fix a lot of the problem.
killer rin
Member
So stupid, the reason you have buffers in place is because its impossible to constantly do the exact speed posted unless you have a vehicle with cruise control that you use liberally
Speedometers on cars aren't entirely accurate to begin with. That's why most cities allow an unspoken of cushion - because drivers can't accurately figure their speed to the exact mile, and because cops can't accurately figure the speed of a moving car to the mile. There is a fuzzy discretion used.
I suspect anybody ticketed for going 1-3 over the speedlimit would be able to fight their ticket rather easily.
I suspect anybody ticketed for going 1-3 over the speedlimit would be able to fight their ticket rather easily.
KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
Yeah, I've always known it as 5mph over.
Although that all really goes away when you're on the interstate and everyone is going 10 plus over.
Slower speeds means you follow closer which increases vehicle density which then makes your capacity higher which makes your roadway more effective. Also has to due with the amount on entries and exits which cause weaving movements.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
So, alternative transportation?
Aren't you the one arguing for widening the road? Yet "can't handle any more traffic on the roads despite them continuing to expand."
UncleSporky
Member
They're typically designed with the understanding that people will go a little over.
So they say "ok this road is safest at 60 MPH, so since people will go 10 over we'll put it at 50 and they can feel like they're getting away with something while still driving safely."
RiccochetJ
Gold Member
Wyoming bumped their interstate speed limits to 80mph and they let everyone know that with that concession, they aren't fucking around with it. People so far are fine with that agreement.
Yeah um no... it's the 85th percentile of speed. 85% of drivers go that speed or less.
Speedometers aren't accurate, just close enough to give you a good idea. Your speedometer may say 75 mph but you're actually going 78. That's why you can't have hard limits.
Your speedometer has a bit of "fuzz" due to the fact that it's readout depends on various conditions and your car tires being inflated exactly to spec, which is near impossible.
Wyoming has fuck all nothing and wide open roads with good visibility, so they can do that. 80mph wouldn't work for a lot of in-city highways where the curve of ramps would be too sharp for a car going 80 to safely use or have merges/hazards where 80mph gives you too little of time to react.
DoomGyver
Member
There will always be a cushion, speedometers and radar guns are not always exact. There is a lot at play here, age of the vehicle, size of the tires compared to the original, rear differential gearing, and I'm certain vehicle manufacturers clock the speedometer slightly faster than your actual MPH in order to stray away from lawsuits. So if you just bought a brand new car and your gauge says you're going 70 MPH, you might just be going 68-69 MPH. I don't have any proof but that's what I've heard.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
And 40% attempt 10 mph under.
What do you mean by this? Because I noticed this last year when I drove through there and I still went like 95 the whole way through the state.
Mammoth Jones
Member
Such a shitty revenue grab.
blame space
Banned
I drive 25mph over any speed limit I see posted.
davepoobond
you can't put a price on sparks
then they should make speed limits 1 MPH. they can fine everyone!
/end of thread
Cops also do this by putting up speed traps for a week or so, and drivers will slow down for next couple of weeks.
Technosteve
Banned
Charlotte area is growing, outside of charlotte area is ruralas in basically farm and cows. Public transportation here is almost nonexistant. I believe uptown the metropolitan part has a light rail that only goes east. The areas with the most traffic are suburbs north of charlotte where the major interstate only has two lanes.
Wolfe
Member
You do realise how ridiculous this sounds right? I mean besides the fact that it's purely anecdotal, I have to wonder how many other cars you've even driven.
- Status