I knew I was going to get a speeding ticket when I saw the camera “blink” as I went by. I slowed down after the fact. Sure enough a ticket came in the mail about three weeks later. It was enough of a fine that I never speed through that area anymore.
I’ve noticed police cars parked on overpasses and alongside off/on ramps that don’t have a cop in them. People on the highways don’t know that though and the speeds are slower in those areas.
You have to adjust almost continuously. Hopefully that many vehicles won’t claim that space all at once,
In Chicago, at highway merges/entrances/exits, the 5 come within 2 seconds, at the last minute.
I just let my trans pull me, I’m sure it makes people behind me mad but I can’t prevent people from driving like selfish pricks, and I’m not going to be herky-jerky with my brakes with a live animal in the trailer.
I do employ the use of my train horns, though.
I don’t know what other states have adopted an absolute speed limit, but NC did away with their 10 mph buffer in 2017. You can get ticketed for 1 mph over the limit.
I don’t live in NC but did a lot of work there for my previous company, which is why I know this. We all got warned to hit the brakes at the state line. North Carolina State Patrol targets out of state plates as a revenue source; they know most people will just pay rather than make a return trip to court to fight the ticket.
That’s interesting. I was told by a highway supervisor in MT that if the sign says Speed Limit whatever then they mean that exact speed, but if it just says the speed number then you can apply the basic speed rule. And the basic speed rule is (supposedly) whatever the road and weather conditions allow, within reason. So on the freeway if all is clear it’s pedal to the metal.
What does speed number mean?
Just a sign with a number on it?
I live in NC and have never had a ticket here. FWIW, I never go more than 8 over. BUT - if you are taking 95 through Emporia, VA to or from NC and have out of state plates, put on your cruise control. Best to be one or two below the limit.
We don’t even stop for food or fuel or a rest stop in Emporia. Shabby, rundown town with top of the line police cruisers.
That’s where I got my last speeding ticket, oh, at least 10-15 years ago. I went to court to get the points off. Funny story, one guy came in with an affidavit from his mechanic - his speedometer was out of calibration. They slapped a faulty equipment fine on TOP of his speeding fine 
Everyone who showed up in court had their points removed. They just want your $$$.
I went to U Chicago for my MBA. Chicago was the scariest place to drive. I’m from NY and drive in NYC plenty, and I think Chicago is way worse. In NYC I feel there is an etiquette to cutting people off, etc. In Chicago, I would get cut off and then the folks would jam on their brakes. I could never get the rhythm. I can’t imagine with a horse trailer.
Now they advise 3 - 5 seconds depending on the road conditions.
Yeah, and I remember those signs in a couple states, they just read SPEED 65 or SPEED 55, no SPEED LIMIT 65. But I looked online line just now and I don’t think that is true anymore. All the signs I saw on the MT Dept of Trans site listed ‘Speed Limit’ on all their speed signs.
Ideally we can do small, smooth moves to keep the space in front of us open.
One of my favorite trailer pulling stories occurred when I was pulling my three horse LQ with midtack up an upward inclining freeway on ramp. The ramp had two lanes which merged into one. Safely, a black expensive sports car got in front of me and then after merging onto the freeway first, gradually slowed down providing me with lots of space to merge.
Great idea!
I can kind of sense when people are going to be idiots, generally. Something about where they’re pausing, or how they’re accelerating, or a subconscious lane-lean. But the merges are the absolute worst because 3-5 cars will just come zooming up, jam themselves in front of you, then lock up their brakes. Ugh.
I listen to WHYY. This is my area of the country. I personally don’t go into to Philly much but from the accounts on the local NPR station/WHYY the speed cameras make a huge difference. I wonder if some of the residual speeding is out of towners
I think this was a Montana thing as I recall Montana did not have speed limits on many of it’s roads at one time and while I can’t find the study, there was (to my recollection) one done in MT that found without speed limits, people will drive as fast as they feel comfortable - whether that’s 40 or 80.
I also know that all states agreed on speed limits during Nixon’s presidency in order to still get federal road repair funding.
Then I found this interesting little piece:
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a14511978/montana-was-once-the-last-bastion-of-hot-nasty-bad-ass-speed-feature/
When I used to have to commute to work, the worst part of the drive was getting through my small city. Everyone who wasn’t an attorney or with the city government had to get on the interstate; for many of us this meant a left turn to take the northbound road leading to the entrance ramps.
Once I was in the left turn lane I glued myself to the bumper of the car in front of me. I’m not the most laid back driver but I will generally let people merge, or slow to allow someone backing out of their driveway out…basic polite stuff. But my generosity does and did NOT extend to the assholes who, morning after morning, zoom past 3/4 of the cars waiting in the turn lane and try to force someone to let them in. Those people can go directly to hell, do not collect $200. I’m sure they eventually got what they wanted, but not from me.
It actually wasn’t a bad drive overall, because 11 of the 13 miles were against traffic. Everyone else was going to Atlanta and I was headed north.
Disagree. I don’t even call them accidents. They are collisions, barring an act of god. They are caused by something, generally poor driving and/or bad decisions. And the consequences can often be dire.
And this goes double for people who ride the shoulder to pass people and then try to get into the right lane! No way am I letting you in!!
I thought I had seen some bad traffic in my travels.
But last month, I ended up in the wrong lane at the wrong time in San Francisco, and wound up taking an unexpected detour. Holy. Cow.
There was one block where it took me literally 30 minutes to get through the traffic light at the end of it. And it was not a long block.
There were a couple of businesses on that block, and if I had a chauffeur, I could have gotten out of the car, gone into the first one to get a haircut, gone next door to pick up some dinner, and gone into the store next to that to buy a tube of toothpaste. And I might have even still had time left to nip into the comedy club across the street to watch a quick set. It was just unreal.
When I ended up next to somebody who had his window down, I asked him if it was unusual. And he said no, that was normal traffic.
I have never seen anything like it in my life. And I’ve driven through the middle of New York City with a horse trailer!
I agree with you that many collisions are caused by poor driving, bad choices, and unsafe behavior.
But well and true “accidents” do happen. I was driving 60mph on a city interstate when my drivers side tire blew out; luckily it was 2am, I was in the middle lane (of a 3 lane highway) and no one was in the left lane or behind me. When my tire blew, it jerked the steering wheel hard to the left, and I was luckily able to gain control of my truck before it smashed the center concrete divider, leaving nothing but minor scrapes on the corner of my chrome bumper. I was through the left lane and into the left shoulder in an instant. My tires (on my brand new truck!) had less than 1,000 miles on them, but there was a golf-ball sized hole in the left front sidewall. The tire shop deemed it a manufacturer’s defect and GMC replaced it. I was very, VERY lucky it happened at a time without traffic, and I was alert & paying close attention. If it was during business hours, there is no doubt I would have been involved in a major collision.
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