Speeding Chasers....
http://www.forbes.com/2007/12/18/highways-automobiles-virginia-biz-logistics-cx_tvr_1218speeding_slide.html?thisSpeed=3000
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/PersonalFinance/story?id=4056885&page=1
I drove a section of the German Autobahn (A3) stretching about 60 km to the east of Frankfurt am Main in May 2003. All of the speed limit signage on that section was electronic, and appeared to be controlled by road conditions. In fact, on one of my drives, as I was driving westbound, I approached a rain shower, and watched the "no limit" signs change to to a regulated speed (something like 90 or 110 km/h).
He also let me in on a dirty little secret - as long as you are driving safely, you can go up to 10 mph over the limit on rural sections of the interstates in Colorado and you won't get pulled over. Technically they could pull you over for going more than 80 mph on the interstate, but if they enforced that they would have to pull over essentially every driver on the interstate, since traffic on rural sections of I-70 and I-76 runs bewteen 80-85 on average. The CSP decided that would be a tremendous waste of time and resources, so unless you're going over 85, conditions are poor or the patrolman is just in a pissy mood, they're not going to pull you over for anything less than 85. I set my cruise about 82 and I've never had any problems with the smokies.
Secondary roads are a different story - you go more than 5 mph over, especially near a town or on a heavily trafficed stretch of road, there's a very strong probability of a ticket. There are some stretches of highway out on the eastern plains where the road is wide open and the law enforcement presence is nil where you can really push it if you have to ;) but I prefer not to take any chances unless its absolutely necessary. So I just leave a little earlier, set my cruise about 69 mph and it's all good. :D
Whether or not you get stopped is completely up to the officer. What you mentioned may have been that particular trooper's rule of thumb, but they can and do stop people for any speed violation, especially if there are outstanding circumstances. Officers use speed among other things for probable cause to stop a vehicle and they can stop you for one mph over if they want to.
You're right though, it's unlikely that they will stop you unless your speed is excessive or you are driving poorly. Just to be clear though, they can stop you for any speed violation and I would definitely slow down to the posted limit should you approach a cop.
A couple of years ago, a trooper ticketed me on I-25 south of Fort Collins for 84 in 75. Why? He said that he stopped me because I didn't slow down enough when I passed him. He clocked me at 84, but would likely have not stopped me if I had slowed down to 70 something vs about 80.
He also let me in on a dirty little secret - as long as you are driving safely, you can go up to 10 mph over the limit on rural sections of the interstates in Colorado and you won't get pulled over. Technically they could pull you over for going more than 80 mph on the interstate, but if they enforced that they would have to pull over essentially every driver on the interstate, since traffic on rural sections of I-70 and I-76 runs bewteen 80-85 on average. The CSP decided that would be a tremendous waste of time and resources, so unless you're going over 85, conditions are poor or the patrolman is just in a pissy mood, they're not going to pull you over for anything less than 85. I set my cruise about 82 and I've never had any problems with the smokies.
Secondary roads are a different story - you go more than 5 mph over, especially near a town or on a heavily trafficed stretch of road, there's a very strong probability of a ticket. There are some stretches of highway out on the eastern plains where the road is wide open and the law enforcement presence is nil where you can really push it if you have to ;) but I prefer not to take any chances unless its absolutely necessary. So I just leave a little earlier, set my cruise about 69 mph and it's all good. :D
I know that lots of people do it, however I believe that driving 85 MPH and more is really dangerous, due to the reaction time issue. Things such as debris in the road, a swerving car, etc become that much more surprising and potentially deadly at high speeds.
Unless it's an utter emergency, like gorilla hail wrapping around a supercell and begining to hit your car, or a fast moving tornado suddenly turing direction and heading at you, I believe that high speeds should be avoided whenever possible, even on open highway.
I heard that works pretty well.
I only remember one time speeding while chasing, and even then it was only about 15 mph over the limit. I normally stay right at the limit or a few MPH over. One thing I heard a state trooper say back when Moby Dick was a guppy: 68 you're fine, 69 you're mine.
