I'm not quite sure why police and members of the judiciary consider anyone driving above 100 mph the automotive equivalent of a child abuser– when speeding per se doesn't top the list of accident causation (unless the stat gatherers lie), but they surely do (both lie and consider 100mph+ speeding beyond the pale). The Associate Press (via the Coshocton Tribune ) carries the SHOCKING NEWS that Buckeye State Troopers cited 1416 motorists for speeding offenses above the toxic ton in '06. "Most of those ticketed were driving high-performance automobiles such as BMWs, Audis and Acuras. However, troopers say even compact family cars like Kias can reach triple digit speeds." The poster child for this speedo-related recklessness: a motorcyclist clocked at 167 mph. Municipal Court Judge David Picken threw the book at the bad boy biker. Luckily for the miscreant (if not road safety), it was a relatively slender tome: a $440 fine, six-month license suspension and a court-ordered driver's safety course. The scofflaw should count himself lucky he wasn't caught in Virginia, which, like the UK, is quite happy to jail drivers cresting the ton. Or Hawaii, which also offers a little alone time with Bubba in the hoosegow or community service for any driver caught driving over 80mph.
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and yet 1,416 speeders lived to tell the tale…
hey, cops, go fight real crime.
That doesn’t seem so bad. My fine was half that for doing 18 over (when I was a teen). They left my license in tact though. I had the points forgiven by taking a driver’s safety class. Oddly enough, no one mentioned speeding: only drunk driving was covered.
NICKNICK:
Real crime doesn’t pay. There isn’t a fine system set up for burgelars.
Trouble is, that 1415 of those drivers woudn’t have known what to do if an emergency had arisen.
I watch drivers go by me in a straight line and then, I watch the brakes lights come on the moment the road starts to bend.
Iwatch panic braking every time an 18 wheeler pulls out to pass another one on a two lane expressway without signalling and yet we should all know that that is going to happen sooner or later and act accordingly.
We’ve given up on driver training and we’re attempting to use electronics to save people from themselves.
I’ve had the misfortune of driving in and through Ohio on many occasions. Given that there seems to be an Ohio State Trooper ever other mile I don’t know HOW these 1416 people managed to get up that much speed. =
–chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
“Trouble is, that 1415 of those drivers woudn’t have known what to do if an emergency had arisen.”
Too TRUE! Imagine if we actually required people to learn how to drive their cars within their performance envelope, so you weren’t allowed to own a high performance car unless you had demonstrated the ability to drive a high performance car, at your own cost. We have no problem regulating airplane pilots in this fashion; just because you can demonstrate the ability to fly a single-engine Cessna does not give you the right to take off in a single-engine jet aircraft. The law requires that you demonstrate proficiency as you move up the line from basic airplanes.
As the roll-over statistics demonstrate, there is a difference between driving a Ford Taurus and a Ford Explorer, and it doesn’t happen when you’re parallel parking.
“Trouble is, that 1415 of those drivers woudn’t have known what to do if an emergency had arisen.”
Fortunately, this blog’s audience is composed entirely of that 1 other driver who is really that much a better driver than the other plebes on the road.
They could write that many over 100 MPH tickets in Silicon Valley on one weekend if they wanted to.
Driving a motorcycle at 167 MPH on public roads is a grave danger not just to the rider, but to everyone else they come in contact with. Rather than taking the license they should confiscate the vehicle if you are caught doing more than double the speed limit.
I’ll let them keep being idiots about speed, if they will just admit that the camera tickets are just plain wrong.
Like Chuck, I too have had the misfortune of driving through Ohio.
He is not exaggerating when he says there are literally state troopers every other mile.
I am terrified, simply terrified, of doing anything higher than 70mph in a 65 zone because the police are so prevalent and persistent about pulling “speeders” over under ANY conditions. Even if your only doing 75 on a 3 lane highway without traffic.
It’s a shame because Ohio’s highways (for the most part) are smooth, well paved, wide and straight. A perfect place to use the “grand” part of your Grand Tourer.
Qusus, how do you think they PAY to keep those roads so smooth and well paved? With a state trooper every couple miles. Penn could learn from that; god i hated the conditions of the roads in Penn!
(btw, I used to work for a company that analized road conditions, i spent 2 months in PA)
PA roads are horrible. i have lived in eastern PA my whole life and the roads are just bad. plan old bad. if anyone is familiar with RT22 in the Lehigh Valley that is a prime example. i also have come to realize the PA drivers have NO idea how to merge into traffic. and if someone is merging most refuse to move over to let some in.
My wife’s 2007 Sonata (four cylinder – not V6) is able to go – no kidding – as high as 131 miles per hour. It’s just a family sedan.
Even my 2008 Prius is supposed to be able to do 106 miles per hour (a function of less horsepower, compensated in overall useable performance by excellent torque).
I live in an area where it takes an hour to get to a 70 mile per hour road. 55 is it, legally speaking.
Most states don’t have speed limits above 75.
Most US drivers are so incompetent that they could not pass the UK driver’s test, which 56% of the UK drivers fail 1st time (even after hundreds of hours of on-road training).
Tailgating. Passing on the right (which is now legal in Michigan since the state gave up on trying to enforce any lane discipline). Cruising through stop lights while turning right (slowing to maybe 25?). Not stopping at side roads (stop signs). Pulling out in front of other drivers. Driving WELL under the speed limit. Driving WELL over the speed limit.
As someone else said – we’re now relying upon our cars to save us rather than mandating competent driving standards to keep us safe. That’ll only work for so long – before the stats (and death rates) explode.
