Agree. What is “too slow”. ? It depends upon how much.
I usually drive in the right lane and run about 3 to 5 MPH under the limit. If someone doesn’t like it then they can pass on the left or go…
That town in FL sounds worse than the small city about 60 miles south of me. I used to get stopped in that town everytime I passed through even while making it a point to stay 5 MPH under the posted speed.
One time I was really pxxxxx off about it and decided to go back to court and fight after being cited for 10 over while I was 10 under. The officer didn’t even show up for court.
The judge flat out told me in open court that the officer “is old, stuck in his ways, and probably had no reason to pull you over. He just didn’t like your looks and saw you were from out of town”.
Of course I objected to the officer being a no-show at which point the judge said “he doesn’t need to be here anyway and you need to respect the court system”. That led to a kangaroo court comment from me.
Said judge then flat out stated “I spent 20 years in the Air Force and I’ll tell you right now that I don’t like your looks either …or your bad attitude”.
My response was that my attitude was never going to improve after what he just told me and that evolution was rocketing its way backwards in that town. At that point I was fined and dismissed after an insinuation of jail time for contempt.
Justice at its finest… 
Gotta agree with most, If you are going significantly slower it is a hazard to others that may not realize how slow you are going until the last minute. Equally as dangerous is ticking off the wife.
I actually see this as a form of road rage where you are attempting to make a statement to others around you rather than just trying to drive for all concerned.
@ok4450
That judge should have been forced to resign, because he wasn’t even pretending to be impartial or fair
He was just blatantly biased in one direction, no matter what
I thought if you contest a traffic violation, and the officer doesn’t show, the ruling is automatically in favor of the motorist . . . victory by default, I believe
@db4690
That’s not always true. If it were, policemen would spend all their time in court instead of patrolling. A well written and complete report on an incidence carriers sufficient sway for violators to be adjudged guilt…regardless of “who shows up”. You will need to hire Johnny Cochran to be assured of success. As far as a judge passing a judgement you don’t like after ridiculing him and the system…sometimes, we get what we ask for with our big mouths.
One example is Rt 1 south bound over the Tobin bridge in Boston. the speed limit is 15 (yes, 15 MPH). I usually slow down to 40, the slowest I feel safe at, as most all the traffic blows by at 65 MPH.
So I agree, drive at the speed you feel comfortable at, but in the right lane if at all possible.
If other drivers blow you past you at 20 MPH above the speed limit, so be it. You should NOT speed up just to keep their lane clear.
PS, the reason for the 15 MPH limit on the Tobin is that there is are toll booths a hundred feet ahead. They just removed the toll booths, but the speed limit remains.
I just want to remind everyone that the OP told us that he drives “significantly under the speed limit”.
Not “slightly slower” than the prevailing speed of traffic on the road, but significantly under the speed limit.
To me, that implies–perhaps–driving at 55 mph on a highway with a 65 mph speed limit, and with a 65 mph limit, the prevailing traffic speed is likely to be 70+ mph.
I would like the OP–if he ever chooses to return–to explain exactly that he means by “significantly under the speed limit”. Unless he advises us otherwise, I am interpreting his typical speed on the highway to be–perhaps–as much as 20 mph less than the prevailing speed on the expressway. And, that is just plain unsafe.
OP–Would you care to clarify matters for us?
You are right VDC, OP has a little explaining to do about “significantly”. To me, it leaves everything up in the air. The passenger who seldom gets a good look at the speedo might see cars wiz zing by going 10 mph over while hubby is traveling at 5 mph under and assume everyone else I s going near “the speed limit”. There are times when 5 mph below the speed limit may not be significant in that respect but it certainly is as far as the traffic is concerned.
I have been in traffic where a row of cars drove by me doing 80 mph in a 65 while I was doing 60 mph pulling a boat on a trailer. That was significant even though the passenger, a sailing buddy thought otherwise and “I was driving way too slow.” My wonderful wife always takes exception to my traveling too fast…until she takes over the driving and I lean over to see her driving even faster at times.
The point is, as you say, without numbers, it’s deceptive on the highway universe dealing with relativity.
In my county, the officer must show up in court. If he does not and you plead not guilty, the judge will dismiss the case.
In many areas of California, if the officer does not show up, the motorist wins, because the case is dropped
The judge should have been fired, because he was blatantly saying the officer’s word is all he cares about, and the motorist is always guilty
People like that need to have their robes torn off and be dismissed, in front of the news camera. They are a disgrace to the legal profession
A judge that makes up his mind beforehand has no business being a judge
When you sit on a bench all day and listen to the outright lies coming out of MOST defendants mouths ( not saying in this case) it’s very easy to dismiss what they say. I will simply tell you this. In our town the officer who wrote the summons did not always have to appear but AN officer on duty went down for the county court date for those summonses if intent was not made ahead of time. Normally the offender does not appear. When they do, they are armed with stories that are everything from prevarications to out right lies.
I will tell you, as a witness to the occurrences over and over again, you want to jump up and scream when they start their story line. Not saying anything one way or another about what happened in this case, but the total opposite IS THE NORM. Everyone has their own point of view but contrary to popular belief around here it seems, cops and judges are fair and generally side with the preponderance of evidence and common sense every where but a few.
Does crap happen…to be sure. But you don’t include in your defense a tirade on the lack of integrity of the court which you are depending upon. You want to legitimately complain, there are other avenues to approach including state and county agencies and editorials. If you follow up your experience with that, it makes sense. If you don’t, the story has too many holes in it to pursue in the eyes of an observer.
