How often do you exceed the speed limit?

rebel.ranter

Just reading the post relating to the speed trap locator & it seems like there are some who never speed, others who try not to speed, a few more that speed when necessary & finally others that don't give a toss (e.g. the two boy racers that got jailed.
I thought a poll would be a good way to guage people's behaviour without starting a major row.

EDIT: Be honest!! It would be interesting to see how bad we really are!!!

The question of by how much is another day's poll, so if you travel 5-10 kmph over, you speed.

crosstownk

I do my level best to keep within the posted limits, but I'd be lying if I said that I NEVER exceeded the limit (I've 2 penalty points to prove it :rolleyes: ). TBH, I rarely do. But sometimes, especially on a motorway the speed may creep slightly above - at which point I'll rectify it, but I don't intentionally exceed the limit.

rebel.ranter

rebel.ranter wrote:

Just reading the post relating to the speed trap locator & it seems like there are some who never speed, others who try not to speed, a few more that speed when necessary & finally others that don't give a toss (e.g. the two boy racers that got jailed.
I thought a poll would be a good way to guage people's behaviour without starting a major row.

EDIT: Be honest!! It would be interesting to see how bad we really are!!!

The question of by how much is another day's poll, so if you travel 5-10 kmph over, you speed.

20% of what ? time spent in car, time actually moving.

Crap poll

ZiabR

I do travel at the speed limit on the majority of roads, but i also use the M1 alot and some roads i have been using for years. I will admit that i do go over the limit on these roads but not by alot.

maidhc

Needle is almost always above the limit, albeit not by much. I'm a 100% speeder.

OldmanMondeo

I voted 61-80% as I would creep over the limit.

Maybe the poll should ask how much over the limit do you speed. For this I would say 5%, wrong I know, but most people proably would, if they were honest...

oleras

Depends on how much i have to drink !!

MrPudding

I tend to not exceed posted limits like 30s, 40s & 50s over here and the equivelents back home. When there is a national speed limit I will probably break it, assuming I believe it is safe to do so. Hard to put a percentage on it. Posted limit, almost never. national speed limit, almost always when safe to do so. Obviously the last statement is not true as I would never speed and if I did I would probably not want to admit it on a public website.

MrP

rebel.ranter

ronoc wrote:

20% of what ? time spent in car, time actually moving.

Crap poll

I thought it was obvious, 20% of the time you are moving, how can you exceed the speed sitting in static traffic? Maybe I should have stated it in a bit more detail but everyone else seems to get the message....
... how often do you speed when the possibility is there to speed.

It's not like the result is going to be earth shattering. What I thought it would prove though is that most people (unconsciously) see the speed limit as a target not as a limit. Most other limits people try to stay under (e.g. Overdraft limit), what the poll proves (so far) is that we as a nation are not rigid enough when it comes to watching our speed. Or read another way we are still a bunch of chancers!!

rebel.ranter

OldmanMondeo wrote:

I voted 61-80% as I would creep over the limit.

Maybe the poll should ask how much over the limit do you speed. For this I would say 5%, wrong I know, but most people proably would, if they were honest...

As stated above that's another day's poll, but I'm not going to start it for fear of starting another crap poll upsetting ronoc

maidhc

rebel.ranter wrote:

is that we as a nation are not rigid enough when it comes to watching our speed.

Only if you are of the opinion that there is something inherently dangerous about exceeding a speed limit. Doing 100km/h on the ring of Kerry is ill advised but legal, however doing 120km/h on the N8 dual carriageway is illegal but perfectly safe.

Of course there are some who believe a law is a law is a law. Thats fine, but I think, like religion, it is belief they should keep unto themselves.

jhegarty

maidhc wrote:

Only if you are of the opinion that there is something inherently dangerous about exceeding a speed limit. Doing 100km/h on the ring of Kerry is ill advised but legal, however doing 120km/h on the N8 dual carriageway is illegal but perfectly safe.

Of course there are some who believe a law is a law is a law. Thats fine, but I think, like religion, it is belief they should keep unto themselves.

How about doing a mad 61kph on the waterford ring road.... a dual-carriageway with a concrete barried median....

blastman

You maniac!! *swoons*

Owen

I think I have to be honest and say 80-100% of the time. I'm always doing nearly 110kph in a 100kph zone.

peasant

It also depends on how far away from a posted limit you would measure the speed.

I for one don't slam on the brakes as soon as I see a lower limit posted, instead I slow down.

So 10 meters before the post I may be going to slow (for some) whereas 10 meters after it I might be still too fast for the gardai.

Within 50 - 100 meters (depending on the actual speed) it would be different story.

So you could say I never speed or I always speed and you would be correct on both accounts

saobh_ie

I go as fast as possible for the conditions 80% of the time...

