Question for you:
If you live in North East, did you ever drive "at" or "below" the posted speed limit when you had an opportunity to speed*?
To be honest with you, I never did. Actually... wait a minute. On second thoughts, I think I did but may be like 2 times in the one million times I have been behind the wheel on the road.
Now I'm so used to speeding that I feel funny when I see people driving slow. These are the stats from my recent cross-country road trip from NY to Portlnd, OR. It is basically where I was driving and how many cars passed me.
Getting out of NY : ~50%
NJ to Chi : 5% - 10%
Chi to WI : ~1%
WI to MN : ~1%
SD : 0
WY: 0
CO : 0
MT : 0
ID : 0
OR : <1%
It was impressive how people followed the speed limit in these places. In places like South Dakota and Wyoming you won't see another car on the road for miles and miles and still the very few that are, stick to 75 mph (the speed limit there). I couldn't understand how one could just let go the golden opportunity to step on the gas and not worry about getting cought for speeding untill I got pulled over. Luckily got away with a warning.
Isn't it funny that the un-written speed limit over here is usually 10 mph above the actual speed limit and everyone wants to drive at atleast 70 when they are "supposed" not to exceed 55? It is an underlynig assumption here that one is entitled to drive above the speed limit while there... I think it is a taboo!
* speeding = going above speed limit even if it is just 1 mph above the posted speed limit.Labels: 55 mph, 75 mph, chicago, colorado, cross country, minnesota, new jersey, New York, oregon, pullover, road trip, south dakota, speed limit, speeding, ticket, traffic violation, wyoming |
hey, totally agree. I'm from San Francisco and we drive 15 above the speed limit as well. 10 is safe, 15 can get you pulled over.
I was wondering if you'd be interested in doing a recap of your cross country trip over on SpongeFish. We're newly launched, and are the place where people go to share personal information, like... how to travel cross country in 8 days. You can do text and pics together.
We're having a contest if you submit by Oct. 12th - giving away 5 iPod Touches. Anyway, like your blog and drop me line at lbeatty@spongefish.com if you're interested. thanks!