I literally sold my collector car because I no longer felt anything like safe driving it amongst these IMBICILES on the road in Michigan. Plus the roads are in such poor repair, that I don’t even want to talk about it.
If we were truly serious about keeping ourselves alive, our loved ones alive, we’d be demanding changes in driver’s education, in driver’s (re)training, and would be demanding that every new vehicle had a governor limiting speed to something like 20 over the highest US speed limit, say, 95 mph.
THEN put toll roads in highly travelled areas, with no speed limits, and restrictions on drivers accessing the road (and allowing an electronic bypass of the governor).
Then, competently trained drivers could make good time and the ones who refuse to learn to drive as well – could be banned from the best roads.
The USA is big enough to do it. We have the land. I’d pay to go through the course. I DID go through “the course” when I lived in the UK and swallowed my “pride”, went and “re-learned” to drive from a little gray-haired man in a BSM Mini Metro with a big red box with big black “L” (“learner”) tags all over it…. passed the UK test first time, thanks….
Of course, in reality, our “esteemed” politicians and cops don’t WANT to change the status quo where they make so much money off us in “legalized extortion with menaces” (speeding tickets).
100mph is nothing. There are many roads that can easily be safe at such speeds.
RyanK02 has it right, can’t get any money from thieves and murders so states have to soak the taxpayers.
Of course if you do the right thing and take your car to a track your warranty can be void and insurance won’t cover your claim if you wreck.
When my points fall off next year I’ll be buying whatever technology I can use to stick it to the man, detectors, jammers, etc.
Steve_S:
Do your research on detectors. It will cost you plenty, but there are a few (Valentine seems to be the Cadillac of them) that will quickly pay for themselves if you speed much.
Ohio = The no fun state. It’s uterly amazing that anyone can get up to (let alone over) 100mph in Ohio since almost 2 out of 3 Ohioians feel it is their god given right to do 60 mph in the left hand lane while talkng on their cell phone and reading a two month old copy of Columbus Monthly magazine. They should build a free way through Ohio with no speed limit and not let anyone from Ohio get on it.
There’s a billboard I see everytime I visit my parents: “Hey Leadfoot, this isn’t the Indy 500! Negligent driving kills.”
While I agree negligent driving kills, the billboard annoys the hell out of me because speeding is not negligent driving.
Even my 16 year old Mazda will top 100 (although I doubt it can reach its 140 mph speedo).
I have a firm belief that people from Ross county (in Ohio, county 71) are the only ones that do 55 and 60 in the left hand lane…they don’t typically signal either.
And we have a nick-name for the Ohio State Highway Patrol – Flying Tire Salesmen; this from the logo of the flying tire on the side of the cars. It’s a running joke that when they have someone pulled over they’ve found a new customer.
Isnt ohio where the town of new rome used to be?The ticketing scam was so bad the town was actually closed for good. Wiped off the map so to speak. After car and driver did an expose on the situation, the lawsuits started flying and the good old boy network was smashed.
“I have a firm belief that people from Ross county (in Ohio, county 71) are the only ones that do 55 and 60 in the left hand lane…they don’t typically signal either.”
Nah, try the I95 into Florida for erratic slow driving.
On the other hand, the New York thruway along the south side of Lake Ontario runs 85 mph. Any slower in the left lane and you’re instantly tailgated – by a truck!
Here is the original Columbus Dispatch story
Ohio is a cop ridden hell hole for drivers. The cops have the politicians over a barrel. They would rather run speed traps than bust crack houses, so that is what they do. And no-one in power will tell them to go do something important.
Here in Columbus the cops have it in their union contract that their assignments cannot be changed without union consent. The Chief of Police is civil service and cannot be fired. So all they do is eat donuts and run speed traps.
The State Troopers get 2% of the sales tax, whether they have any need for it or not. No wonder our schools suck.
My advice to you is, if you have to drive through Ohio, don’t re-route your-self. If you still have to go through Ohio. Use your cruise control and don’t go over 70 mph.
Qusus :
He is not exaggerating when he says there are literally state troopers every other mile.
Maybe on a holiday weekend. I find it rare to see a trooper on I75 or I70. The State/US highways are where they make their money, as you can’t see a trooper from miles away like on the interstates.
Steve_S: Good for you!
After the last $445 ticket for doing 70 on an interstate highway (sunny day, light traffic) outside of Atlanta (where you’ll be run over going less than 75), I happily spent the money (Escort Passport 8500 X50), and have been speeding ticket free ever since. Much cheaper than the random taxation method, as well.
One good place to start would be regulating the speeds of the heavy trucks and buses like they did in Italy when I was stationed there. The speed limit for the cars was 80 mph more or less but they did not enforce it between cities. You BETTER not cause an accident though b/c they would throw the book and the jail at you… We regularly ran ~100 mph in my mid-80s Rabbit ‘vert (US spec 1.8L with 90HP – who says you’ve got to have a big V-8 to drive fast???) In the cities you had better watch your speed.
The big vehicles (trucks and buses) were regulated as I recall to a strict 60 mph. I think it was 60 mph.
Around here (I-40 mid-TN) the big trucks run as high as 80 mph fully loaded and it is simply dangerous to drive a small car at the speed limit (’97 VW Cabrio). I rush past traffic clusters to stay more or less away from the big vehicles.
I’d like to see more freedom for cars to run hard and fast, with speed limits enforced for SUVs and minivans, and the big vehicles restricted to about 60 mph or 65 mph.
My last trip to east TN I was passed at nearly 80 mph by two LARGE motorhomes with pusher-diesels towing fullsized SUVs. That is NUTS!
Chris