posted
They can't ticket you for 'doing the speed limit', but they can give you a ticket for doing other things even if you are doing at or below the speed limit. Aside from the aformentioned 'driving too fast for conditions', in some US states, they can ticket you for failing to yield the left lane to faster traffic, even if you are doing a legal speed.
Example, California law:
quote:21654. (a) Notwithstanding the prima facie speed limits, any vehicle proceeding upon a highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at such time shall be driven in the right-hand lane for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand edge or curb, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.
Some states restrict the left lane to passing only, which can get you a ticket at the legal speed limit. Ex Kentucky:
quote:A vehicle shall not be driven in the left lane of any limited access highway of four (4) lanes or more with a posted speed limit of sixty-five (65) miles per hour, except in overtaking a slower vehicle, yielding to traffic coming onto such a highway or when traffic conditions exist which would prohibit safe use of the right or center lanes.
Enforcement is another matter. However, it does give an officer a reason to stop a suspicious vehicle.
-------------------- "My neighbor asked why anyone would need a car that can go 190 mph. If the answer isn't obvious, and explaination won't help." - Csabe Csere Posts: 1225 | From: Wichita, Kansas | Registered: Nov 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
In January I got a ticket for speeding in an HOV lane despite that fact that if I had driven the speed limit I would have caused a backup miles long.
I appealed it and did get a dismissal but only because I had an otherwise pristine driving record and the clerk/magistrate was in a good mood.
quote:Originally posted by dewey: In January I got a ticket for speeding in an HOV lane despite that fact that if I had driven the speed limit I would have caused a backup miles long.
dewey
I love the excuse, but if I started obeying the law then everyone behind me would of had to obey the law as well.
-------------------- All the world's a face, And all the men and women merely acne. Posts: 673 | From: Glasgow, Scotland | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
As Delta-V noted, impeding the flow of traffic is a moving offense. From the Arkansas code:
(e) For purposes of this section, "moving traffic violation" shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) Careless or prohibited driving;
(2) Driving while intoxicated;
~snip~
(13) Driving the wrong way on a one-way street;
(14) Hazardous driving;
(15) Impeding the flow of traffic;
(16) Improper backing;
(17) Improper lane change;
~snip~
So yes, you can get a ticket even though you are going the legal limit.
BB&S
-------------------- "How dare your reality hinder my ability to believe what I want!" Joe Bentley Posts: 697 | From: Backwoods of Arkansas | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I prefer how this topic looks on the forum home page: "Ticketed for doing the speed..."
Yeah, this happened to me just last week. Those new-fangled K-9 units and their... oh, the speed LIMIT, I see. That's right, as I was saying, those K-9 units and there tireless enforcement of traffic safety, you just can't beat em!
Posts: 1048 | From: Brunswick, Maine | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:California has a “Basic Speed Law.” This law means you may never drive faster than is safe for current conditions. For example, if you are driving 45 mph in a 55 mph speed zone during a dense fog, you could be cited for driving “too fast for conditions.” You may never legally drive faster than the posted speed limit, even if you think it is safe to do so.
So yes, you can be ticketed for doing the speed limit if the conditions warrant it. At least in California.
Posts: 10 | From: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:So yes, you can be ticketed for doing the speed limit if the conditions warrant it. At least in California.
But the issue isn't whether you can be ticketed for speeding even though you aren't exceeding the speed limit -- it's whether you can be ticketed for obstructing traffic even when you are already driving at the maximum speed limit.
posted
I got a ticket here in Washington 15 years ago for violation of basic speed code. I was driving in the fast lane doing 40-45 MPH when a car pulled out in front of me from the slower lane and then hit the brakes when they saw the cop 3 cars infront. The police officer pulled me over because he heard my brakes bark and thought I was going to fast for traffic conditions. He then gave me a tick for violation of basic speed code. When I got the report it said I was doing 40-45 MPH on the Highway and to fast for condition because I had to slam the brakes on.
The ticket was thrown out when the officer amitted he was in no possition to see what realy happen since he was 3 cars ahead of me and in a different lane. He only gave me the ticket after hearing the brakes and seeing me swerve to avoid hitting the car cutting in front of me and hitting the brakes from his rear view mirror.
