Road Construction/My Hazard Flashers my new Best Friends!

It's frustrating when people nit-pick so I'm going to apologize now as I'm about to do it.... if you were going 48 in a 45, you too were breaking the law.

 

I agree with the post but also don't believe it's my job to slow people down or piss them off. You never know what kind of crazy is following you and what they might do. What are you going to tell the state trooper when he pulls you over to find out what the problem is, since he's followed you for the past 10 miles? You going to tell him that you were slowing down traffic intentionally?

 

In some states, notably Florida, it is illegal to have hazard lights on unless the vehicle is stopped or disabled. So, before using this tactic, check the law in the state you are driving in.

 

Point certainly taken... and I fully agree.

 

Throughout most of the Chicagoland expressways, the speed limit is posted as a maximum of 55 MPH and a minimum of 45 MPH. As I understand it, the law provides for driving slower than the posted minimum of 45 MPH when weather and traffic conditions make 45 MPH hazardous (or impossible).

As such, I usually set my cruise control at the posted maximum and stay in the right hand lane. If I encounter a vehicle traveling slower than the posted maximum, I slow down to match the speed of the vehicle in front of me (assuming they are traveling faster than the minimum) leaving a following distance of at least 2 seconds and reset my cruise control.

If I encounter a vehicle traveling slower than the posted minimum, and the average flow of traffic is at least 5 MPH faster, I will move to the next lane to the left and accelerate to the posted maximum to pass. Then I return to the right lane.

If a vehicle approaches significantly close behind me and doesn't back off or pass, I consider this an unsafe traffic condition and as per Illinois law providing for reducing speed below the posted limits in unsafe traffic conditions, I use the cruise control to reduce my speed 1 MPH. I maintain this new speed for somewhere around a half a mile or so. If the vehicle behind me continues to follow at an unsafe distance, I again reduce my speed another 1 MPH. I continue to reduce my speed in approximately half-mile intervals until the unsafe driver is a reasonable distance behind me, or until the unsafe driver passes me. Then I return to the speed I was traveling prior to my encounter with the unsafe driver.

Where I've become a bit more confused is in a few particular construction areas. There is a stretch of expressway under constrution continuously for 14 miles where there are 2 lanes of traffic in each direction. In this area, the right lane is on a layer of black pavement that was poured over what previously was a soft shoulder prior to the onset of construction. There is no posted minimum, and the posted maximum in this particular construction area is 55 MPH. Where is gets confusing is that it is posted that trucks are to use the left lane for the duration of this 14 mile construction zone (I assume to keep them off the no-longer-soft shoulder).

In heavy traffic (rush hours), all the traffic here slows to a crawl, so I creep along with everyone else at an average of 15 MPH. During light traffic (midnight), there are so few vehicles here that I can keep to the posted speed limit and move out of the way of the occasional overtaking vehicles as needed.

It is in medium traffic where I'm less certain how to legally proceed. In medium traffic, many of the trucks seem to want to drive at between 60 MPH and 65 MPH, while many of the cars seem to want to drive at speeds in excess of 70 MPH. Where do I position myself if I want to avoid the $375 ticket and keep my speed to 55 MPH?

If I ride in the left lane with the trucks so that the speeding cars can fly by at 70+ MPH, the trucks come up on me from behind and eventually I'm in their way. Since the trucks aren't supposed to drive in the right lane I need to move over to let hem by. However, this leaves me moving at 55 MPH into a lane in the way of drivers attempting to drive at 70+ MPH. In addition it can be difficult for these 70MPH drivers to see my turn signal (or my vehicle) since I am coming out from in front of a large truck that is following me too closely.

I wait (and therefore force the truck to wait) until I know I can safely get over with plenty of time and space for 70+ MPH vehicles to see me. This then creates a situation where a large truck is slowly passing me at a speed differential of maybe 5 MPH while a car is riding dangerously close behind me after having approached me at a speed differential of 15+ MPH. I'd be more than happy to move back into the left lane with the trucks and get out of the cars way once the truck passes, but as soon as the line of cars forming behind me realize that I'm going slower than the truck, they begin to queue up behind the truck waiting for the truck to get far enough in front of me that they can cut me off and speed off in front of me.

Then I have a line of cars behind me all riding close to each other with no room for me to move over passing me on the left and cutting me off as the move back to the right.

So if I don't want a $375 ticket for exceeding the posted speed limit in a construction zone, and the trucks have to stay in the left lane and can't pass on the right, while the right lane has become an ad-hoc passing lane for cars, should I stay in the left lane with the trucks and force them to slow down to the posted maximum, or should I stay in the right lane and force the 70+ MPH cars to cut off the trucks and myself as they weave back and forth between lanes to get around both me and the trucks?

 

In your situation I would still stay in the right hand lane and drive the way you normally do. I believe the way you drive is a good practice and if more people followed it the roads would not only be safer, but traffic would flow smoother. I wish small add-on signs (to add to the bottom of the existing speed limit signs) that say "keep right, except to pass" were added to all speed limit signs on the freeways.

