[Zed~]

What speed do you guys see/find as acceptable on the freeways and highways in the States?? I was curious because one comment from one of the guys here that got pulled at 3mph over the posted limit!

In the UK we have a 70mph limit on the motorways (same as your highways I think), and we can quite happily get away, most times, at driving/riding at 80mph past the cops, and general road speed is around 80 - 90 mph for a lot of people who drive/ride on the motorways.

So what is the general speed that you can safely travel at on your highways without getting pullled??

 

[bladecutter]

Speeds are entirely dependant on the police officer that you are passing.
Some cops won't blink if you whip past them at 20+ over the limit.
Other cops will pull you over for doing 1 mph over and give you a ticket.
Others will pull you over for not doing the speed limit, and say you were speeding, and write you a ticket for some imaginary number, and then go to court and lie about it to the judge.

Also, where the cop works also has alot to do with speeding policy. Right now in NYC, unless you are REALLY flying down the road, most cops won't bother with speeders. But if you aren't wearing a seatbelt, you're screwed. Right now, unless you are on one of the main highways, and are pulled over by a NYC Highway Patrol officer, you aren't going to get a speeding ticket. They basically are the only ones with radar/laser equipment in every patrol vehicle.

BC.

 

[dman]

Our speed limit on the interstate here in Georgia is 70 mph and usually you can get away with 80 mph.

 

[DEZixxer]

On the highways in Delaware, our speed limit is 55 mph, we can usually get away with 64 mph, 10 or over will probably get you a ticket though. Route One is our big roadway from the north of the state to the south, and it has pieces that are 65 mph (where there are no intersections). You can usually get away with 74 mph on that road.

However, I am normally at around 80 mph all the time.

 

[Zed~]

Over the past few months here, we have had a few people, one in a car, and two on bikes who have been jailed for exceeding the posted limit [:0]

one guy was disqualified though, so it serves him right, he was caught in Scotland I think it was doing 156mph in a BMW M3.

the other two guys were caught by a speed camera, doing 157mph on a ZX12R and 148mph on a ZX7R in a 70 mph limit. They were also charged with dangerous driving. If I am correct they were only jailed for about 3 months, you know, along with murderers, rapist, kiddly fiddlers, muggers, etc etc etc.

Another guy about 3 years ago got caught at 179mph on a fireblade (again if my memory serves me correctly) and he was jailed for 12 months, the justice system in England is totally fooked up I tell ya.

 

[swjohnsey]

The speed limit in the U.S. can be as high as 75 mph (mostly in rural western states). One can usually get by with 10 mph over. If you are moving with the flow of traffic even more than 10 over you are generally pretty safe.

The law says that doing 1 mph over the speed limit is speeding and you can tecnically be arrested if the cop is having a bad day or hates sportbikes.

 

[DEZixxer]

Isn't it "as long as you are safe" in Montana on the freeways?

 

[david000]

ya, I heard that Montana thing too. I think it is also in a couple of south western states but only during certain times of day

In ottawa we have 100Km on most freeways but can get away with 110Km no problem

 

[sabbadoo10]

Here in NJ you can usually get away with 10-15 mph over the posted limit....

But we have PBA cards that get you out of anything short of DWI's....my uncle's a cop and he gives these Policeman's Benevolent Association card's out saying that we're 1) a family member of an officer and 2) a law abiding citizen....

If you get pulled over, you act respectful, show the cop your PBA card, tell them you're sorry...and they let you go.....

It's probably worked for me about 25-30 times....granted most of the time for going about 15-20 over the speed limit...nothing serious...but it works regardless

 

[Squidly]

Originally posted by DEZixxer

Isn't it "as long as you are safe" in Montana on the freeways?

Not anymore I dont think. They were getting request for too many high speed events. Corvette clubs wanting to come through and such.

 

[kronk]

whatever fine or jail time i find acceptable pretty much determines my speed.[]

 

[Flash Ahhh]

I don't live in Montana, but the speed limit at night is "safe and reasonable" speed. At night I don't know what it is.

So people drive 100 MPH and above. Now, to a cop or state trooper a car is safer than a bike, so you probably couldn't ride a bike as fast as you could drive a car there.

Also a person with out of state plates would not have the same leniency as a Montana resident, as the visitor would not be "safely acclimated to higher speeds" the same way a resident would.

In California speed limits vary from 50-70. I think some stretches of Highway 5 (Runs the entire length of the State, pretty straight and mostly very rural between major cities) is a a 75 limit. Here you can do between 5-10 miles above the limit, usually no problems.

The main thing here they look for is flow of traffic. Now if the whole freeway is doing 40 and you are going 65 and the limit is 55, you'd get a ticket. But if the limit was 55 and everyone was going 75, you'd probably not get a ticket. Other things they look for here are tailgating, sporatic lane changing, fluctuations in speed, weather conditions, traffic amounts, road conditions, etc. Those most likely would draw more attention from cops than would goign slightly over the limit.

Now on open roads, most of us drive and ride 80-90 MPH or more.

-Flash

 

[resistance1216]

I ride in italy and these cops aren't stopping anyone who is speeding regardless of how fast you might be going!!!! If one does get the bright idea to stick up his lollipop to pull me over he is gonna have to catch me first!!!! Hook up with bikers where you ride at and you'll find the general speed you can ride and not get a speeding ticket. Ciao

Ryde or Dye, Dye to Ryde!!!

Just bury me with my right hand twisted!!!