I have seen it on the road, and I have read many posts here about drivers guys and gals alike that think they need to run just as fast as their turck will allow...and some even seeming to take pride in how fast they can go.

The roads are not your own personal race course, there is no grand prize for getting from point A to point B ten minutes faster than the last guy.

Speeds are posted for a lot of GOOD reasons, safety being the first and most important. I dont care how much skill you have, speed kills. If you wanna race and brag about how great you are, go to the track and prove it, get a trophy and mount it to the hood of your truck, BUT when your on the roads shared by other drivers QUIT SPEEDING.

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We gotta start at the TOP, wipe the slate clean and take OUR country BACK!
LuvMyHubby
Proud mom of an Army Man
Wife of a trucker

I drive 90 mph while reading the newspaper.

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theres always at least one smarty pants no matter where ya go.

__________________
We gotta start at the TOP, wipe the slate clean and take OUR country BACK!
LuvMyHubby
Proud mom of an Army Man
Wife of a trucker

Since the first vehicle on wheels, people have been taking pride in speed and performance, this will not change people brag.

Do you drive the speed limit EVERYWHERE?


Ok a simple math lesson. 11hr driving shift, if you can average 5mph faster you make an extra 55 miles. 10mph you get 110 miles.

I would agree 10mph over is a little extreme in most areas, in a truck, BUT states like OH, CA, MI, and IL, 10mph is 65mph, and not really a hazard, if you mind risking a ticket.

There is a prize, the prize is my paycheck, while I drive a truck limited, I do cheat a little in certain areas, namely the states I mentioned, as their speed limit is ridiculous.

When traveling across OHIO for instance, I drive 60-62, with other truck traffic, this extra few mph allows me to stop quickly for bathroom breaks and to grab something out of my cooler, with out logging 15min sleeper, allowing me to complete my driving sooner. When you are on a tight schedule, you need to complete your driving with no breaks, so you can start your 10hr reset.

You simply do not understand the average system a otr driver must follow, your husband hauls cars, he is not trying to make 550-660 miles in a driving shift. He can make up time in the loading and unloading process, we dont have that option so we cheat with speed.



Speeds posted are not for good reasons, they are arbitrary numbers made up years ago, in an attempt to legislate safety. Infact most states with 55mph truck speed limits cite emissions and fuel useage for the reason for the lower speed limit.

Speed does not kill, it is the sudden movement or resistance caused by a crash. In fact, most MVA's involving large trucks and smaller vehicles the smaller vehicle is considered to be at fault, problem is no matter who is at fault the driver of the smaller vehicle is the one who dies. In Genesee county in NY, there has been 5 or 6 TRUCK/CAR fatals in the last year, every time the car crossed the center line and was struck. In one instance a severely intoxicated young woman ran the wrong way down the nyst, she drove several miles before hitting a semi head-on. In most of these cases the truck driver was not severely injured, but will likely have emotional issues, and this might effect the drivers ability to continue his chosen career.

If you look at statistics the 2 MOST IMPORTANT issues in fatal crashes are, alcohol and fatigue. Speed is sometimes a contributing factor, but speed alone does not kill.

Another fact pointing to the speed limits being arbitrary numbers...

1. Better brakes on all vehicles.
- The introduction of computer assist brakes, high tech materials, brake cooling technology, and machine precision, have improved stopping times greatly over the last 30-40 years.

2. Tire Technology.
- Tires are simply made of better compounds today, they grip the road better and the tread patterns repel water better to keep the tire on the road.

3. Road surfaces.
- Road surfaces today are also better, in the days these speed limits were made many roads were in the most primitive stages of pavement if they had pavement at all.

4. Road construction and setup.
- Roads today have wider shoulders, and more clearance between the highway and trees, alot of our roadways have broad grassy areas providing visability for the driver to detect animals and avoid accidents. Roads are also designed to allow for safe operation at the speedlimit, allowing small vehicles and many trucks to not have to slow for corners, now on secondary roads this is not true, but MANY secondary roads have been modified in the last 10-20 years to limit blind knolls, straighten curves, and square up intersections.

5. Better vehicles.
- Vehicles have better headlights, wiper systems, mirrors, tail and brake lights, seating positions, ergonomics to reduce fatigue, and safety systems(airbags, seatbelt tech, and crumple zones)



A few things that make roads less safe are:

1. Population, many more cars on the road.

2. Distractions, via phones, radios, food, etc.

3. Drugs and alcohal, however, I would say untill current days alot of people were drinking and doing drugs driving on the roadways, and in rural and urban areas many still do.



On my motorcycle, i drive 100% secondary roads, mostly rural, I speed. I DONOT speed in residential and city areas. But if I am in rural unpopulated areas I drive faster than the posted speed limits. I also will pass in no passing areas, but just because the road tells you not to pass, does not mean the pass is not safe. Many vehicles can accellerate and overtake vehicles in smaller areas allowing for SAFE passes but not legal. It is also true in some cases where the road tells you it is safe to pass, there is not the visability necessary to pass. Most places in europe I drove there are no instructions on where to pass, you do this where you feel it is safe. I also will speed for this reason.

The fastest speeds in the world are in Germany on the autobaun, and mile for mile it is the safest highway system in the world. Why? Not because of the speed, but they regulate driver training, vehicle equipment, and traffic laws to a point where you can safely drive 100+ mph.

Speed might contribute to an unsafe enviorment, but there are MANY other factors above speed that KILL.

I would say tailgating and aggressive driving are more to blame than speed, simply blaming speed is ignorant.


K

In my travels I have noticed that most people do drive faster than the posted speed limit. More people pass me than I pass.

Luvmyhubby- sorry but I have to disagree with you; driving over the speed limit doesn't kill, irresponsible speed and overconfidence kill everytime.
Put it this way, you live in MI, right? So do I. The 55 mph speed limit (and the new 60 mph one) are riduculous, esp when the cars out there are running well over the posted limit of 70; if I do that speed, I will put myself in the dangerous position of having these much less trained (and, in some cases, less capable) drivers running up on me doing more than 20 mph than I am- and the result could be a terrible accident.

So, yes, in MI I usually drive 63-68, because then I am less of a roadblock to the average idiot, hurrying off somewhere at 80+.

I agree that the split speed limits are very stupid and dangerous. I also think that speed limits, no matter why they were set (safety, emissions, fuel economy), should be followed as best as possible. Moving with the flow of traffic, when reasonable, must be safer than doing 20mph more/less than everyone else. In a perfect world, everyone would follow all the rules...but this world is FAR from perfect.

I run exactly the speed limit in my BroncoII. Everyday, somebody who wants to run 5 or 10 MPH faster risks my life.

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Gee...I wonder why they ever posted speed limit signs anyway?
They might as well have saved themselves some time in doing that because from what I have seen there arent to many who go the speed limit.

I don't care what you are driving....Faster then a speeding bullet is all they seem to know. It's rediculous.

Just to clarify my point..if the speed limit is 65, I don't get mad when I see others doing 65-70, hell, it's hard to regulate your speed much better than that without cruise control. I don't like people that think 65 means 75-80 though. They make the roads dangerous for everyone that is trying to stay near the limit. Try to maintain the proper speed for the conditions, speed limit, and the flow of traffic. That doesn't mean drive 95 and set your own traffic flow.