Obviously that could mean anything from 30kmh to 160kmh in your normal 80kmh zone.

junkyard

I'd say most of the time, most of the speed limits are unrealistic as far as I'm concerned. The biggest problem is lack of consideration for other road users and bad habits. If the standard of driving improved speed would not be a problem it just used as a scapegoat for poor standards. Incidentally, I don't have any penalty points, not anymore anyway.;)

Sandwich

Driving for 16 years.10000-14000miles/yr.

Can state without exageration that I have not driven a single journey without exceeding the speed limit.

dudara

I'd say that I only deliberately break the speed limit when I'm overtaking. Otherwise I drive at the limit. You can be sorely tempted to push it on at times, but it's just not worth it.

Savman

I'd have a hard time believing anyone who claims they never break the limit. Don't throw the "old dear" argument at me either, they usually go the same speed whether on a motorway or residential estate, there they are at 60km/hr. They might not speed as such, but still ignore posted limits and rarely adapt their driving to road conditions.

BostonB

Savman wrote:

I'd have a hard time believing anyone who claims they never break the limit. ...

Same here. Even with the best of intentions the road signage is so bad half the time you don't know what the limit is.

saobh_ie

Savman wrote:

I'd have a hard time believing anyone who claims they never break the limit. Don't throw the "old dear" argument at me either, they usually go the same speed whether on a motorway or residential estate, there they are at 60km/hr. They might not speed as such, but still ignore posted limits and rarely adapt their driving to road conditions.

That's a pet hate of mine but its not the old dears. It's the people you see every day crossing the country on N roads. You overtake them at 100mph (well you over take them considerably slower than that but once past you get back up to cruising speed) while they're doing 100kmh, without any drama. Shortly afterwards you see a 60kmh sign, you shed speed immeditaly and your at 60kmh before passing the sign, one hundred meters later the 50kmh appears and you pass it doing 50kmh.

When the dude you just over took comes past still going 100kmh, and your looking to your left and right at kids playing in gardens, cars parked by the sides of the road, junctions, shops and schools.

What's more dangerous, the person cruising along by themselves at 160kmh in a 100kmh or the person overtaking at 100kmh in a 50kmh zone?

Of course they're still going 100kmh when you catch up with them half an hour later and you need to start looking for a safe opportunity to overtake them all over again.

BostonB

Very true.

Marcus.Aurelius

must admit, usually 20kph over stated limit, but less in built up areas.
EDIT would agree wholeheartedly with two previous posters

Volvoboy

I always speed i guess i'm a speed freak:rolleyes: once got up to 140klms on the James Larkin rd to The Dublin Road.



-VB-

unkel

Voted 0-20%. Agree with many posters there ^^^ though

I tend to stick to the speed limit on most roads, with some exceptions like these:

1. I don't stick to the indicated speed, but to the calibrated (GPS) speed plus a small percentage (as in to be on the safe side of being registered by gatsos etc.)

2. When overtaking on single carriageways, I always do so at max throttle, so in many cases (temporarily) exceeding the limit

3. I do the laying off the throttle thing (instead of braking) that peasant mentions

4. I sometimes speed on (near) empty motorways. Today was the first time in several years that I reached 200km/h (very briefly) in this country

I have no penalty points yet...

littlejukka

unkel wrote:

Today was the first time in several years that I reached 200km/h (very briefly) in this country

were you overtaking?

easyontheeye

well i try to stay around warp 3 most of the time ...but occasionally i have hit warp 9!

Volvoboy

unkel wrote:

Voted 0-20%. Agree with many posters there ^^^ though

I tend to stick to the speed limit on most roads, with some exceptions like these:

1. I don't stick to the indicated speed, but to the calibrated (GPS) speed plus a small percentage (as in to be on the safe side of being registered by gatsos etc.)

2. When overtaking on single carriageways, I always do so at max throttle, so in many cases (temporarily) exceeding the limit

3. I do the laying off the throttle thing (instead of braking) that peasant mentions

4. I sometimes speed on (near) empty motorways. Today was the first time in several years that I reached 200km/h (very briefly) in this country

I have no penalty points yet...

I doubt your willing to put the boot down in your barge, floor it and watch your petrol gauge take a dive


-VB-

unkel

littlejukka wrote:

were you overtaking?

