What speed is OK on public roads?

Which poll options won't get us arrested (not good) or banned from FChat (horrendous)?

 

Same answer here as in economics: it depends. traffic volume, road conditions, weather conditions, driver, vehicle, etc...

For the most part speed limits were created to reduce speed differential, that is, get everyone going the same speed, and not because going over 70 mph will cause the universe to implode (which is the general government feeling on the topic). That said, I tend to drive at or slightly (5-10 mph) above the traffic flow. Empty roads, that's a different story.

 

ts rare that I don't hit 100mph at least once on my daily commute assuming no traffic.

 

Assuming that there is no potential to injure yourself or others, go as fast as you'd like. I'd think limiting yourself to less than 150mph is smart, beyond that the stopping distance is gigantic.

 

Bingo. Depends where you are, the safety, and the chances of getting caught. I did about 5-10 over for three hours straight on my way to Chicago from Detroit, but there were open stretches where I could see there were definitely no cops or cars, and I had it up to about 150.

If I was in the middle of nowhere and was sure there were no safety issues or chances of getting arrested, I drive as fast as I felt safe.

 

The most novel idea in my opinion is to quit harping on speeders. The ones who need to be arrested and kept off roads are those whom do not drive at the posted speed limit. As well as drive slow in all lanes other than the slow lane, nor merge with traffic efficiently. From what I've seen driving for the past 10 years, is they are the ones who drive the least defensively and are not aware of their surroundings. The slow drivers tend to also be the ones that cut off other vehicles, specifically motorcyclists.

I find driving at 45-65mph I am not as alert/aware as if I'm driving between 70-80. 75mph is the optimum speed for all freeways, imo. 45-50 is ideal for feeder roads, and is not a problem for me.

The 5mph in my parking garage at work is ridiculous. My car doesn't even idle at 5mph, it just spudders along unless I'm going at least 10mph.

 

and may 5-10 miles over but that is it.

Off the line I make the most of my 4 seconds

 

If I'm in town I am usually around the speed limit. If there are kids around , neighborhoods, school areas, etc. Then I will be below the speed limit, because you never know when one of them will step out in front of you because they are not paying attention.

However, If I am in the middle of the desert and I can see empty road for 20 miles in each direction, then I say let the beast go.

 

Not too comfortable about the divided by trees part, trees and cars are not too compatible. Put in some armco and the pedal is on the floor.

 

The wuss contingent is most grateful.

My opinion is that up to 80 mph is probably fine on Interstates in dry weather, assuming you're not tailgating, weaving, etc. 65 mph on our California freeways usually makes you a rolling obstacle for everyone except the Buick crowd. 100 mph is beyond the comfort zone of most drivers in the United States, so much as I'd love to cruise at that speed I think it's out of the question on trafficked public roads.

On empty roads, who knows. I remember driving through Oklahoma back when I had a Honda, and frankly the 75 mph limit felt very slow and was universally ignored.

I agree with one of the above posts that slow drivers, and people who don't understand the admittedly complicated concept of the left lane being for passing only, are the real safety issue (as are drunks -- sorry, zero excuses there).

 

Make sure you take into count the deer, or a tire blowout that could cause you to crash. If you're lucky you won't be injured. If you are injured or killed it really sucks to be the police officer who responds and has to inform your family that their husband or father was killed or seriously injured in an automoble accident.

 

It just depends, honestly I would trust 99% of the guys driving sports cars at double the speed limit more than I would trust 5% of the brainless idiots on the road at or below the speed limit.

Speed -and Csabe Csere holds the grail on pontificating on this- means almost nothing to me on the highway. Danger is evident in many more places than number of miles traveled per hour.

 

During the national 55 MPH limit, I decided to double it on a deserted New Mexico road, just for the hell of it. Still feel great about it.

Jack

 

Speaking of Csabe Csere, his colleague, Brock Yates, wrote something in C and D decades ago that I still remember almost verbatim: "A skilled driver should be able to do anything on the road he feels safe doing as long as it doesn't affect anything any other driver is doing."

 

And that should be the best answer here,no reason to continue this thread....

 

I think it is safe with experience and driving properly in relation to the conditions.

I do this speed perfectly legally on un- restricted German autobahns. I can assure everyone that German autobahns are NOT places of automotive massacre so high speed is safe if driven responsibly

 

As long as the conditions allow it and it has three figures... any number is OK for me! I've hit 200mph in a friend's modded e63 M6. No big deal if conditions allow it!

Cheers,
Nicolas Rubio

 

+1 Perfectly said. It all depends on the skills of the driver combined with the conditions. If a driver with supreme driving skills is going at an outlandish speed on a crowded public road he is a fool. If you'd like to risk your life in case of an accident, that's your call. Placing others at risk for your adrenaline rush, however, is simply unacceptable.

 

Ok, so the interstate is strait, divided & clear of traffic. I always burst over 100 in all my cars just because. BUT: In the back of my mind there is the thought of the occasional deer that could leap across my path & royally screw up the day.

 

I drive the speed limit, everywhere, anytime, and I'm not joking. There is this thing called the 'law of the land' that we at least somewhat agree to submit to. I suppose it's our pathology of moral relativism that allows us to be this way. However, none of us, hopefully, believe it's okay to murder, but somehow the speed limit doesn't matter as much. It should.

If you've ever lost a loved one, or been in a bad accident as a result of speeding, drunk driving, disregard for signals, it sort've changes your perspective. Whoever started this thread should take that into consideration instead of giving casual preference to the apparent novelty of some cute thought experiment....


Pitiful, pitiful thread by the way.

 

Opinions do not exist in a vacuum.....at some point are other they are expressed in behavior. Excessive speed in an automobile is not an opinion, it's dangerous, and it's illegal. That's not an opinion, it's a well established fact and again, this thing called the law. He did say 'public' roads, as opposed to "racetrack" or, "if there were no speed limits."