I have not speeded since the stop...Sometimes the best thing is to get caught....Hate to say it..
Depends if you're steering with your knees or not:D
Mike! What's the story on those flashing radar speed signs in southern Nebraska (especially on #80 north). Are they going to put cameras on those things?
I agree such a "speed reward" would become a problem when one's speed differs drastically from the flow of traffic, just as a penalty could also introduce risk. I'm thinking more like a nudge up, say 5-10MPH, like passing speed.
At any rate, it's interesting to learn how speeding is treated differently in different states and areas. Surely the bottom line is "don't speed," and since my last ticket was in TX I'm apprehensive about testing the limits. About the only places I speed without paying much attention are close to home: I-25 from Denver north to Wyoming, where typical traffic flow is closer to 80-90 (:eek:) especially during morning rush hour, and I-70 from around Bennett to near Burlington. But not so fast for the rest of the road network. Hwy 287/385 out of Limon has more open areas but it's also a popular trucking route so it's common to become sandwiched and bask in the saturating bouquet of sunning livestock until the next passing lane rescues you.
Yahoo of the year award!!
Mike! What's the story on those flashing radar speed signs in southern Nebraska (especially on #80 north). Are they going to put cameras on those things?
Those are everywhere here with no cameras.
God I can't stand those stupid areas along 81 south of York to the KS border. Nice 4 lane highway they give you 65 on, then I think 4 towns have those and make you slow to 55. It just seems so stupid to make you slow in those areas, since there ain't that much traffic around there anyway, and the towns aren't even right on the highway...plus like Hebron there are several road options to use to get into/out of that town(putting less cars on any option trying to cross/get on 81....which itself is never full of cars at all). I never see that many cops on that stretch except for right around Hebron. I wouldn't speed through that one.
I hate NE's 55mph highways with a passion(though there are less of them anymore). Things that are 55 here would be 70 in TX...and we have far less people using them. My last speeding ticket was on such a highway in se NE(way back in 03). That was funny, I had just realized I had no reason to be speeding and was slowing down. Then I see him coming around the corner. I thought oh crap. He stops me and asks if I knew how fast I was going. I said nope. He says he got me at 68. In my head I was thinking, thank god, lol. For what it is worth, I've had MUCH better luck getting pulled over by cops in ne NE than in se NE. Never had a ticket up there, but have been stopped a few times. I got another one near Auburn one year. There was a detour around town. They had the end of it leaving town marked double yellow down a little slope then up a slow slope. I quickly passed a semi as we left from that dead stop, never even speeding to do it(no gunning it even....just a casual pass as I had a great view and all day to do it), and was given a careless driving ticket that turned into about $1800 in insurance increase over the next 3 years. They were stopping car after car doing that, even while I was getting my ticket they were getting stopped by other cops. Such a stupid ticket. It was faaaaaaaaaar from careless. I've seen MUCH worse ares marked as passing zones than that huge gap. I almost always see someone pulled over by the bastards in that county.
Seatbelt laws are ridiculous(got stopped and ticketed for only that in IL in 06....no other reason to even be stopped). I mean c'mon. You're not wearing a seatbelt(mine is almost always on while on the highway) ain't going to do jack to the other driver/vehicles out there. If it is not dumb enough to create a law requiring a person to wear them, there are states that say you have to but let people ride motorcycles with no helmet! Nothing like driving along wearing the seatbelt you're forced to wear all while passing someone on a motorcycle without a helmet. I just can't understand that whole deal.
I think that fog is not the point: the accident is caused by the fog not by the speed limit. In Europe there are varius speed limit: in Italy the speed limit is 81mph even if police reserve for itself the right to establish if while driving the driver took the right speed in proportion to the road conditions; also if I'm correct German is the state where there's no speed limit.
I'm convinced that if deadly accidents still happen, is because of the human Nature, not because of the too high or too low speed limit.
The real trick is to leave early for the storm, but many chasers arrive late. This is a recent trend because as a group we tend to forecast less and radar chase more, which is reactionary to the situation. That is, anything we see on radar is already in progress. Still, it's proved to be a pretty efficient method of getting the storm of the day.
