Poll: Highway Cruising Speed?

[US 89]

Come to think of it, how do states with 80 and 85 (i.e. TX Route 130) mph speed limits, how does traffic treat them? Does traffic flow at and/or do cops enforce the exact speed limit, or 5-10 over even then? Going 95 mph on that one road in Texas sounds awesome.

In Utah, most rural interstates are 80 mph. I think the average speed is 83 mph, and most traffic stays under 85. There are always a few who go 90-100+, but I think you'd have them regardless of what the limit is. Generally cops won't ticket anything below 85, but that was the same policy that they had used back when the limit was 75.

It turns out that raising the speed limits didn't actually change the average driving speed. In Utah's case, raising it from 75 to 80 changed the average speed from 82 to 83.

As for construction zones in Utah, the work zone limit is typically 10 below the regular limit.

[kphoger]

In Montana, they often lowered it to 35! From 80...wtf?

The most insane work zone speed limit I've run across was on Mexican federal highway 15(D), between Tepic and Guadalajara.  This is a four-lane divided toll road, with a normal speed limit of 110 km/h.  When I drove a portion of it back in 2006, they were mostly done with a resurfacing job.  All the actual pavement work had been done, the top layer was silky smooth.  The only thing left to do, as far as I could tell, was to paint the lane stripes.  No equipment by the highway, no workers present, just waiting for the paint truck to come by at some point.  And the speed limit was 20.  Not miles, either, but 20 km/h.  For those of you not familiar with metric, that's a work zone drop from 68 mph to 12 mph.

I did 120 km/h.

[Flint1979]

I remember when they were widening I-75 between Flint and Saginaw, they worked on one side one summer and the other side the next summer so it was always a two year project for any stretch. They would open a third lane up going northbound from Wednesday to Saturday and then reverse it and have the third lane going southbound the rest of the week, the other direction only had two lanes. The jersey barrier they used for the median was so close to you if you were in the left lane going either direction that it almost seemed like you were going to side swipe the median.

In Michigan the speed limit is generally 70 mph in the southern part of the state and 75 mph in the northern part of the state except for I-69 gets a 75 mph speed limit between Lansing and Swartz Creek then again between Davison and Port Huron, the stretch through Flint is 70 mph. For construction zones it's usually 60 mph or 45 mph if workers are present.

[kkt]

If I'm familiar with the road, I'll make a judgement based on the road and how active law enforcement is in that area.  Some roads are safe at way over the posted limit and others aren't.  I consider shoulders, visibility, possible cross-traffic and animals, as well as curves and grade.

If I am not familiar with the road, I'll limit it to about 5 mph over.

[1995hoo]

The poll doesn't have my answer: Whatever seems reasonable at the time.

With that said, I generally try to keep it around 65 mph in the DC-area 55-mph zones. I also tend to keep it at 65 in the 60-mph zone I most frequently travel because there are often cops there. I kick it up to 70 in the 65-mph zones and I generally keep it at 70 in the 70-mph zones.

When I travel elsewhere this all may vary–in Florida I'll often do 75 to 80, but I no longer go much faster than that except occasionally when I want to complete a pass and get out of the way. Back in 2005, the first time I ever drive across Alligator Alley I seldom dipped below 100 mph, but those days are long gone for me. That road has more enforcement now, too.

[doorknob60]

In Montana, they often lowered it to 35! From 80...wtf?

The most insane work zone speed limit I've run across was on Mexican federal highway 15(D), between Tepic and Guadalajara.  This is a four-lane divided toll road, with a normal speed limit of 110 km/h.  When I drove a portion of it back in 2006, they were mostly done with a resurfacing job.  All the actual pavement work had been done, the top layer was silky smooth.  The only thing left to do, as far as I could tell, was to paint the lane stripes.  No equipment by the highway, no workers present, just waiting for the paint truck to come by at some point.  And the speed limit was 20.  Not miles, either, but 20 km/h.  For those of you not familiar with metric, that's a work zone drop from 68 mph to 12 mph.