"But you don’t include in your defense a tirade on the lack of integrity of the court which you are depending upon. "
Any logical person would see the good sense of what you stated, but–trust me–there are lots of people who lack common sense. Let me give you an example, from my days in education:
One year, I was placed on the Appeals Board that dealt with students who had lost credit as a result of excessive absenteeism. Not many students actually lost credit, because at that time they were allowed to take 16 “sick days” per year without needing any medical notes. (Yes, I realize that this was a ridiculously large number, and it was later reduced to 10 days per year.)
When a student reached 8 unexcused absences, there were written notices sent to the parents, in order to reinforce the school policy, and to remind parents of the importance of obtaining medical notes when a student’s absences began to mount up. If they reached 12 unexcused absences, another notice was sent home, in addition to phone calls from the child’s counselor.
Then, if the student exceeded 16 unexcused absences, a notice would be sent home stating that the student had lost credit for the classes where he exceeded the limit, and the notice also explained the appeals process. The appeals process was fairly cut & dried, as many parents did–belatedly–submit medical notes at that point, and credits were restored upon receipt of the parent’s written appeal and the medical notes.
However, there were a few parents who never obtained any kind of documentation to prove the legitimacy of their child’s absences, and who believed that it was a good idea to begin their written appeal by…insulting the school board that had instituted the attendance policy…insulting the principal…insulting the school itself…and…yes…insulting the Appeals Board to whom they had sent their written appeal! My expression for this situation was, “I would like to throw myself on the mercy of the Appeals Board–but first please allow me to insult all of you”.
Even without medical notes, there were some instances where we did see fit to restore credits as a result of extenuating circumstances–albeit with the proviso every subsequent absence had to be accompanied by a medical note. However, none of the appeals that were done in an insulting manner were ever successful. Imagine that!
@dagosa
What you just told me was informative
Thank you
But that judge still should have been fired
I realize that most officers and judges are fair, but this particular judge needs to be fired
He is an exception to the rule, and needs to be removed
Speed limits are both practical and psychological. US speed limits are low compared to other countries with good roads, and for most people driving the speed limit on a freeway is boring. Therefore, on a multilane highway, the right lane is normally the speed limit, and the “passing” lane is for those who slightly exceed the limit, which cops ignore, since it improves traffic flow.
I have cited before the extreme example during the first oil crisis when we had the 55mph limit, which was supposed to save oil and lives. Several car magazine writers got into their pickup trucks in the morning and side by side drove into Detroit on I-94 at exactly 55mph, not letting anyone pass them. They caused one of the worst traffic jams and thousands of drivers got to work late.
Most drivers drive at a safe speed in view of their abilities and the capability of their vehicles. Last time I drove in Germany, I had to keep to the right hand (110kph) lane in my small rental car. As soon as I used the middle lane there were lights flashing in my rear view mirror since I was going too slow for German tastes. On E3 which is 6 lanes, the fast lane is 180 kph (112mph), and the center lane is about 140kph (88 mph) and that keeps traffic moving safely and uses the true capacity of the road.
Yes, slow drivers are a menace, and if you feel uncomfortable driving the freeway, as my late father-in-law did, stay on 2 lane highways.
@db4690
You can get an official fired with enough legitimate, written and verifiable evidence of wrong doing. It can’t it can be done here now so long out, but there many who have " retired" when in
reality they had little choice. You As a citizen are listen to overtime as a group. Documentation and accumulating of misdeeds does work.
@dagosa
Yeah, I’m sure you’re right
In any case, that judge is probably retired by now
Thankfully, I haven’t had any unpleasant interactions with law enforcement in a long time. But they were fair, even if I didn’t like the outcome
When I was 15 and my Dad and I went to court, he told me to shut up and let him do the talking, which I did. Didn’t help any but at least I didn’t make it any worse by telling the judge his son was about as stupid as he was. I also would have told him he should be checking his tires in the morning. Its not always easy living in a community. (His son really is one of the stupidest lawyers I’ve ever seen in action though, truly.)
I once heard the comment that “Fast drivers get in accidents, but slow drivers cause them” I always thought that rang somewhat true. No one should be going slower than the posted minimum if they are on a highway, and they should stay in the far right lane when doing so. I have no problem with people wanting to go slow, but if you don’t feel comfortable driving at highway speeds, stay on surface streets or arrange another mode of transportation if possible.
“Son, is your problem ignorance or indifference?” “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
@oblivion
Gotta partially disagree with you
If everybody’s driving 70-75 on the freeway, and some yahoo going 90 gets in an accident, please don’t blame the guys going 70-75
And these speed demons are usually the same ones who are flashing drivers in front of them who are doing a mere 75
And they’re usually the ones weaving in and out, without signaling, sometimes abruptly cutting in front of you so close, that you can’t even see their license plate
Sure, it’s the slow ones that cause accidents
uh-huh
no offense intended, by the way
Driving too slow is dangerous, but driving too fast and dangerous is unacceptable
Studies have shown that speed by itself is not as dangerous as the speed difference between vehicles on the same highway. These studies were what convinced many states to raise the limits for trucks to the same as cars. Coming up on a car running 15 or 20 or 25 slower than you can cause an accident. If all lanes are clogged in heavy traffic, one car running even in the right lane causes everyone behind them to quickly change lanes to avoid you or smack the brakes causing a squeeze of cars behind. If you can’t keep up with traffic, don’t get on the freeway. Listen to your wife, she’s right.