Reckless Driving

[gdeangel]

Assuming you are dealing with a life or death situation (for now, just think it could be life or death of a person or an animal), at what point does speeding (we are talking about in the U.S.A. only) cross the line to constitute reckless disregard for the human life of other motorists (i.e., if the speeder were to kill another innocent human in an accident (but for now don't could the possibility of running over someone else's pet that could be darting into the road), they would be guilty of manslaughter).

Poll above. Remember to select the lower number you would consider gross recklessness to warrant suspending/revoking ones license...

[GabonX]

How cute of an animal are we talking about?

[gdeangel]

How cute of an animal are we talking about?

Could be very good looking sheep! But just to keep it simple, probably more along the lines of the typical pet - dog, cat, etc.

[Matroshka]

I can't really put an answer down for the poll. Street driving is much different than highway driving. I would not go more than 5 over the speed limit on a road in a suburb. If I were on a highway, it'd be situational, but I would probably drive up to 30 above the speed limit.

[muy_thaiguy]

3rd from the bottom is about the standard speed limit here (both 35 in town and 75 on the highway), so that isn't really going over any speed limit.

[gdeangel]

3rd from the bottom is about the standard speed limit here (both 35 in town and 75 on the highway), so that isn't really going over any speed limit.

This is true. Apologies. I forgot it's not 55 any more... I was apparently reliving the 70's... aren't we in the middle of another oil crisis?

I'm fixing the survey options (currently only 5 people voted...)

[Frigidus]

88 MPH.

[heavenly29]

it varies for me, in the uk in a built up area its a 30mph speed limit, I'd never go any more than 10mph above this and most of the time I stick at 30mph

however on the motorway its 70mph speed limit, of which if its quiet I'd quite happily cruise at 100mph, if its busy I'll stick to between 70-80.

[Snorri1234]

it varies for me, in the uk in a built up area its a 30mph speed limit, I'd never go any more than 10mph above this and most of the time I stick at 30mph

however on the motorway its 70mph speed limit, of which if its quiet I'd quite happily cruise at 100mph, if its busy I'll stick to between 70-80.

Word. How much you can go above the speedlimit really depends on the zone and how busy traffic is. I rarely go above 10 km/h within city limits. It's both inefficient and dangerous there.

But on the highway I can go much faster if I see it's safe to do it. I've usually drive about 20 km/h over the speedlimit if it's a little busy, but sometimes much faster. It's why I like Germany because their highways don't have speed-limits and how fast you go really depends on what you feel you can do. (And how fast your car goes ofcourse, if I drive in a Renault Espace I can't get over 160/170 km/h anyway. )

[black elk speaks]

sorry. you are all wrong. the legal posted speed limit has more to do with the base line for all drivers at a safe rate of speed. i have a truck. it doesn't handle well at higher speeds. if you say that the speed limit is 95 miles per hour, guess what, it immediately becomes more dangerous for everyone on the road if i am driving my truck at 95 miles per hour. also, if something appears in the road, you know, out of "no where" guess what again? yes, higher rates of speed means higher likelihoods of over compensation and the like.

stick to the posted speed limit, or if you are inclined, 5 or 10 miles over. anything over that and you deserve a ticket.

[Snorri1234]

sorry. you are all wrong. the legal posted speed limit has more to do with the base line for all drivers at a safe rate of speed. i have a truck. it doesn't handle well at higher speeds. if you say that the speed limit is 95 miles per hour, guess what, it immediately becomes more dangerous for everyone on the road if i am driving my truck at 95 miles per hour.

If you have a truck that can go 95 miles an hour you're awesome. (And magical.)

[black elk speaks]

sorry. you are all wrong. the legal posted speed limit has more to do with the base line for all drivers at a safe rate of speed. i have a truck. it doesn't handle well at higher speeds. if you say that the speed limit is 95 miles per hour, guess what, it immediately becomes more dangerous for everyone on the road if i am driving my truck at 95 miles per hour.

If you have a truck that can go 95 miles an hour you're awesome. (And magical.)

the stupid ass in the firebird feeling the need for speed that runs the minivan full of kids off the road is still a prick. just obey the speed law. its not your right to drive, its your privilege.

[MeDeFe]

Metric system ftw!

And the same goes for highways in good shape with mostly no speed limits.

[Snorri1234]

sorry. you are all wrong. the legal posted speed limit has more to do with the base line for all drivers at a safe rate of speed. i have a truck. it doesn't handle well at higher speeds. if you say that the speed limit is 95 miles per hour, guess what, it immediately becomes more dangerous for everyone on the road if i am driving my truck at 95 miles per hour.

If you have a truck that can go 95 miles an hour you're awesome. (And magical.)

the stupid ass in the firebird feeling the need for speed that runs the minivan full of kids off the road is still a prick. just obey the speed law. its not your right to drive, its your privilege.

It's why I said that you should drive as fast as you deem save. I don't know whether getting your driver's license is hard in the USA. Oh wait, I do and it's ridiculously easy. Here we learn how to see what you can do without being dangerous. I know not to drive harder than 30 mph in a 30mph zone because there can be many unexpected things there, but when you're driving on a completely deserted highway speed-limits can be crossed.


Try riding trough Kansas and not speeding. It cannot be done since it's completely deserted and you can see everything come 20 miles away.

[Matroshka]

sorry. you are all wrong. the legal posted speed limit has more to do with the base line for all drivers at a safe rate of speed. i have a truck. it doesn't handle well at higher speeds. if you say that the speed limit is 95 miles per hour, guess what, it immediately becomes more dangerous for everyone on the road if i am driving my truck at 95 miles per hour.

If you have a truck that can go 95 miles an hour you're awesome. (And magical.)

the stupid ass in the firebird feeling the need for speed that runs the minivan full of kids off the road is still a prick. just obey the speed law. its not your right to drive, its your privilege.

I believe there is a difference between driving fast and driving recklessly.

Are you saying that you wouldn't ever intentionally break the speed limit?

Oh, and if your truck doesn't safely go 95 MPH, you don't have to, and really shouldn't, drive that fast.

[TheProwler]

It is never that simple.

All facts should be considered for anything more than a speeding ticket.

If someone is driving 120 mph on a deserted stretch of road with no on-ramps or crossroads, who cares? Just don't expect the government to foot the bill on the funeral and you should be good to go. Have fun.

Enjoy life.

Rock'n'Roll.

Pedal to the Metal.


City streets with the possibility of kids jumping into the street and other obviously dangerous situations requires more restraint on behalf of the driver.

[black elk speaks]

It is never that simple.

All facts should be considered for anything more than a speeding ticket.

If someone is driving 120 mph on a deserted stretch of road with no on-ramps or crossroads, who cares? Just don't expect the government to foot the bill on the funeral and you should be good to go. Have fun.

Enjoy life.

Rock'n'Roll.

Pedal to the Metal.


City streets with the possibility of kids jumping into the street and other obviously dangerous situations requires more restraint on behalf of the driver.

much to your chagrin, i enjoy knowing that it doesn't work that way. i hope you always get caught every time you speed.