No, I wasn't overtaking. It was on a completely empty bit of motorway southbound on the M1 between Dundalk and Drogheda

littlejukka

unkel wrote:

No, I wasn't overtaking. It was on a completely empty bit of motorway southbound on the M1 between Dundalk and Drogheda

were you bursting to pee or just acting the eejit? i've had a few northern reg cars go past me (as i was at 120-130) doing 200 easily and i've always thought to myself "wanker".

unkel

Volvoboy wrote:

I doubt your willing to put the boot down in your barge, floor it and watch your petrol gauge take a dive

Eh? There's nothing like putting the foot down in a lazy V8 petrol limousine

No matter how much fuel I have managed to use, depending on my driving style, I'll at least get it back via my expense claim

My car owes my nothing at this stage

Volvoboy

unkel wrote:

Eh? There's nothing like putting the foot down in a lazy V8 petrol limousine

No matter how much fuel I have managed to use, depending on my driving style, I'll at least get it back via my expense claim

My car owes my nothing at this stage

Fair play, always rembered years ago my dad had a 89 520i auto, whenever you went around a corner you'd see the needle going down:D , car drank as much as my dad!:D


-VB-

unkel

littlejukka wrote:

were you bursting to pee or just acting the eejit?

I was not bursting to pee. I was not acting the eejit. Perhaps you should have a go at driving in other countries in Europe to get a bit more experience of how things work in countries where people know how to drive

littlejukka wrote:

doing 200 easily and i've always thought to myself "wanker".

Again a bit of a small island mentality. Go anywhere in the rest of Europe and learn Fast lane in the learning process literally is in Germany or if you prefer the punishment way, in Italy

Royale with Cheese

Suppose I'd speed a fair bit. Do most of my driving on the dual carriageway from Loughlinstown into Dublin. You won't see anybody doing the speed limit along there.

littlejukka

unkel wrote:

I was not bursting to pee. I was not acting the eejit. Perhaps you should have a go at driving in other countries in Europe to get a bit more experience of how things work in countries where people know how to drive



Again a bit of a small island mentality. Go anywhere in the rest of Europe and learn Fast lane in the learning process literally is in Germany or if you prefer the punishment way, in Italy

so by not driving at 200 kph i'm not driving properly? ye wha?

unkel

littlejukka wrote:

so by not driving at 200 kph i'm not driving properly? ye wha?

Nah. But by driving over there you might experience that people driving and even overtaking you at 200km/h aren't necessarily ****

Best not to hog the overtaking lane there though, or you will be punished mentally and / or (nearly) physically

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Sandwich wrote:

Driving for 16 years.10000-14000miles/yr.

Can state without exageration that I have not driven a single journey without exceeding the speed limit.

Unlike Savman I totally agree with you. In 20+ years driving I have always driven to the posted limits. Where is the 0% option in the poll as opposed to 0% to 20%?

BrianD3

unkel wrote:

Voted 0-20%. Agree with many posters there ^^^ though

I tend to stick to the speed limit on most roads, with some exceptions like these:

1. I don't stick to the indicated speed, but to the calibrated (GPS) speed plus a small percentage (as in to be on the safe side of being registered by gatsos etc.)

2. When overtaking on single carriageways, I always do so at max throttle, so in many cases (temporarily) exceeding the limit

3. I do the laying off the throttle thing (instead of braking) that peasant mentions

4. I sometimes speed on (near) empty motorways. Today was the first time in several years that I reached 200km/h (very briefly) in this country

I have no penalty points yet...

I also voted 0-20% and agree with most of the above. Speed when overtaking on single carriageway roads but not at other times. If driving along a decent N road my speedo will sit at around 108 km/h. I don't consider this to be speeding as my true speed is around 100 km/h.

No penalty points here either and have never been pulled for speeding in around 12 years driving doing approx 30,000 miles per year.

I no longer speed on motorways but pre penalty points introduction I often did.

One thing I notice is that I am one of the slowest drivers in 50 and 60 km/h zones but on M-ways when safe to do so I overtake far more cars than overtake me. Conclusion: the majority of drivers speed in urban areas but many don't even reach the 120 km/h limit on M-ways in perfect conditions. We have a lot of the "55 mph everywhere" brigade in this country.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

unkel wrote:

No, I wasn't overtaking. It was on a completely empty bit of motorway southbound on the M1 between Dundalk and Drogheda

So are you one of those northern tossers who drive with no reagrd for our speed limits, or laws, and pass me at excessive speed every time I drive out my gateway or when I'm on the M1? All mouth, speed and no brains!:eek:

Seth Brundle

Sandwich wrote:

Driving for 16 years.10000-14000miles/yr.

Can state without exageration that I have not driven a single journey without exceeding the speed limit.

Kareem Tender Volunteer wrote:

Unlike Savman I totally agree with you. In 20+ years driving I have always driven to the posted limits. Where is the 0% option in the poll as opposed to 0% to 20%?

So neither of you have ever exceeded a speed limit even by 0.5km/h?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Considering I keep to the posted limit by reference to my speedometer and they always register below actual speed, then YES!

maidhc

Kareem Tender Volunteer wrote:

Considering I keep to the posted limit by reference to my speedometer and they always register below actual speed, then YES!

I hope that means you hit the anchors 1/2 a km before each roundabout on a dual carriageway so as not to be doing 51km/h going past the 50k sign!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

maidhc wrote:

I hope that means you hit the anchors 1/2 a km before each roundabout on a dual carriageway so as not to be doing 51km/h going past the 50k sign!

