Speeding - is there a 'magic number?'

[Jay!]

Is there a particular window of velocities that you can get away with over the posted limits without an officer caring? Surely there is, if you've ever seen a freeway, ever.

Is there a numerical value? Like 8, 10, 12, ?? mph over the limit?
Is there a ratio? 10% over in a 65 mph zone = 71.5 mph...
Is it proportional to the "flow of traffic?"
Is it proportional to the amount of traffic on the road?

Other theories?

[Amish_kid]

Well considering I have gone through speed traps atleast 18-20 km over and not even gotten pulled over i wouldnt know i guess 20 or so km would be a magical number where i am at

[Twist]

I usually allow myself 10% or so. But if everyone else is speeding I'll speed up a bit too. I never let myself be noticeably faster or slower though.

[SiRI]

on roads 45-50 i go about 5-7 over, on roads about 55+ i go about 10-12 over, cops dont seem to mind usualy...

[Jimster]

anything under 10 km/h over the limit won't get you pulled up- BUT 20 km/h usually will

[whttrshpunk]

Note: Magic number is LESS than 55mph over speedlimit. Especially in a 55mph zone.

[tomlong]

Typically around here it is 10 miles per hour over and they wont ticket you. I drive so much and know where the police sit and wait so I drive about 40 or 50 miles per hour over at most times; however I do drive on a very rural highway with little or know traffic for hundreds of miles a day. I did get a warning 2 weeks ago for doing 40 over. 90+ in a 55 this is due to the fact that he did not radar me. He was driving an unmarked car and I flew past him. He came up behind me and I thought he wanted to race so I took off and than I saw him stick the blue light in the windshield.

[Moppie]

Here in NZ we have a Zero Tolerance policy, and the cops have a Quota to fill every day.

If the cop is down on his quota and your doing 101kmh (100 is the limit) under the current law he can give you a ticket.
So it really is up to the officer.

[boingo82]

Originally posted by Moppie
...your doing 101kmh (100 is the limit) under the current law he can give you a ticket.
So it really is up to the officer.

They ALWAYS can give you a ticket if you're only violating a teensy bit - but usually you have to be speeding enough to be worth their bother, especially if it's extremely cold or hot out.

Still though, go the speed limit. I mean, you're not in such a darned hurry, and even if you are, speeding doesn't really help because of how the lights are timed.

[Oz]

In NSW we have ~10-12 km/h lee way.

[Sanchi]

Ya its realy kinda stuped, I was going down hill and there was like a mini VAN an SUV and me in my coup. we were all like 15 miles over the speed limit is like 35 on the down kill slope. the van next to me was going 49mph and i was going 51mph said the cop. the officer pulls me over and saids that i was going over 50 so he pulled me over... WHAT the speed limit is 35 but he was pulling ppl over that was going over 50... and all 3 cars were purty much going the same speed down the hill its retarded reasoning these cops have most of the time... Once i was going like 25 over the speed limint on the freeway and the cop just drive behind me and told me to slow down with the speaker phone that was kewl

but back on topic i usely go 5-7 over the suggested speed. Most cops go slower then the speed limit and all the STUPED mofos slow down behind the cops thinking if they went faster they would get pulled over !!!!! that piss me off so i just find an opening and drive pass the intimidating cop

[supratuner]

in my area, you can get away with about 10-15MPH over, in a 55, but any thing less than a 55, you get will pulled over for doing more than 8 over

[sugarcaddy]

Around here with all the traffic-going the flow aint going to get you a ticket. However there are a few towns around here where the Police are real assholes and will stop you for going over the speed limit even if its by 3-5 MPH over.
I stick with the 5 MPH over the posted speed limit, and or go with the flow on the freeways.

Scott

[Chris]

Here in Ontario, Canada, you dont get points on your license for anything under 19km/h over the limit, regardless if its a 40 or 100 zone. And the fine is under a hundred bucks. IVe passed cops (going opposite directions) at 130 in a 90 before, and not had problems. But I try to keep it below 105 in an 80.

[taranaki]

Originally posted by Moppie
Here in NZ we have a Zero Tolerance policy, and the cops have a Quota to fill every day.

If the cop is down on his quota and your doing 101kmh (100 is the limit) under the current law he can give you a ticket.
So it really is up to the officer.

Think you are mistaken on a couple of points there Moppie.

http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2420705a11,00.html

zero tolerance only applies to those speeding at over 11km/h over the speed limit,under that it is at the discretion of the officer,but he is expected to issue a ticket for 70% of the motorists that he stops.In this part of the country,OI find them surprisingly tolerant.On a trip to the city this weekend,I came up behind a patrol car in the Aakino gorge.It's not the kind of road that you can break the speed limit on in many places,but he was travelling at around about 90-95 km/h on the straighter parts.Obviously,a passing manoever was out of the question,as that would have meant a short and fast pass and a speeding ticket.Traffic was quite busy and pretty soon he had 5 or 6 cars behind him.He pulled over ,let us all past,then tagged on to the back of the traffic.We split away with some of the faster cars hitting about 110 in the 100 zone,but he didn't seem too bothered.Mind you,if he had been in the area to which the 'quota' system applies,things may have been different.

At the end of the day ,the quota system is a waste of time.If the police are doing their job effectively,they deter people rather than punish them.There is no way of quantifying how many drivers are deterred by the prospect of being fined for speeding,so the true performance of any single constable can never be accurately assessed.At the end of the day,if you don't want to get caught,don't speed.There are plenty of dumb people out there who can fill the quotas a few times over.