I agree that's the main point of chasing;)
A good way to avoid having to speed, is leave early, and get set up, even if ya have to wait a bit, I would rather wait for a storm, then have to wait in front of smokey while the storms and buddies fly by..
We have $10 seat belt citations here, so I guess ours are fairly cheap as well. Our officers normally do the same as far as the speeding/seat belt deal goes. I've only had one ticket in my driving career, and I don't plan on getting any more.
On the otherhand, Florida, where I lived for a while is the worst state for speeding tickets. Not because of the cost, but because they are so disorganized down there, you may pay two or three times and still not have the ticket cleared. Arrrg. Glad I don't live there anymore.
Jason Foster, N3PRZ
www.weatherwarrior.net
Not even a quick nap on I-80? The "VRRRRRT" sound of tires crossing onto the shoulder sounds a whole lot like an alarm clock ;)
And if someone has a doubt in his mind about my words, don't think I'm a crazy man that goes like a mad man on the car, I always respect the limit. If I don't do it there's a reason.;)
I think it's really more about individual officer discretion than anything else. I've heard LEOs on the same department actually argue over this one, where one guy says "4 you're fine, but 5 you're mine," whereas the other guy is saying you have to be at least 15 over before he will even blink.:D
There are guys on a department who would issue their own mother a ticket on mother's day, whereas there are guys on the same department who never bother with traffic stops unless they need a reason to stop a vehicle in the hopes of making a "good stop" and finding something more noteworthy.
I might also add that more people probably talk themselves into tickets than talk themselves out of tickets.
I've never understood the human fascination with having to go faster than you're allowed. When it was 55mph you saw 70mph demons. When it went to 65-70 the demons went 85-90. I guess if you've got the money you just don't care?
http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/2007-01-07_80mph_west_texas.aspx
What's amazing is people still get tickets. An 80 MPH speed limit is not license to go 100http://stormtrack.org/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif
Gene, there's no solution to this problem, you can take a 100 limit but people will go to 120 :D
A partial solution to me is to make some reasonable limits along the interstates. 65-70 is really too low, and there's no doubt. 75-80 is acceptable.
Those are my dimensions and I have no problems with wearing a belt; roominess in the vehicle itself is more of an issue.
http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/2007-01-07_80mph_west_texas.aspx
What's amazing is people still get tickets. An 80 MPH speed limit is not license to go 100http://stormtrack.org/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif
Sweet! What's the posted speed limit for driving through supercells? :D
Personally, when it comes to what speed to drive on a highway, for me it boils down to the conditions, the environment, my alertness... not so much what the sign says. On wide-open highways with five miles of visibility up the road and sunny skies and multiple lanes, safety is common. Inside of towns, late at night, or on roads where a surprise is likely such as a deer, however, I do the limit and don't push it. One small Colorado town warned me with a quick flash of the cherries when I didn't drop my speed to his satisfaction, which I'm very grateful for. Other places, such as the CO/KS and KS/OK borders, tend to be patrolled more strictly.
It also helps to have someone on board who can help explain the reason for speeding. I know of one woman on this board who once gave such a brilliant, Oscar-winning performance in Kansas that even I was convinced she was about to die if we didn't get to the emergency room. I still crack up thinking about it. In case you're still lurking here, S., bravo!
On the otherhand, Florida, where I lived for a while is the worst state for speeding tickets. Not because of the cost, but because they are so disorganized down there, you may pay two or three times and still not have the ticket cleared. Arrrg. Glad I don't live there anymore.