Posts: 597 | From: Bellingham, WA | Registered: Nov 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by snopes: Comment: Can you really get a ticket for going the speed limit during rush hour (slower than the rest of traffic)?
I really think this question was posed by someone that has no idea what 'rush hour' actually is and assumes it is a time when everyone drives really fast. (God, I wish)
-------------------- "Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you." - C. G. Jung Posts: 243 | From: Marina del Rey, CA | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
A friend of mine when doing his driving test was told by the tester to overtake a stationary bus which meant going over the speed limit. He passed him...
-------------------- On my old guitar sell tickets, so someone can finally pick it. Posts: 799 | From: Dublin, Ireland | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
Richard W
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
Sorry if I'm being stupid, but why would you need to speed up to overtake a stationary object?
Posts: 8725 | From: Ipswich - the UK's 9th Best Place to Sleep! | Registered: Feb 2000
| IP: Logged |
-------------------- "British English speakers point to Americans adding more syllables so that they can make even more noise without actually saying anything." Llewtrah
Posts: 2235 | From: Sussex , UK | Registered: May 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Wild1: I'm sure OK did a great job of alerting their citizens with ad campaigns, and news stories about the speed limit. Police do not have to go door to door and explain every new law to every person. It is the resposibility of each person to make themselves aware of the laws in the area they live in. So, not in agreement, but in the defense of the trooper, it would seem he was in the right.
No, but, I've driven in Oklahoma, and I'm from New York. I was there for a week, had a rented van, yada yada yada. I had to rely on the signs by the side of the road.
OK had some of the most interesting speed limits, too, as I recall. I remember seeing a 42 and a 62.
-------------------- I love dairy! Does that mean I can't be a vegan? Posts: 1569 | From: Upstate NY | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
Richard W
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
There are some new ones on there - I've never seen that "No vehicles carrying explosives" one before... That'll put a stop to terrorism!
Posts: 8725 | From: Ipswich - the UK's 9th Best Place to Sleep! | Registered: Feb 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I think I have seen one of those at a quarry. and I think at a tunnel entrance.
I can't find a sign I saw at a vehicle testing station a few months ago, it was a spanner with a line through it.
Any ideas?
-------------------- "British English speakers point to Americans adding more syllables so that they can make even more noise without actually saying anything." Llewtrah
Posts: 2235 | From: Sussex , UK | Registered: May 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:I'm sure OK did a great job of alerting their citizens with ad campaigns, and news stories about the speed limit. Police do not have to go door to door and explain every new law to every person. It is the resposibility of each person to make themselves aware of the laws in the area they live in. So, not in agreement, but in the defense of the trooper, it would seem he was in the right.
Yes but my friend didn't live in OK (at the time, he does now). He lived in Kansas. He was driving to visit his family over the holiday. Do I need to study speed limit laws in every state I'm going to visit when I travel? Do I need to know which ones are changing and when in case they change while I'm on the road? Or should I be able to depend on the signs on the highway? I think it's reasonable to think that if the sign says 65, it means 65.
If it were a resident of that state I'd be more on your side. The upshot was the state forgave everyone ticketed for that offense, residents and non alike. Evidently they thought it was questionable enough even for residents.
Gibbie
-------------------- If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate. Posts: 3993 | From: Indiana | Registered: Feb 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Hans Off: I think I have seen one of those at a quarry. and I think at a tunnel entrance.
I can't find a sign I saw at a vehicle testing station a few months ago, it was a spanner with a line through it.
Any ideas?
Since it was a vehicle testing station (I assume emissions), I would say that it meant you weren't allowed to do mechanical work on your cars at the station.
-------------------- IIRC, it wasn't the shoe bomber's loud prayers that sparked the takedown by the other passengers; it was that he was trying to light his shoe on fire. Very, very different. Canuckistan Posts: 3694 | From: Arizona | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
Richard W
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Originally posted by Hans Off: I can't find a sign I saw at a vehicle testing station a few months ago, it was a spanner with a line through it.
quote:Originally posted by Richard W: Sorry if I'm being stupid, but why would you need to speed up to overtake a stationary object?
i should have said there was a truck in the distance coming the other way and as all the other cars in front were picking up a little speed to overtake safely, the tester told my friend to do the same. Guess he was in a hurry too.
