This seems a little out of the norm for me. But since I'm a driving teen I believe all you other driving teens out there can relate. Again, another non-art topic, but I'd say it's the art of speeding.
Speeding tickets, a source of income for the city, a pain in the wallet, a motivator to slow down and be safe!!!
Every time I think of speed limit signs and speeding tickets I think of a particular cousin of mine who first counseled me on the art of legally speeding. He is a teen driver and he has not gotten a ticket yet. But still, we cannot look to him as an absolute in this matter.
For most of us, the speed limit sign is a speed suggestion. And then once we've received our first ticket we take it a little more seriously. Some of us...never learn. Especially those Type A personalities...you know who you are.
I'm a laid back person, but now that I am employed there is an ever present need to make sure I get to work on time. I've never been late to appointments and I didn't speed to make it on time.
The reason I write this article is because I am the one wishing I had the blue lights on top of my vehicle. There's not a day I go driving that I don't see someone blowing through a stop-sign, doing a u-turn, or speeding at least fifteen to twenty over the limit. No cops, no stops, we say. Yes, I'll admit, I've been in a few situations where the yellow line did not allow me to go the way I wanted, and since there was nobody to see my error...I did it my way.
You must understand, city driving is a lot more dangerous and different that country driving. You think country rednecks are rogues, you wait until you have the mad texter who is weaving his or her way to work at an insane speed. City driving is insane.
You must understand, city driving is a lot more dangerous and different that country driving. You think country rednecks are rogues, you wait until you have the mad texter who is weaving his or her way to work at an insane speed. City driving is insane.
Digressing aside, we realize even our law enforcers have broken the law and we often catch them doing it. But what can we say. I will say...that even though I have seen a few break the laws they fine us for... I have also seen a few uphold those laws themselves. And so this paragraph I pause to commend them. ..................................
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Back to speeding. We all seem to know that if we're go just five miles over the limit, we wont get caught. Give us an inch, we take a mile. Oh, the psychology. So then, the moment we see 40 MPH our brains go, "ok. 45 here I come." No mathematical calculations are needed, the brain seems to instantly make room for an extra five miles an hour and soon enough we can't seem to remember if the limit is 40 or 45. So...if it's 45...can I go...50 on this road?
My cousin's theory is that when driving on the highway you can get between two speeders and the speeder behind or before you will be pulled over and you will escape. I don't have enough money to donate to the county to prove or disprove this theory. But he hasn't got a ticket yet.
When I first began driving, I used to quake and hit the brakes every time I saw a policeman. I didn't speed then, in fact, I was usually five miles under the limit. Now, I don't even alter my speed. For one thing, cop cars don't bother me. I like having them around. First, I can see them coming from way off. I'm a Ford fan. Even in the dark, the headlights of a town car strike me right away. Secondly, I can tell when a policeman is out to catch speeders and when he's cruising home or going for lunch.
But what has provoked me to right this is the temptation that has welled up in me for some time. Have you ever been on a completely empty...five lane road? With no one for one mile in either direction....and the Mr. Wheeler begins to come out in you. You could do ninety...just to feel what it feels like... or you do circles in the road. It's all yours. Trees on either side for several miles...empty five-lane road...you can see for about a mile and a half down either stretch of the road freedom. Like wilderness America. ...again, the rogue I didn't know lived inside of me. And the speed limit on this road...is 45 MPH. I'm sorry, did I say limit. I meant, suggestion.
Well, when there are other vehicles present on that road, I do take that as a limit. Which means, 50 MPH. 45+5=50. But here's the part where the legal speeding comes in. As I merrily do my 45-50 MPH range I find other vehicles blowing by me at 60 and 65 MPH. What then?
You know from being around elderly, overly-cautious, touristic, or terribly inattentive and slow drivers that slow driving can indeed be a hazard. So you don't want to be a hazard, but then again, you don't want a big speeding ticket. Legally speed.
Again, let me state that legally speeding is a safe method of speeding. Realize that speed limits have their purpose. That bend in the road- yeah, you better take it at the number they tell you to, sometimes less. Ever notice how the 10 MPH over that speed bump still leaves you with a bent frame. Just because the speed bump sign says 10 MPH DOESN"T MEAN 10 MPH is a safe speed to cross that bump. They ought to just say CREEP. Or tiptoe one wheel over at a time. You cross a speed bump at 10 MPH and you'll be leaving parts in the road. So legally speeding needs it's grains of salt.
Again, let me state that legally speeding is a safe method of speeding. Realize that speed limits have their purpose. That bend in the road- yeah, you better take it at the number they tell you to, sometimes less. Ever notice how the 10 MPH over that speed bump still leaves you with a bent frame. Just because the speed bump sign says 10 MPH DOESN"T MEAN 10 MPH is a safe speed to cross that bump. They ought to just say CREEP. Or tiptoe one wheel over at a time. You cross a speed bump at 10 MPH and you'll be leaving parts in the road. So legally speeding needs it's grains of salt.
You judge the speed of the car about to pass you or preceding you, and match it. Read on your speedometer the speed you have reached. Then...ease off the gas, until you are slowly and gradually falling behind them. You will then be travelling at a speed that will not be a hazard to other speeders, you will probably not be going too fast to get caught, and you will not be going at an "insane" speed. Remember, everyone else is going faster than you are.
Also, if you find a policeman who is speeding, you can ride behind him- at a good distance- they will get you for following too closely, and go a little slower than him. I do not recommend passing because then...you will be speeding.
When it comes to in-town, I do not recommend speeding at all. When it comes to highways filled with big trucks, I do not recommend speeding. But if find yourself in a situation that calls for some more notches on the speedometer, my cousin's method, or mine may help.
Oh, and if you get caught, don't tell the officer about legally speeding. There is no such thing. Dude...just admitt it, You were speeding.
Happy Trails,
1 comment:
You're welcome, cousin. I was planning on mentioning a few more possible tactics in a future blog post of my own about our Borlovan Thanksgivings and this is the encouragment I needed. The art of being artful is glorious.
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