Jason Foster, N3PRZ
www.weatherwarrior.net
Texas is my homestate, and it's rumored they have mandates on numbers of tickets they have to give, leading to a lot of "nice" officers giving so-called "one-over tickets" where they write you a ticket for one mile over the speed limit if you're under ten miles over. Both of the speeding tickets I've ever received have been "one-overs" even though in one case he explicitly said I was doing 80 in a 70. I was much younger then and have been nervous about speeding since :D
As an adult it is your choice. I have worked so many collisions where there was no damage to the occupant area but because the seatbelt was not worn someone died. I suppose it is your choice to be killed however it really sucks having to do a death notification, and the family ALWAYS suffer.......Speed, I usually go 14 mph and above unless it is a school zone. I still have no trouble finding vehicles over that. Some days when I was working traffic unit it was so bad I waited until 20 over. Stay safe there is always another chase:D
He also let me in on a dirty little secret - as long as you are driving safely, you can go up to 10 mph over the limit on rural sections of the interstates in Colorado and you won't get pulled over. Technically they could pull you over for going more than 80 mph on the interstate, but if they enforced that they would have to pull over essentially every driver on the interstate, since traffic on rural sections of I-70 and I-76 runs bewteen 80-85 on average. The CSP decided that would be a tremendous waste of time and resources, so unless you're going over 85, conditions are poor or the patrolman is just in a pissy mood, they're not going to pull you over for anything less than 85. I set my cruise about 82 and I've never had any problems with the smokies.
Secondary roads are a different story - you go more than 5 mph over, especially near a town or on a heavily trafficed stretch of road, there's a very strong probability of a ticket. There are some stretches of highway out on the eastern plains where the road is wide open and the law enforcement presence is nil where you can really push it if you have to ;) but I prefer not to take any chances unless its absolutely necessary. So I just leave a little earlier, set my cruise about 69 mph and it's all good. :D
Then how come I got pulled over in Limon for going 74 :mad:. The speed limit drops to 65 for no reason there and the cops love that place as a speed trap. I see them sitting on the hill just east of the city every time I drive back and forth from Oklahoma.
I also have to agree with cops being pretty lenient in Oklahoma. My friend got a ticket for going 10 over in nowheresville west Texas, but we got let go for the same near Woodward.
a maximum of $500 or more?
i thought $500 was the maximum...
either way, it aint no thing for a speeding ticket...try paying 3X that amount :(
yeah, that is true...when your going on hwy 45 its a 70mph, but when you come into barnes crossing, it drops to 65...thats because there is more people in there, and they dont need people going so fast...
its also all about the states...the MS state speed limit is 70, but as soon as you cross the border into AL its 65...
the hwy 78 itself you can drive fast on, and ive drove 10-15 mph over the speed limit going with the flow of traffic...so, most people just drive the road...
thats what i do...just drive the road, and dont go to where you dont feel uncomfortable or without control...
Totally agree, not wearing a seat belt affects no one else on the road. Regardless I still don't understand how you can get a ticket for not wearing a seat belt (especially with tinted windows) typically the time between when you know your getting pulled over and the cop making it to your window is at least 30 seconds, more than enough to slip the seat belt on were you not wearing it.
You can "legally" be stopped (and cited) for exceeding the posted speed limit, even if that means you are only exceeding the speed limit by one (1) m.p.h.
True, what happens in the courtroom should you choose to contest the citation is a whole different matter.
http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/2007-01-07_80mph_west_texas.aspx
What's amazing is people still get tickets. An 80 MPH speed limit is not license to go 100http://stormtrack.org/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif
My best (or worst) one was running 75 in a 55, in blowing snow. Not as bad as it sounds as the roads were still warm, but he gave me a warning and let me know the bridges were icing up ahead. Nice guy.
Now I rarely drive more than 5-8 over. I'm just not in a hurry as much anymore. Besides, the Kansas State Police haven't been nearly as generous as the OHP. I'm 1 for 1 in Kansas when it comes to tickets.
I never sped in Texas because Oklahoma tags south of the Red River are a ticket magnet.
Well said, IMO :) That explains the huge variations in treatment of speeders even when the environments are the same. It also explains why speeding is more successful in areas one is more familiar with.
I was doing 40 in a 35 at the time and the officer made no reference to my speed, just wanted to tell me that my light was burned out and thus wanted to check if I had a valid drivers liscense, but if he wanted too he could have given me a speeding ticket.
So that serves as a reminder that if you want to reduce risk to yourself, make sure your vehicle is fully street legal before you head out!