-------------------- On my old guitar sell tickets, so someone can finally pick it. Posts: 799 | From: Dublin, Ireland | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Wild1: In very loose legal terms lawyers and even judges always say: "Ignorance of the law is no excuse." It's like shooting someone and then saying, "gosh, I've never read anything that said I can't do that!" A bit of a stretch, but just making the point.
It's a big stretch, actually. The people ticketed did not claim ignorance of the existence of speed limits, or ignorance of the fact that exceeding speed limits was illegal. They claimed, and could demonstrate, that the speed limit was posted incorrectly. They knew the law existed and were attempting to follow it.
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by UEL: I've heard this one before. It goes like this:
quote:On the 401 (highway running the length of Eastern Ontario) the cruising speed during normal conditions is 120 kmh. The speed limit is 100 kmh. the police will not stop you for doing 120 kmh, as everyone else is doing it. They will stop you for doing 100 kmh as you now become a hazard.
I don't believe it for a minute.
(Why did Mike Harris ever have to get rid of photo radar?)
ETA: My entire reply!
I have a friend in Toronto (he lived here for a few years, then moved back) who tells me this is exactly how he got his one and only ticket. He was doing 110 or so, and a police car wanted by, even though its lights weren't flashing, so the officer turned on the lights, pulled my friend over, and gave him a ticket for obstructing traffic.
Posts: 539 | From: Nova Scotia | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
My DB once got a ticket for stopping at a yellow light. There was a police officer behind him and DB was afraid to speed to get through the light because he had too many speeding tickets already, so he stopped. The officer wanted to make it through the light (no lights or sirens, just wanted to get through) so he ticketed DB for reckless driving. The ticket would have been dismissed if DB bothered to go to court (the officer didn't show), but he didn't so he got his license suspended for 6 months.
-------------------- Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of -- but do it in private, and wash your hands afterwards.
- Lazarus Long Posts: 300 | From: Waldorf, MD | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
In Colorado, the TV news did an expose last year on the question of getting a ticket for driving the speed limit if traffic is going faster. According to the police they interviewed, the speed limit is considered a "soft" boundary and yes, they will issue a ticket to someone driving 55 in a 55 if everyone else is going 75 because that person is going significantly slower than traffic flow, causing everyone else to hit their brakes and change lanes.
I personally contacted the state patrol on this matter, and their conversations with me were different from the news spot. The told me that the only law in effect relevant to slower vehicles is a law intended to make extremely slow vehicles, such as farm machinery, move to the shoulder to allow traffic travelling at normal speeds to pass. When I asked them if it was okay to exceed the speed limit by, say, 5MPH, the officer said, "Uhhh, I can't tell you that it is."
In my many years experience of driving I-25 in the early morning, everyone goes 65-70, including me, in a 55 zone and I've never gotten a ticket, and the only people I've seen get tickets were weavers who were going more like 75-80.
Also, this is hearsay, but my brother in law got a ticket in California when he was going 55 in a 55 along Hwy 1 because the cop said he was going at an unsafe speed.
-------------------- There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who do not.
"Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" - The Brain Posts: 587 | From: Colorado | Registered: Jul 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:So yes, you can be ticketed for doing the speed limit if the conditions warrant it. At least in California.
But the issue isn't whether you can be ticketed for speeding even though you aren't exceeding the speed limit -- it's whether you can be ticketed for obstructing traffic even when you are already driving at the maximum speed limit.
- snopes
Well, the paragraph madmardigan quoted does say
quote:You may never legally drive faster than the posted speed limit, even if you think it is safe to do so.
That doesn't exactly say you can't be ticketed for obstructing traffic when you're going the maximum legal speed, but it does mean if you could then there would be no possible way to not break the law.
