" Everyone and their brother wants, expects, and demands a warning."
I don’t think that’s the case at, the last time I got a speeding ticket (2003), I was traveling 77 MPH in a 65 MPH on the way to Bristol for a NASCAR race and about 20 miles outside of Bristol on 81, I along with about 5-7 other vehicles were unfortunate enough to run through a speed trap that the state troopers had set up to catch people coming into town for the race weekend. In course of 1 mile, I counted no fewer than 13 cars that had been pulled over, the group of 5-7 cars that I was in were pulled over en masse. The trooper came up to the my window, he asked for my license and registration, took a quick look at the stuff packed in the back of the Bronco, and asked if were we in town for the race. I said that we were, he went back to his car, the approached my window again, said “I clocked you going 77, this a 65 zone, you can send in the fine by mail or you can show in court on the date listed on the ticket.” and then sauntered off to the next car in line. He didn’t even ask me if I knew why I was being pulled over or give me an opportunity to explain myself (not that I had an excuse or anything). They were there to write tickets and nothing else. And of course had this been any other day, they wouldn’t have had 8 troopers set up in a 1 mile stretch of highway. But I didn’t pitch a hissy fit over it or anything, I was caught speeding, and it was one of those rare instances where keeping up with the flow of traffic backfired. Anyway I chose to go to court, and the judge basically called up everyone who got caught speeding on that stretch of road on that day and made the offer that if you wanted to pay to the fine and take a driving school, then the ticket would be dropped and that would be then end of that. It really seemed like they didn’t care about actually convicting anyone so long as they got their money.
“We used to give them 5, then 10, now 15 or even 20 MPH over the limit before citations start getting issued.”
You want to know why that is? It’s because even the cops realize that exceeding the posted speed limit when the conditions are correct, contrary to what you might think, isn’t an especially dangerous thing to do. Look at it this way, speed limits have largely stayed the same in this country since the 1950’s. And even back then those limits were put in place so that even the most unskilled driver, driving the most dilapidated hooptie could drive safely on the highways without undue risk. Today’s cars handle and brake an order of magnitude better than they cars of 60 years ago, yet the speed limits have stayed the same for the most part. Some of us recognize that.
" Frankly, with court the way it is, what’s the point?"
The point is that it’s more beneficial to everyone to go after the people who tailgate, change lanes erratically, or chose to sit in the left lane doing 60 MPH when the prevailing traffic is doing 80 MPH. That’s were the problems area. If 90% of people drive over the speed limit, then shouldn’t there be 90% more accidents on the highways? Some people might think that, but the reality is that accident rates have diminished in the last 20 years. And here’s the data if you want to check for yourself
https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1103.pdf
"If I choose to speed, it is an informed choice. I know it. If I set my cruise control on 5 or 10 over on the interstate, I am well aware what the speed is, and I am well aware how fast I choose to go. I am always constantly aware of how fast I am going."
And I suppose you think that everyone else on the road isn’t doing that either…