I did 120 km/h.

Ha, reminds me of a work zone on Costa Rica Highway 1 in the general area of Cañas. Normal speed limit was somewhere between 80 and 100 km/h (not exactly sure, possibly varied), but the work zone speed limit was 30 km/h. And this was a lengthy work zone, dozens of km long if I'm remembering right. For the most part the conditions didn't require the slow speeds (there were a few exceptions). Everyone was going 80-100 km/h still. Speed limit and red light compliance was very low in Costa Rica, in my experience (though I was not the one driving).

[MikeTheActuary]

I don't know that it's wise to admit in a public forum that you don't normally obey the law. 

I will say that there are three guiding principles I adhere to when driving:

1.  I drive within my and my vehicle's capabilities given the conditions present.

2.  Subject to that constraint, I drive with the objective of minimizing my interactions with other vehicles.  ("Interactions" = passing/being passed by cars in adjacent lanes, or other actions that require me to react to other vehicles or for other drivers to react to me.)

3.  Subject to those two guidelines, my car's fuel efficiency starts to drop considerably somewhere in the 70-75mph range (depends on conditions, of course).  The extra time savings is almost never worth the extra cost.

[webny99]

I don't know that it's wise to admit in a public forum that you don't normally obey the law. 

No one would be fooling anyone if they said they never exceeded the speed limit. Everyone does it, in public, on the road, so stating it on a roads forum shouldn't be a shocker. Nor should one expect honesty to have any adverse consequences.

Unless you were talking about default rejection of other laws besides the speed limit, which is slightly different territory...

[riiga]

At 50 km/h or below I always respect the speed limit. Otherwise I typically do 10 km/h more than what is signed, if it's safe to do so. I also go 5 km/h slower than signed when passing a speed camera (they're signed beforehand here, often with a speed limit reminder), just to be on the safe side.

[kkt]

As I understand it, it would only be admissable if you said where and when you exceeded the speed limit, not just a general rule.  Besides, we don't use our real names here, right?

[J N Winkler]

Assuming fair weather, a dry road surface, smooth traffic, and easy geometry, my open-road cruising speed depends on the speed limit.  I generally set my cruise control at the limit if it is 70 or less.  If it is 75 and above, I usually set cruise at 72 to 74; I don't especially care for speed limits north of 70 because it is at this point that aerodynamic drag starts to have a serious effect on driving range.  I will speed up well above the speed limit as required to complete overtakes, but I have no real interest in cruising above the limit--I don't want to give any headspace to enforcement tolerances and I don't want watching for cops as part of my task load.

[kalvado]

3.  Subject to those two guidelines, my car's fuel efficiency starts to drop considerably somewhere in the 70-75mph range (depends on conditions, of course).  The extra time savings is almost never worth the extra cost.

Assuming fuel efficiency goes from 30 to 25 MPG for 55 to 75 increase in speed (pretty drastic estimate), and with fuel $3/gallon, you value your time at $4.125/hour. Good to see insurance companies keep my rates low by paying actuaries below minimum wage...

[7/8]

This answer varies depending on which state/province I am in. For example, in SD where the limit is 80 mph, I basically drove right around the limit. But in Michigan on I-94 where it's 70 mph, I was driving around 75 mph. Nevertheless, I voted for the option which matches my driving in Ontario (10+ mph ).

For Ontario:
In 2-lane 80 km/h zones, I tend to go between 95-100
In 2-lane 90 km/h zones, I tend to go between 105-110
In freeway 90 km/h zones, I tend to go between 110-120
In freeway 100 km/h zones, I tend to go between 120-130

I dream of the day when Ontario bumps up our 400-series speed limits to 120 or 130, but it doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

[MNHighwayMan]

I don't know that it's wise to admit in a public forum that you don't normally obey the law. 

Because I'm sure there's state troopers from all 50 states that browse this forum looking for those dastardly lawbreakers, never mind the admissibility of a forum post as evidence of a crime as significant as going a bit too fast...