-------------------- "Unseasonable is an odd word to begin with. It sounds like it's describing something that it's impossible to sprinkle pepper on." -- Nonny Posts: 5483 | From: Just south of Folsom Prison, CA | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I would love to hear a police officer defend giving a ticket for "obstructing traffic" by going 55 mph in a 55 mph zone.
I'd want to see the expression on the judge's face.
-------------------- A Lie can run around the world before the Truth can get its boots on. - Terry Pratchett
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions; but everyone is not entitled to their own facts. - Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan Posts: 2495 | From: Connecticut | Registered: Oct 2000
| IP: Logged |
Richard W
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
One way that you could be obstructing the traffic on a multi-lane road while driving at the speed limit is if you're sitting in the outside, overtaking, lane when the inner lanes are empty.
In the UK at least, overtaking on the inside is illegal*, so this would mean that nobody could pass you. (Even though nobody could pass you anyway without breaking the speed limit themselves.)
I don't know if it would count as dangerous driving and be a ticketable offence to do this, but it's certainly frowned upon and against the Highway Code. But if you were ticketed, it wouldn't be because of your speed as such, rather because of your position on the road.
(edit) Highway Code page. It doesn't reference a specific law for that section, so it may only be a guideline. But it's possible that breaking it could count as dangerous driving under some circumstances even if you were travelling at the speed limit.
*(edit again) It may not be illegal in itself to overtake on the inside. This Highway Code page says
quote:only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do so
but it doesn't list overtaking on the left as something you MUST NOT do by law.
Posts: 8725 | From: Ipswich - the UK's 9th Best Place to Sleep! | Registered: Feb 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
True, you probably could be ticketed for driving slower than the rest of traffic in the passing lane, but the OP made it sound like you could be ticket simply for driving "too slow," regardless of what lane you are in.
-------------------- "Unseasonable is an odd word to begin with. It sounds like it's describing something that it's impossible to sprinkle pepper on." -- Nonny Posts: 5483 | From: Just south of Folsom Prison, CA | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Wild1: In very loose legal terms lawyers and even judges always say: "Ignorance of the law is no excuse." It's like shooting someone and then saying, "gosh, I've never read anything that said I can't do that!" A bit of a stretch, but just making the point. I'm sure OK did a great job of alerting their citizens with ad campaigns, and news stories about the speed limit. Police do not have to go door to door and explain every new law to every person. It is the resposibility of each person to make themselves aware of the laws in the area they live in. So, not in agreement, but in the defense of the trooper, it would seem he was in the right.
ETA: this post was in response to Gibbie, I got ahead of myself and did not see the other post above, sorry.
While ignorance of the law may be no excuse, it is unreasonable to expect somebody to memorize the speed limit for every section of the highway. Even if they had been informed of the law, the general law would be overruled by the local signage.
Posts: 64 | From: Irvine, CA | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:I'm sure OK did a great job of alerting their citizens with ad campaigns, and news stories about the speed limit.
I would think it would be more efficent and cost effective to use that time, energy, and money to go out and change the signs to reflect the new limits rather than try and tell residents what it is via PSAs.
Some AZ laws regarding speeding and impeding traffic (I tried to do as links but it wouldnt work.)
quote:28-701. Reasonable and prudent speed; prima facie evidence; exceptions
A. A person shall not drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances, conditions and actual and potential hazards then existing. A person shall control the speed of a vehicle as necessary to avoid colliding with any object, person, vehicle or other conveyance on, entering or adjacent to the highway in compliance with legal requirements and the duty of all persons to exercise reasonable care for the protection of others.
D. The maximum speed provided in this section is reduced to the speed that is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and with regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing, including the following conditions:
1. Approaching and crossing an intersection or railroad crossing.
2. Approaching and going around a curve.
3. Approaching a hillcrest.
4. Traveling on a narrow or winding roadway.
5. A special hazard exists with respect to pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of weather or highway conditions.
E. A person shall not drive a motor vehicle at a speed that is less than the speed that is reasonable and prudent under existing conditions.
quote:28-704. Minimum speed limits; requirement to turn off roadway
A. A person shall not drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.
Please note in the first one section D provides for reductions for hazards including weather, and section E for going less than the speed limit.
