As if I needed another reason to commute.
 

A friend of mine at work was pulled over in a work truck doing 59 in a 55mph zone. When he questioned the officer about being pulled over for going 4mph over she said it was for an Enegy Violation. Apparently Michigan passed a law that going 1-4mph over you get ticketed for wasting fuel, $120 fine and 0 points. The cop called it fundraising. While he was pulled over they also pulled over two semi trucks. Im not sure but it may just be for commercial vehicles. I want to know where my rebate is for saving energy.

hehe, your rebate is not getting the $120 fine....

You don't need another reason.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha... "wasting fuel"... I'll bet that the cop hates it as much as your friend does.

If she called it "fund raising" you can bet your bippy the cops are not supportive of it.

Sounds like a good reason to vote that batch out next time and get someone in that has some common sense.

If they tried that around here the streets would convert to instant parking lots. I'm pretty sure that less than 5% is at the speed limit. Everyone else is easily 5 to 7 over with the usual nutcase speeders faster than that. And that's on the urban streets!

Actually, the ticket might be fightable, based on the argument of "well, the measurement showed that the vehicle was x MPH over, but since all measurements have measurement error, we can't say to a reasonable certainty that the vehicle was really over at all." Of course the argument can only work for small x like 1-4.

Virginia tried to have super-high fines for speeding and whatnot, which sometimes went into the thousands of dollars.

Trouble was, they knew that they couldn't force out-of-state drivers to pay. That made it unfairly focused on Virginia residents, which accelerated (heh) its downfall and eventual repeal.

Now they're working on how to refund all the fines that were already paid.

Ah, yes -- that's exactly why there's a 5-mph buffer in the first place. Good point.

They know this, and that's why it doesn't count as a speeding ticket; yet they use speeding to determine whether to issue this "waste of gas" ticket.

Whatever lawyers they used when writing this law, I want them on the opposing side of the courtroom aisle if I'm ever in big trouble. I don't think they knew what they were doing.

<sigh>

We can dream...

How much money do they give when you save gas????

"Wasting fuel." What a laugh - do they sit around waiting for Hummers to drive by so they can hand out tickets to them for wasting fuel?

I think one of the best plans would be to educate society that the speed limit is the fastest they should go, not the target speed. However, doing it effectively would be the trick. I know I run a couple of mph over the limit.

I would love a process where for example, 55 is the maximum speed, and the "target speed" is 50. Tickets are issued at 51 mph... and the courts should harden up on the inaccurate measurement defense.

I see nothing wrong with the government (at various levels) saying, "We will do our best to keep our equipment accurate, and if it says you were going 1 mph over the limit, you get a ticket. If you don't like the risk, then drive slower. We sugest 5 mph under the limit."

I don't exceed the speed limit EVER except when passing; in general I run 5 to 10 UNDER the limit to save gas, and I tend to draft semis for the same reason. I'm pretty supportive of being serious about the speed limit.
And **I** think that's an idiotic thing. I hadn't heard about it. I'd think "wasting gas" is its own punishment. If I bought a gallon of gasoline, why does the state get to tell me what I can do with it? Are they going to ticket me if I pour it into a pan and light it just to watch it burn? How about if I mow the lawn a few more times than is absolutely necessary?

Everybody from Michigan, NY, NJ, and Ontario must bring this idea with them to Florida. That actually explains alot. There's about a 30mph swing on I95 in the left lane: Northerners driving 65 in a 70mph, and locals blazing 90+ weaving in and out. I'd be doing 80ish, caught in the middle. Man, I'm glad I don't drive anymore :)

I would lose my mind if I had to drive 55 or slower.

It's very nice driving 5 under the limit. You get there pretty much as fast unless you're going a long way, you save a noticable amount of gas, and you can just camp in the right lane, relax, and enjoy an audiobook or something without having to spend all that time passing and stuff.

I've driven way over in the past; I used to commute I75 up to Troy in the mornings; fairly sharp curves for an expressway, bumper-to-bumper at 95 MPH (cars seriously less than a car length apart at nearly 100 MPH). You either did that or get off and take the surface streets. I don't care to do that anymore.

I was doing 37.5 in a 35 yesterday, coming down a hill on my bike. If I'm coasting, am I still wasting fuel? If I'm wasting fuel, does that mean I can have a 'freebie' handful of Cheetos and not count it toward my daily calories? :p

Yep, seems to be left over from the 70's when perhaps radar systems were not as accurate as they are today. 10% error allowance is huge. 1% is more reasonable.

Al

There is not just the issue with the equipment to measure your speed, but also the amount your speedometer is allowed to be off. When I buy Winter tires (definitely NOT a silly thing here in Buffalo NY) the tread is nearly 1/2 deep. By the time you hit the tread wear bars you are down to something like 1/4", that is much more than is legally needed, but what will allow the tire to work properly in the snow. When I buy performance Summer tires, the original tread my be less than the depth that the tread wear bars are on the Winter tire. These difference, and differences in diameter of different brands of tires could easily case a few % difference in speed measurement. Therefore I think 5 MPH over the limmit is reasonable.

There was a cop in a neighboring town that was infamous for being strict. Personally I have no problems if the cops writes tickets to someone doing 35 MPH in a 30 MPH zone... the speed limit is set low because it is used in residential areas. Those are not streets that people need to speed down. I try very hard not to speed in villages and town roads, but a little downward hill can easily cause you to fluctuate a few MPH. Going fast in any modern car is very simple, just step on the gas. Stopping in time when some silly kid runs into the street without thinking... that is why I don't speed. This cop was writing tickets for poeple doing al little as 31 or 32 MPH in a 30 MPH zone. In the end the judge threw out all the tickets as it was considered unreasonable.

Happy riding,
André

If your vehicle has an inaccurate speedometer that is the owner/driver problem and not an excuse to break the law. I know exactly how off my speedometer is on my two vehicles and adjust for that.

5mph over may be fine on a high speed freeway, but not on a 25mph posted road where that 5mph is 20% over.

Anyway, locally I'd be happy with a 5mph allowance. Currently the enforceable speed limit is 11mph over posted.

Al

My understanding is that it is your responsibility to make sure your speedometer is accurate.

Will the cops get tickets for letting their vehicles idle all day? Around here the cops leave their cruisers idling when they come into starbucks etc.

If that's the case, then I'm sure the calibration records of the device should bear that out. I wouldn't trust any instrument without seeing its calibration characteristics, whether it be a voltmeter, oven, or radar gun.

Of course they must be calibrated, calibrated per regular defined schedule and with records publicly available for each unit. Most modern ones can be calibrated to +/-1mph accuracy, some even better.

User error is far more likely to cause an erroneous reading.

Al

Why? What will drivers do when they come up on a vehicle "only" doing the speed limit?

They will slow down or change lanes just like they do when they come up behind a bicycle in the lane. I drive the speed limit on highways even when others are going way over. I have a crash free record for over 25 years. Just because they are doing the one car length gap, high speed thing doesn't mean I have to.