I also think that speeding becomes less irrelivent in high speed zones. once you reach a certain point [say 70mph] it probably wont make much difference if you get into an accident doing 70 or 100 mph, either way its going to be nasty. Where as say...65 in a 35 could make a difference.
Kind of like the "EF-6" tornado....IF it happens the EF-6 damage wouldnt be recognizable within the already chaotic EF-5 damage....if that makes sense
I went straight to the right place all the way from Austin into the Tx Panhandle but was late to the show. I still managed to get shots of tornadoes, but none as photogenic as many of the other keepers that local chasers got.
Yeah, if the vehicle actually impacts at 70 MPH, but the idea of brakes is to slow down before making contact with that tree or bridge abutment. In todays better designed vehicles you can generally do well up to 45 MPH. After that things tend to get very bad quickly. This was one of the original arguments for going 55 MPH, the vehicle could decelerate to a reasonable crash speed.
I should start a new thread....."should chase vehicles have roll bars"
He, yeah Swisher County is a notorious speed trap. Last time I ever got a ticket was just north of Tulia. Drove in to a swarm of DPS troopers stopping nearly everything on the road. It wasn't cheap either.
Ironically enough the 1 speeding ticket Ive gotten in my entire life I was doing 50 in a 55. True story. I was stuck behind someone doing 5 under on a 2 lane road, I was trying to pass and I guess the woman called me in because she was scared, I also received a ticket for following too closely. The ticket he wrote down 75 in a 55 [IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE I WAS STUCK BEHIND THIS LADY DOING 50!!!!] if I was doing 75 in a 55 and following her too closely, that means she was doing 75 also, and she got no tickets, the whole situation was total BS.
I was going to fight it, but was told by the judge I would have to reschedule and get an attorney etc etc...I just started a new job 4 months prior and I didnt want to request un-earned time off for that so I just swallowed my pride and ate the fine. That was almost 4 years ago [and no I wasnt chasing, I was actually on my way to my favorite fishing spot!]
For that reason I am not a fan of Kane county here in Illinois.
Adam that's a sad story, anyway I've experimented the same thing of you: you have to be careful to not slow down too much,otherwise you endanger yourself and the others! I think that is a major problem of the most important metropolis in the world. I've experimented it in S.Diego, Los Angeles, Dallas and even in Italy,driving in the big traffic of Milan or Rome. Sometimes you find the policeman that understands, sometimes you don't and you get the ticket.
Illinois State Police follows the same policy. No warnings are given for non-seatbelt compliance, whether you are stopped as part of a seatbelt enforcement detail (a.k.a wolf pack patrols) or not.
Just remember this: past driving record + nature of your violation / attitude = ticket or a warning.:D
Now the driver will get the ticket if the passenger is not wearing the seatbelt. Not sure when the law was passed, but that's how it is now.
A partial solution to me is to make some reasonable limits along the interstates. 65-70 is really too low, and there's no doubt. 75-80 is acceptable.
In most states it has to do with crowding on the highways. For example, I-35 south from Denton, DFW, Austin and San Antonio is generally full time road rage unless you drive it late at night. Meanwhile the Kansas turnpikes are not high enough....given we have to pay to run them. Both Kansas and Arkansas have not raised their speed limits back to where they were prior to the pre-55 days. Nebraska Interstates are 80 MPH now, but the rural limits are annoying to say the least. Both Nebraska and Iowa have very slow moving farm equipment and narrow unpaved shoulders on their rural highways. On the other hand, I've seen the insanity of speed limits too high when I lived in Europe. I witnessed 50-70 vehicle pile ups in the fog....the carnage was incredible.
The real trick is to leave early for the storm, but many chasers arrive late. This is a recent trend because as a group we tend to forecast less and radar chase more, which is reactionary to the situation. That is, anything we see on radar is already in progress. Still, it's proved to be a pretty efficient method of getting the storm of the day.
