You cannot go over the speed limit to pass another vehicle

So you were in China? I doubt the laws are the same. Or this was in the U.S.? In that case, your perception of the officer’s nationality roots are not very relevant.

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I remember that. And here on the West Coast that’s likely to result in the state patrol behind you with the lights and horns and telling you to speed up. Even in the right lane. I’ve seen it.

I’m in CA this week. I was on the freeway doing 70-72 in a 65 in the #2 lane. Vehicles that were passing me on the right included a FedEx semi, several passenger vehicles, a senior center bus, and the CA Highway Patrol. Every time I’m in CA I’m reminded that I need to drive faster.

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Oh crap, I’m going to be in that area in May.

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Well what are the posted(signed) Speed limit and minimum there?

You see ladies & gentlemen?

These two, ase and Pvt, as well as the state patrol ase mentioned, perfectly exemplify the misperception that…

“SPEED LIMIT = MINIMUM SPEED YOU SHOULD GO”
(as typical live-free-or-die Americans would interpret it)

Well, for their information, on I-95 and the Merritt Parkway in my area, the posted limits are 55mph(50 in sections of the Parkway), and mininum 40mph.

So I am, legally and otherwise, within my rights to do what I am doing, as long as it in not in a passing lane or middle lanes.

If the posted limit on some other highway is 70mph, mimimum 55, then I will go 65, again in the RIGHTMOST LANE.

Because I understand the correct definition of LIMIT, in all contexts.

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Damn right and proud to be an American!!! :wink:

Nobody is forcing you to live here if you don’t like it… just saying, the border works both ways…

BTW, in TN if you are on a 2 or more lane road, hwy, whatever, going in the same direction, not in the far right lane, and you are holding up 5 or more vehicles going slower than the posted speed limit, a State Trooper can/will pull you over for holding up traffic…

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I just want to know why Americans have such misinterpretations of something as simple as a limit(speed or otherwise). Does it tie with why the country was founded in the first place? Help me out here.

Doesn’t apply to me, because I am in the far right lane.

As far as backroad two laners go, posted limit for me, unless it’s ridiculously low, like 20mph or something. Y’all can just simmer back there, or, pass me - I promise I won’t speed up(I’m not a me-first Yank!) - and risk the consequences: hidden up around the next bend.

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And that is the great thing about this country, you have the right to feel your way, right or wrong, as most of the rest of us (Americans) have the right to feel the way we do about it, including LEO’s…

And remember, you are no more right, then any one of us that are on the other side of the fence…

As I expected. So even to a LEO, as long as you’re going between 55-65mph in a 55 zone, all is right in the world.

:man_facepalming:t2::man_facepalming:t2:

Again, just because you think something is right and you feel strongly about it, doesn’t make it right… Even in the animal world, the slower ones gets eaten 1st… that goes for the old saying, I don’t have to out run the animal chasing us for it’s next meal, I only have to be faster than you… :wink:

+1
I sometimes wonder how fast someone would be driving in order to be ticketed for speeding on an Interstate highway… at least in my home state.

For example, the speed limit on I-287 is 65, and the prevailing speed is probably somewhere ~75 mph. Yesterday, I was in the left lane, passing a line of slower traffic, when I noticed that my speedometer was showing 83 mph as I approached a trooper car parked on the median.

I knew that I was w/in the range of his radar, so I immediately slowed-down to 72 mph and moved to the center lane, but I was then passed by other cars that were still traveling at ~80mph. I watched my mirror, and the trooper never budged from his position on the median, so I have to assume that 80 mph in a 65 mph zone is okay… unless the trooper needs to meet his ticket quota.

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Me thinks both ( Clueless ) and the ( Tire Whisper ) could be the cause of road rage .

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People who “pass” other cars by matching the speed of the car that they are passing–and then wind-up just hanging in the left lane–are clueless cretins who don’t realize that they are endangering themselves and other drivers with that type of mindless behavior.

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A lot of the State Troopers that I have known (customers) in TN as well as KY say they won’t bother you unless you are going 16 MPH and over the posted speed limit of 65-70 MPH under normal driving on interstates and Hwy’s, obviously there are always exceptions to ever rule, such as construction zones etc… Most 35 zones give you about 6 MPH over and 45 zones about 10 MPH over the legal limit… That includes a lot of the city LEO’s, neighborhoods you better not go over the limit of course, for safety reasons (kids)…
Nashville area varies…

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I’ve heard weird stories of people being pulled over for going 1mph over the speed limit. I was ticked in Virginia for going 5mph over the speed limit.

I think every time we get on the road we are gambling behind the wheels.

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60mph in urban areas. No minimum posted. Meaning that I have personally witnessed a car driving 55 in the right lane and a state trooper come up behind them with the flashing lights and telling the driver over the speaker to speed up.

I understand the law perfectly. Of course driving even 1mph over the posted limit is illegal. I also understand that best practices dictate the safest thing is to travel with the flow of traffic, as evidenced by the fact that the state patrol follows and encourages that practice. Maybe we can reconcile the two, maybe not.

By and large this is a moot point for my daily commute. I drive a 25 mile stretch of interstate that, during rush hour, can take over an hour. You can figure out that 60mph is not a limit, but a goal. :grinning:

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That’s typical here too.
I think it’s more a concern about differences. If the prevailing traffic is moving at 80 mph, the trooper is looking for someone outside of that. Like the guy that wants to do 90 that is weaving around traffic or just buzzing past everyone and presents a danger because they are significantly outside the prevailing speed.

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+1
Even at lower speeds, a big disparity in speed presents quite a risk. A week or so ago, I had to drive on NYC’s notorious Belt Parkway. Because the road design–dating back to the late '30s, and not much updated since then–is so bad, the speed limit is 45 or 50, and it’s really not safe to drive much faster than the limit on that road.

What made my drive even less pleasing was the presence of a few BMWs that were playing games with each other, zig-zagging through traffic at speeds of at least 80 mph–perhaps even higher.

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Just to say something, I 90 in South Dakota has an 80 mph limit. Depending, I might drive 80 on it but I have found it is not a relaxing drive and need to be on your toes all the time. Still nice to have that option driving 400 miles across barely settled territory. I think there could be no posted limits and I would still drive the same speed.

I have always held that slow drivers create more dangerous situations than fast drivers. Cars bunch up more and create passing situations when there would be no need. Public use requires courtesy and cooperation and if you find you operate on either end of the bell curve, an unsafe situation can be created and might want to re assess. We need to resist the effort to pit one group against another though. That’s what they want and that’s not America.

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It does. And just now while driving on the highway and focusing on obeying the law by going the exact speed limit ( 65mph ) a bunch of huge semi trucks kept coming up behind me and scaring the crap out of my soul and they would all change lanes afterward to pass me.

When you look at it, it was me creating a dangerous situation on the highway since everyone was going much faster than me.

It used to be possible in this area, don’t know now. The word on the street was it was possible with a little insight how to game the system to take the entire 8 hour class in a little over an hour online. I can’t vouch for this myself, never did it. In any event this sort of policy varies by location, you’ll have to research this issue yourself.