Is it a Speed Limit sign or a Go This Speed sign?

[BShawn]

I always consider those speed limit signs as suggestions.

 

When I learned how to drive in Chicago I was taught that the meek might inherit the earth ,,,, But they'll never drive the streets of Chicago.

 

Gospel

 

Nobody, and I mean nobody does the 55mph limit on chicagoland's interstates. I'd venture to guess the unofficial limit is around 70. AKA the speed that won't draw ISP's attention. Most motorists are doing an avg of 80 IMHO.

 

 

People driving the speed limit in the left lane are exceedingly annoying. If you want to drive slow, please use the right lane. The left lane is for passing!

 

Slower traffic keep right. Some get it, some don't. In rural areas, where there's less traffic, they seem to get it. In suburbia, not so much.

 

^THIS^

 

I think if you actually tried to do 55 MPH on any chicagoland highway and you'd probably wind up a traffic collision statistic (and or dead)!!! The "practiced" speed limit around here is 70~80 already...

[BShawn]

Tailgating is the universal way to say, "I want to pass". Not letting people pass is the universal way to say, "I'm an... um, real swell guy with no passive-aggressive issues at all."

 

^THIS^ too !!!

 

Just like in other circumstances where one must yield to other traffic (non highway examples come to mind like stop signs, turns etc), if you're in the left lane and someone starts riding your ***, you need to move over to let them pass. They're not hindering your "right" to traverse by speeding or wanting to speed. However, technically you are hindering their 'traversing' while you slow them down; you're not the police (so you can't force them to go a certain speed), be polite and move over!

 

Personally I do not think there really should be speed limits. They're not there for safety they're there to generate revenue. I think everyone should have the right to traverse whether they desire to do so at 45 MPH or 145 MPH... Though slower traffic does need to keep to the right.

 

Also, unless 'extreme' differences, speeding really doesn't "help" for short trips, only the long/longer ones. Example: Is it going to make much difference in time arrived whether I go 75 or 95 between say Schaumburg and Naperville. No, not a whole heck of a lot.Though would it make a bigger difference between travelling 75 or 95 say from the Chicago area to Orlando, FL ??? Sure, it will be a much bigger difference for those longer trips.

[dumpnpump]

I seem to recall that Illinois tried something like this some years ago. I don't know what ever happened to it though. It seemed like the bill said that even if you were speeding in the left hand lane, you had to be accelerating to pass and get back in the right lane. At the time, it seemed to me like the Illinois legislators were looking for a way to get the slower traffic out of their way when driving to and from Springfield. In my experience, traffic was too heavy to make it work though. Of course they have legislator plates on their cars so no state trooper would dare to pull one of them over for speeding.

[dumpnpump]

PS, Texas just raised their speed limit to 85, does anyone know if their minimum speed limit went up too???