 

This is a tough one. I'd rather not piss people off, and to force large trucks to pass IS dangerous to you and others. And as someone else said, the large semi's are often not allowed in some lanes.

Making a point of driving the speed limit when 99% of the people are going a bit faster seems silly as well. If every car is being forced to change lanes and go around you, I'd say you are, even at the posted limit, are indeed imepeding the flow of traffic and could be subject to a ticket. Just based on the safety of the highways.

 

In California maybe, but not in Illinois. As far as I know, there is no law on the books in Illinois requiring drivers to exceed the posted maximum speed limit.

 

bottom line here folks.. the speed limit is just that: the LIMIT

I know we've all broken that law, some of us more than others.. some of us daily... but just because others get pissed off or drive dangerously because YOU are obeying the law.. what BS... They are breaking the law.. they are making the roads dangerous.. not the one driving the speed limit. Argue all you want.. the law is firmly on the side of the one obeying the law.

 

It's interesting seeing all these different opinions. Looks like geography plays a part in peoples opinions.

 

I agree with a lot of what freshmtt & Danny say about driving around Chicago - but I'll also tell you that the very best way to get a ticket there no matter how you are driving is to have Wisconsin license plates. Regardless of whether you are too slow or too fast, you are a candidate for a citation.

And lest you think I am too hard on my neighbors to the south, I can assure you that here in Wisconsin if you are driving over the speed limit but with the flow of traffic in a car with non-Wisconsin plates, our friendly state police will single you out for a speeding ticket. Happened to my former son-in-law in his car with Minnesota plates.

 

A very interesting thread indeed! What about Germany, where basically the major rule is DO NOT PASS ON THE RIGHT! Apparently they have a lot of safe drivers and even safer roads.

 

Here in Tx (also) emergency flashers are just that, for emergency use, other wise (its signed) slower traffic stay right, yea there are no trucks in left lane areas in which case the truckers have to bite the bullet and (gasp) obey the law ...

 

We recently drove through the Chicago area going to and from the midwest and noticed the temporary left lane truck designations but missed most of the trucks. My lead-footed wife was driving and went with the flow. No construction workers were apparent. Love the high-speed toll collection! Got over 50 mpg overall and some of that at 70 mph!

Many (but not all) posted speed limits in California are "prima facie", that is you can get a ticket for going too fast (based on conditions) even below the limit, and perhaps beat a ticket for going over the limit (if you can show it's safe, and going the median should be). California requires traffic engineering (updated every five years) for posted limits (if they are to be enforced by radar), and those studies should be available to you. This is more likely to be abused by a small jurisdiction.

If the posted limit (again with some exceptions) does not conform to an engineering study, the judge may very well toss a citation, but you have to show the study or lack of same. Examples in two cities: engineer recommends higher limit (on specific collector streets), residents or businessmen object, city council "orders" stringent enforcement of posted limit. In one case about 800 tickets were issued (including most if not all of the petition signers and many nearby residents), 35 pled "not guilty", 35 found not guilty, judge orders police to no longer bother, limit is raised half way, accidents decline by 50%! Other city: ticket is issued to a resident traffic engineer (for another city); traffic engineer gets copy of engineering study showing higher limit is warranted (street had been improved with a lot of offsets ironed out), judge tosses citation and instructs police to no longer bother. In the second case speeds don't change. In the first the distribution of speeds did (as "speed minders" started driving with the flow).

The CHP (at least in the past) would rather write a ticket for impeding traffic in the fast lane (assuming multi-lane) regardless of the posted speed--the national 55 was quite frustrating, and accidents went down when it went away.

Part of the equation is that the limit be posted properly! Part of the engineering study is to determine the 85th percentile (usually about 5 mph above the median) to use the as the "safe" speed (absent unique factors), but the limit is posted in 5 mph increments (which may account for the feeling that there almost always a 5 mph cushion). The police will usually be busy full time writing the top 5 % or less.

Sorry, don't know much about the flashers, but it does sound like there are hazards about, the idiots behind you!

 

Bottom line: You are NOT the police. It is neither your job nor your right to enforce the speed limit. Get over it, stop intentionally impeding other drivers, and stop endangering yourself and others by trying to engage in conflict with other drivers on the road. You're making it more dangerous for yourself and other Prius drivers by re-inforcing the stereotype of "Slow obstical". Those truck drivers will be more aggressive toward me because YOU are turning the Prius into an object that pisses them off. Please stop.

 

the argument against driving the speed limit always intrigues me. think about it. the assumption is that the person obeying the law is actually a hindrance to the safety of criminals.

kind of reminds me of the burglar that fell through a skylight while trying to break-in and landed on a knife in the kitchen, sued, and won...

if i choose to obey the law, how is it even possible that I'M the one that's unsafe and not the person breaking the law?