Ironically enough the 1 speeding ticket Ive gotten in my entire life I was doing 50 in a 55. True story. I was stuck behind someone doing 5 under on a 2 lane road, I was trying to pass and I guess the woman called me in because she was scared, I also received a ticket for following too closely. The ticket he wrote down 75 in a 55 [IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE I WAS STUCK BEHIND THIS LADY DOING 50!!!!] if I was doing 75 in a 55 and following her too closely, that means she was doing 75 also, and she got no tickets, the whole situation was total BS.
I was going to fight it, but was told by the judge I would have to reschedule and get an attorney etc etc...I just started a new job 4 months prior and I didnt want to request un-earned time off for that so I just swallowed my pride and ate the fine. That was almost 4 years ago [and no I wasnt chasing, I was actually on my way to my favorite fishing spot!]
For that reason I am not a fan of Kane county here in Illinois.
Are you talking about the ones on HWY 81 just after crossing the KS boarder near Hebron? They have many of the Highways across NE littered with those little gadgets, as far as I know none of them have cameras, I think they just use them as a Scare Tactic/Reminder, I have noticed though that the Cops do like to hang out/park in the general vicinity of them, I always see a trooper parked by them on HWY 77 near Ceresco, while they are not a threat in terms of getting you a ticket, they are obviously in that location for some reason, so if you see one its probably best to watch your speed as its most likely a region watched closely by police, and I’m guessing they’ll be much less likely to grant you a warning given you just had a warning.
Tulia, Tx for me...long story.
I agree the small towns and municipalities seem to be the worst about speeding and speed traps. I think it is supplemental income for the city.
Edit: When I first saw this thread, I thought to myself "here we go....again" but it was a pleasant suprise to not see any lecturing.
According to stats from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the I-95 corridor between the southeast and New England includes five of the 10 U.S. states carrying the highest fines for speeding--Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland and New Hampshire. All hit up speeders for a maximum of $500 or more for a first offense. Judges in Carolina and Georgia, not to mention 16 other states, have the discretion to add jail time.
Glad I don't plan on chasing in any of those states :D
When I got mine in IL in 06 my window was down as I was driving through the town. He goes by going the other way, then flips around and turns his lights on. I was like, hummm, must be getting someone else. I stop and he stops behind me. I was clueless as to why he was stopping me. When he said why I never even thought to argue, guess I figured he wasn't actually going to give me a ticket for it, but was maybe wanting to have a look in my car or hope for something else. I was wrong. He asked what I was doing and I told him I was chasing. He then took his time writing the ticket. It had to be the longest it's ever taken to get a ticket for myself. Really pissed me off because I had it on out of town till I stopped on a country road. I took it off to get crap out of the back seat behind me. I then honestly forgot to put it back on, as I normally do if I hit the highway. I get in town right after that and got that. Crap storms sure didn't help it be enjoyable either. Then a month later Marysville KS cop says I did not come to a complete stop...even though I am 100% certain I did because I saw him right in front of me about to make the turn onto the highway to go north from where I came. So I was sure to stop then go. He was just being a prick.
it would never work mainly because the faster you go, the higher risk you have of causing an accident. You could be the safest driver in the world, it only takes one goof to end your or someone elses life. it would also be way to difficult to enforce and going much faster than the normal traffic flow will get you killed
http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/2007-01-07_80mph_west_texas.aspx
What's amazing is people still get tickets. An 80 MPH speed limit is not license to go 100http://stormtrack.org/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif
There are a lot of secondary state and US highways out here in west Texas as well that I am starting to see 75 mph on. Most people don't realize just how FAR it is between stuff out here sometimes. Back in the days of 55...it was excruciating to drive from Odessa to El Paso down I-20/I-10. It's few and far between any sort of stops at all out there.
I think small municipalities are good for writing the little stuff, like stopping over the stop line or speeding 3 over. My neighbor was recently doing yard work, so he hops in his truck and backs the truck across the street, turns around and pulls into his yard facing the opposite direction. He was given a ticket for failure to wear a seatbelt..lol..we live in a town of about 3,000.
However, in my experience state patrol agencies tend to be fairly strict and less generous when it comes to warnings, even with a clean driving record. Just about ever officer that I have ever had this conversation with will always say that your attitude is still probably the biggest factor in making that decision.
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