[Buffaboy]

It depends on what highway I'm on.

[kalvado]

I don't know that it's wise to admit in a public forum that you don't normally obey the law. 

Because I'm sure there's state troopers from all 50 states that browse this forum looking for those dastardly lawbreakers, never mind the admissibility of a forum post as evidence of a crime as significant as going a bit too fast...

Never say never. If anyone ends up in a very high profile accident - something with big consequences, like multiple casualties and large property damage; I am thinking along the lines of fuel tanker fire on a bridge that SF had - forum and social media posts may very well come up during investigation. 
Chances are really slim, but this is not an impossible scenario.

[Flint1979]

You can do 80 mph on just about any stretch of Interstate highway in the state of Michigan and be fine. I have never been pulled over for 80 mph anywhere in the state. I travel around Michigan pretty good on a regular basis and drive on every 2-di in the state just about every week and have never been bothered for doing 80 mph. I guess 1 cop out of maybe 1,000 might pull you over for doing 80 a state cop that I know told me that they won't bother you at 80. I do 80 mph on the 55 mph stretch of I-75 and I-94 in Detroit all the time and don't get bothered. I-94 needs to be widened from Port Huron to New Buffalo but I'll save that for another topic.

[adwerkema]

You can do 80 mph on just about any stretch of Interstate highway in the state of Michigan and be fine. I have never been pulled over for 80 mph anywhere in the state. I travel around Michigan pretty good on a regular basis and drive on every 2-di in the state just about every week and have never been bothered for doing 80 mph. I guess 1 cop out of maybe 1,000 might pull you over for doing 80 a state cop that I know told me that they won't bother you at 80.

I guess I found that 1 out of 1,000 cop. A few years ago I was riding with family friends through the Novi portion of I-96. Cruising down the road, we were doing 80 mph and were probably around the 75th percentile for speed during that particular time. I was looking out the window and accidentally made eye contact with a police officer a lane or two over. A minute later, we were pulled over and told that we were going 80 mph in a 70 mph zone. The driver said that she was just keeping pace with traffic. In response, the officer said he was making an example out of us for all the other traffic doing 80 mph on this stretch. In the end, no ticket was given. I still feel like I'm at fault because of that unfortunate eye contact. 

[Flint1979]

You can do 80 mph on just about any stretch of Interstate highway in the state of Michigan and be fine. I have never been pulled over for 80 mph anywhere in the state. I travel around Michigan pretty good on a regular basis and drive on every 2-di in the state just about every week and have never been bothered for doing 80 mph. I guess 1 cop out of maybe 1,000 might pull you over for doing 80 a state cop that I know told me that they won't bother you at 80.

I guess I found that 1 out of 1,000 cop. A few years ago I was riding with family friends through the Novi portion of I-96. Cruising down the road, we were doing 80 mph and were probably around the 75th percentile for speed during that particular time. I was looking out the window and accidentally made eye contact with a police officer a lane or two over. A minute later, we were pulled over and told that we were going 80 mph in a 70 mph zone. The driver said that she was just keeping pace with traffic. In response, the officer said he was making an example out of us for all the other traffic doing 80 mph on this stretch. In the end, no ticket was given. I still feel like I'm at fault because of that unfortunate eye contact. 

It's rare I guess but I've passed many state cops and never got pulled over for doing 80. I have for doing 83 up by Houghton Lake on NB I-75 I was in the left lane approaching exit 227 (M-55 going towards Houghton Lake) and had my cruise set for 78 mph, I punched it to overtake the right lane to get up to the exit and noticed two state boys sitting in the median around the curve just before the exit and I thought shit I think they got me and I came around the exit and saw the state boy coming behind me, he pulls me over and told me he had me doing 83 in a 70 and I was still doing 69 mph around the exit ramp. I didn't get a ticket.

Another time I was on the Southfield Freeway in Dearborn and was doing a 70 in a 55 zone and a Dearborn cop pulled me over, I didn't get a ticket that time either. They also told me that I looked like someone they were looking for around Tireman and Miller (that seven point intersection on the Detroit-Dearborn border) but I hadn't been anywhere around there I was coming northbound and was coming off Michigan Avenue I had just left Fairlane.