Can you not see the signs ahead and slow accordingly?

maidhc

Kareem Tender Volunteer wrote:

Can you not see the signs ahead and slow accordingly?

The signs are about 1/2km before roundabouts. Its scary to be doing 50km/h then though, as you run the risk of being hit from behind by everyone else who is doing twice your speed.

dr.bollocko

I have definitely started to stick fairly rigidly to posted speed limits. From having just recently passed a driving test (first time, thank holy god and jesus too for my lowered insurance), and gotten a few lessons from a quality instructor, he explains why and it makes you slow down. I drift up to 70mph on dual carraigeways that are 100kmph the odd time if the road is fairly quiet, but this business of hitting 90 on a busy dual carraigeway and zipping past cars at high speed is just dangerous. Most people I have encountered on the roads cant drive very well, cant signal, dont know things as basic as roundabout rules, push in and muscle their way through traffic, etc. I am not a very experienced driver in terms of driving in other countries, but I seriously hope that we would be amongst the worst in the world for driving. You have to develop coping mechanisms, calming techniques and sometimes intraveinous drugs to calm you down with some of the crazy retarded **** that I see people doing every goddamn day of the week. And this isnt learner drivers, its middle aged man in a BMW or middle aged wifie in a chelsea tractor.
But back to speeding. Anyone doing even 40 or 50mph through a residential area regularly should be getting points and warnings. How often do you see little kids darting out on a road? Or people just moving out without looking? Just stick at the 50kmph speed limit, for **** sake, what does it lose you, 2 minutes through a small town?

biko

If the road is straight, dry and somewhat empty I will step on it.
Will speed probably every time I'm in the car and going between cities.
Won't speed in town, too many kids, bikes, etc

Caught once, 140 on a 100 road

rebel.ranter

Lately for the journeys to Dublin (from Cork) I have tried to use the cruise control to keep me at bay. However it is very frustrating when other drivers seem to be very erratic, going from 70km/h to 120km/h on a 100km/h limit. I too have checked my speedo against a GPS speed reading, it seems to read a bit lower than what the GPS says, so I set the CC to the value on the GPS.

Curiously I am more conscious of my speed in the 60km/h than any other limit area. I just have this thing in the back of my head that there are more speed traps in these types of areas.

Savman

Kareem Tender Volunteer wrote:

So are you one of those northern tossers who drive with no reagrd for our speed limits, or laws, and pass me at excessive speed every time I drive out my gateway or when I'm on the M1? All mouth, speed and no brains!:eek:

No different than one of those southern tossers
Or Polish tossers, or Nigerian tossers, or Female tossers, or Van driver tossers etc etc you get the picture. Scathing generalisations do nothing except contribute to an already poor attitude to driving.

It's gas, I drive a van and I'll always let another van pull out and vice versa. You'll see Taxi men doing the same with other taxis, trucks with other trucks and buses with other buses and tbh it's good to see there is still some courtesy left on the road, albeit in a "look after your own" mentality.

Kareem Tender Volunteer wrote:

Unlike Savman I totally agree with you. In 20+ years driving I have always driven to the posted limits. Where is the 0% option in the poll as opposed to 0% to 20%?

See this is what I mean, I cannot believe you've NEVER went over the speed limit unless your surname is Christ. Or would you be in the "I go the same speed everywhere" gang?

el tel

Sandwich wrote:

Driving for 16 years.10000-14000miles/yr.

Can state without exageration that I have not driven a single journey without exceeding the speed limit.

kbannon wrote:

So neither of you have ever exceeded a speed limit even by 0.5km/h?

Dosen't Sandwich mean he has exceeded the speed limit on every single journey? That's what I understand from his statement.

peasant

Other than while overtaking (which I always do as fast as I can) and decelerating into a lower limt (which I might not hit on the spot) I do not consciously speed any more.

On a wide clear, empty, boring road I might occasionally drift over the limit, because I don't watch my speedo all the time ...but I don't speed on purpose.

Speed limits that have a specific reason (towns, schools, black spots) I adhere to strictly and might actually go slower than posted, depending on the conditions.

When younger I used to be quite a speed merchant and whip every available horse for more power in my mostly puney cars.

Two things have changed.

These days all cars (except my Jimny ) are so powerful and the setup is so removed from "feeling" the road, that you have to go significantly over the limit to experience any sort of "thrill" or "fun" driving experience.
And significantly over the limit is just too bloody dangerous, full stop.
Seenashow 120 km/h is equally as boring as 100 km/h you might as well stick to the limit and save yourself the grief of getting caught.

The other factor is that after years of driving slow campervans, I have realised that you might get there 5 mins later (on a long journey), but usually much more relaxed ...

So there really is no point to speeding ...just points