-------------------- I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf. -- On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs by LTC. Dave Grossman, USA (Ret) Posts: 675 | From: Arizona | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Comment: Recently I heard again what I think is a long-standing myth/legend. Various people have sworn to me over the years that one can (In California) get a traffic ticket for going too slow, even though the driver is going at the posted speed limit, when they are going slower than the flow of traffic.
The story usually comes up in conversation while driving the freeway, as a means of justifying speed, and goes, "my cousin got a ticket once for going 65 on the 101 freeway. Everyone else was going 80, and the CHP Officer said he was creating a traffic hazard by driving too slow."
I can't imagine this is true, but is there any documented case of an "un"-speeding ticket?
Posts: 36029 | From: Admin | Registered: Feb 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I did once see a lady get pulled over for going too slow (this was on I-480 in Ohio). My passenger and I watched as she slowed down because there was a cop behind her, who I guess finally got fed up and told her to get the lead out. I don't know if he gave her a ticket or not, obviously, and it escapes me how fast we were going. I do know, though, that there was no posted minimum, only a separate lower speed limit for trucks.
-------------------- I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it. --Mitch Hedberg Posts: 37 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Or maybe she got pulled over because her registration was expired. Or her taillight was out. Or she'd just robbed a liquor store. Unless of course, you pulled over with the officer to here him tell her to "get the lead out"?
-------------------- "The little local company I buy from has CHEAP shipping and I have met their goats." (snapdragonfly)
"And that's one lost erection I'll never get back! You hear me Dan! I'm owed an erection!" (I'mNotDedalus) Posts: 2658 | From: California | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Roadie: Or maybe she got pulled over because her registration was expired. Or her taillight was out. Or she'd just robbed a liquor store. Unless of course, you pulled over with the officer to here him tell her to "get the lead out"?
Haha, no. Good point, though. I just assumed it was because she was going too slow. I think there may've been something on the other side that made the cop unable to pass her, but this was years ago, so who knows. The only reason I even remember it was because we were griping about people who slow down ridiculously whenever a cop shows up.
Fox "ass outta you and me" Bitca
-------------------- I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it. --Mitch Hedberg Posts: 37 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Here's an interesting and related link to a short video. It was apparently made by a bunch of college students who felt the 55 mph speed limit on a major metropolitan freeway was too slow (and no one obeyed it anyway), so they set out to show what happens when people stick strictly to the speed limit.
It's an interesting video. I wonder what (if anything) came of it.
quote:Originally posted by Blue Phantom: Here's an interesting and related link to a short video. It was apparently made by a bunch of college students who felt the 55 mph speed limit on a major metropolitan freeway was too slow (and no one obeyed it anyway), so they set out to show what happens when people stick strictly to the speed limit.
Which is why a lot of places say you should only be in the left lane when passing. If such a law was in place, they could still be pulled over for obstructing traffic, even though they were going the speed limit. So in effect, they would be pulled over for "going the speed limit", but the actual offense is something else.
Admittidly, that kind of law tends to be posted when there are only two lanes, and less likely with more lanes as it's very unlikely that four people will bottle-neck the highway like in that movie unless there is already traffic.
I have two other problems with the OP:
Who goes 25-30 mph over the speed limit in rush hour?
Who goes 25-30 mph over the speed limit when a cop is visible?
I don't know what cities these people live in where people are able to go 25-30 mph over the speed limit during rush hour. Any city I've lived in, you're generally lucky if you can sustain 5 mph over for five minutes during rush hour, and you're much more likely to be going at least 5-10 under. I'd like to see someone go the speed limit through the Pittsburgh Squirrel Hill tunnels at rush hour; really, I can't tell you how many times I wished for that.
If I'm driving on the highway, and I see a cop cruising behind me, or one on the side of the road (even if it's there every day and appears to be empty), then my experience is that everyone around me immediately drops to about 5 mph below the speed limit. I often find that I'm now passing everyone up because I have my cruise control set to the speed limit.
-------------------- If the sum of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the square on the other two sides, why is a mouse when it spins? Posts: 90 | From: Cleveland, OH | Registered: Nov 2005
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[lol]](graemlins/lol.gif)