[Eth]

On freeways it's generally "whatever speed everyone else is driving". In metro Atlanta that's usually in the vicinity of 75 mph, whether the speed limit is 55 or 70. Over a decade of driving here tells me that won't cause any problems. On rural freeways with little traffic, I generally default to about 7 mph over the limit; on surface roads usually 5 over.

[mjb2002]

I always do 3 mph below the speed limit, no matter what the posted speed is.

[webny99]

I always do 3 mph below the speed limit, no matter what the posted speed is.

I have no objections to that, provided you will move to the shoulder to let others by on rural two-lane highways 

[kalvado]

I always do 3 mph below the speed limit, no matter what the posted speed is.

I have no objections to that, provided you will move to the shoulder to let others by on rural two-lane highways 

S 1131. Driving on shoulders and slopes. Except for bicycles and those classes of vehicles required to travel on shoulders or slopes, no motor vehicle shall be driven over, across, along, or within any shoulder or slope of any state controlled-access highway except at a location specifically authorized and posted by the department of transportation. The foregoing limitation shall not prevent motor vehicles from using shoulders or slopes when directed by police officers or flagpersons, nor does it prevent motor vehicles from stopping, standing, or parking on shoulders or slopes where such stopping, standing, or parking is lawful.

So either you're a police officer, or you just added another piece to "insist on KREP = unsafe driver" statistics.

[jeffandnicole]

I always do 3 mph below the speed limit, no matter what the posted speed is.

I have no objections to that, provided you will move to the shoulder to let others by on rural two-lane highways 

S 1131. Driving on shoulders and slopes. Except for bicycles and those classes of vehicles required to travel on shoulders or slopes, no motor vehicle shall be driven over, across, along, or within any shoulder or slope of any state controlled-access highway except at a location specifically authorized and posted by the department of transportation. The foregoing limitation shall not prevent motor vehicles from using shoulders or slopes when directed by police officers or flagpersons, nor does it prevent motor vehicles from stopping, standing, or parking on shoulders or slopes where such stopping, standing, or parking is lawful.

So either you're a police officer, or you just added another piece to "insist on KREP = unsafe driver" statistics.

If the slower person moves to the shoulder and stops, it's legal.  If the slower person moves to the shoulder and continues driving, it's not.

[kphoger]

I always do 3 mph below the speed limit, no matter what the posted speed is.

I have no objections to that, provided you will move to the shoulder to let others by on rural two-lane highways 

S 1131. Driving on shoulders and slopes. Except for bicycles and those classes of vehicles required to travel on shoulders or slopes, no motor vehicle shall be driven over, across, along, or within any shoulder or slope of any state controlled-access highway except at a location specifically authorized and posted by the department of transportation. The foregoing limitation shall not prevent motor vehicles from using shoulders or slopes when directed by police officers or flagpersons, nor does it prevent motor vehicles from stopping, standing, or parking on shoulders or slopes where such stopping, standing, or parking is lawful.

So either you're a police officer, or you just added another piece to "insist on KREP = unsafe driver" statistics.

Common courtesy on Mexican two-lane highways.  After driving in Mexico awhile, where slower traffic does indeed move over onto the shoulder, you'll really wish people in the US did it as well.



In point of fact, it is specifically legal to do this in Texas, per statute.

(a) An operator may drive on an improved shoulder to the right of the main traveled portion of a roadway if that operation is necessary and may be done safely, but only:

(1) to stop, stand, or park;

(2) to accelerate before entering the main traveled lane of traffic;

(3) to decelerate before making a right turn;

(4) to pass another vehicle that is slowing or stopped on the main traveled portion of the highway, disabled, or preparing to make a left turn;

(5) to allow another vehicle traveling faster to pass;

(6) as permitted or required by an official traffic-control device;  or

(7) to avoid a collision.