AL.com has posted an interesting article that breaks down some common misconceptions about speeding violations. According to the linked article, a state police spokesperson said, “The speed limit is the speed limit, and that’s the speed you can go without encountering a trooper.” But a more detailed analysis by the AL.com authors revealed that only 72 speeding tickets, roughly 1% issued by Alabama troopers last year, were given to drivers going only 1 to 9-mph over the speed limit.  Of those 72 drivers, only 2 were ticketed with traveling less than 5-mph over the limit. Some additional discussion is provided regarding the accuracy of speed measurement devices and how that may play into an officer’s decision to ticket drivers at speeds close to but exceeding the posted speed limit.

The article also mentions the rather bizarre fact that the highest speeding ticket issued in Alabama went to a man driving 130-mph, double the 65-mph limit, in a “construction vehicle”.

Virginia law provides for “minimum speed limits”, establishing a minimum speed at which all vehicles must travel on certain roads.  For example, on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, there is a posted “Maintain 55″ minimum speed limit.  Opinion columnist William Melgaard writes about the failure to enforce this minimum speed limit and the traffic it causes. Should more roads have minimum speed limits to keep traffic moving?

U.S. Representative Joseph Knollenberg, R-MI, spoke out against a proposal for mandatory speed limiters on big trucks in Ontario in a letter to Ontario Transportation Minister James Bradley, expressing concerns that a proposal could possibly violate the intent of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

U.S. Representative says speed limiters will hurt Michigan’s trade

Yes, says state officer, in response to the inquiry of a citizen from mid-Michigan, who decided recently to stop wondering and start asking about a nagging traffic question.  He emailed the Michigan State Police with the following email.

“Why is it that law enforcement vehicles never seem to observe the posted speed limit? Of course, not in an emergency; but then their flashers would be activated. Shouldn’t police at every level be conserving fuel and setting the pace on our highways, rather than discouraging conscientious drivers by whizzing past them in non-emergency travel? Perhaps this is something I should take up with my state representative? -John Hayden

The response of the Michigan State Police is available with the original source here:

Don’t police have to obey speed limits?

“In a blizzard or in especially icy conditions, we all support your good sense in slowing down and driving more cautiously. In normal day-to-day winter driving conditions, however, we do not enjoy slamming on our brakes, nearly spinning off the highway or into other drivers when you attempt to merge at 60 km/h while the rest of us are going the legal speed of 100 km/h.”

Danger: Slow Driver

North Huntingdon police Sgt. Duane Kucera concedes he took a “little egg on the face” when he erected 19 mph signs on two township streets a year ago and inadvertently violated state and federal regulations requiring speed limits in 5 mph increments. Even though the 20 mph signs are back up on Mockingbird Lane in front of Norwin Intermediate School and on Biddle Avenue In Westmoreland City, Kucera thinks motorists got the message to slow down. He’s had no speeding complaints in more than a year.

Traffic codes nix North Huntingdon’s 19 mph limit

NMA says a speed trap is where “the speed limit is grossly underposted and universally ignored. Traffic is moving safely and expeditiously, but not legally. … As fast as the pen can be applied to paper, driver after driver is issued a speeding ticket that results in exorbitant fines, points on their driver’s licenses and insurance surcharges.” The NMA, established 25 years ago to fight the 55-m.p.h. speed limit that was lifted in 1995, “believes in freedom and responsibility to make choices, not in ‘one size fits all’ legislation, ticket cameras, unfair driving taxes, revenue-motivated traffic courts and speed traps.”

The whole nation could be a speed trap

Two safety experts ticketed for speeding in Ann Arbor this year are urging a judge to dismiss the citations, arguing that the city’s speed limits are unsafe and illegal under state law.  They did not argue that a statute allows a city to supersede state law in setting limits. But they did assert that “the only logical method for determining a safe speed limit on an urban roadway … under the jurisdiction of a local authority like the city of Ann Arbor is to allow that local authority to make individualized determinations based on the recommendations of its traffic engineers.”

Safety experts fight tickets

“What I and Utah Highway Patrol Superintendent Lance Davenport do not agree with, however, is the idea of enforcing speed limits with no cushion. Believe it or not, increased speed limits on our highways have not resulted in increased highway deaths.”

Fudging speed limit

The drivers believe they are technically speeding according to the rule of law, the report concludes, but not in a way that endangers either themselves or others - even though they are quick to condemn other speeders as dangerous. “People don’t see themselves as the problem, they see others as the problem - I’m OK and you’re the bad guy,” said Raynald Marchand, the general manager of programs for the Canada Safety Council.

Study: Majority of Canadians admit to speeding but likely underestimate how much