My first sucky encounter

[BookstoreEscapee]

So the lady who yelled at you for speeding was also speeding...is that correct?

Sure sounds like it! I laughed at that myself.

There's one street in my area, the limit is 25, but the street is fairly wide, and despite the "watch children" signs there are never any children around, and 25 just feels soooo slow. But some other streets that are narrower, and often have cars parked on the street, the same speed limit feels too fast sometimes (including my own, which often has both cars on the street and children)!

[Primer]

I was told many moons ago that in the UK the allowance is 10% over the speed limit, to allow for speedometer error.

Last I heard, in the Austin (TX) area, the "finagle factor" is being reduced to 5mph over the limit. It used to be up to 10mph, depending on the officer's mood. I learned a long time ago to keep my speed at or below the limit. Fun part about that right now, is that my speedometer head is going out, and frequently measures 5-15 mph low. I've had the part on back order since last August. I've learned to drive by my tachometer most of the time. I do have the work order from the mechanic in my car showing the part on back order, so I might be able to get off with a warning if I do get stopped.

[Sailornight6]

ok the second this went to talking about speeding, i remembered something i saw on the news a few years ago, i found the video. check it out its pretty funny

http://youtube.com/watch?v=szndW55qtg0

[MMATM]

That is brilliant. Please give that its own post somewhere in "Check it Out" or something. Or else I will.

[friendofjimmyk]

So the lady who yelled at you for speeding was also speeding...is that correct?

Yeah, that's the irony of the situation. I may have been going a few miles over the speed limit and she freaked the frak out on me - but she appeared to SPEED up to me to tell me to not speed through her neighborhood.

[Dips]

This thread reminds me of three stories about people going after speeders:

Just So You Know

I was driving down a narrow back road to visit my parents. The speed limit is 25 MPH and that is how fast I was going because it's a narrow twisty road in a forested area.

I came around a corner and spotted two women jogging. I slowed and passed them. They yelled at me to slow down.

Despite the fact that I was hopping mad, I decided to stop and very nicely ask how fast they though I was going. I tried to sound genuinely puzzled and perplexed.

They stated that speed limit was 25. Real slow, like I was a moron who couldn't read the multiple signs.

I very lightly said, "Oh, that's good. I actually was going 25. Just remember what 25 looks like before you falsely accuse anyone else of speeding, OK? I know I'd appreciate it."

No answer.

The Joy of Karma

There is a school in our town, which back when this happened, was mostly empty. The only students were kids in the special needs preschool. Even though transportation was provided by the town, some parents preferred to drop their children off themselves.

People in the neighborhood were constantly complaining to the police and writing letters to editor about all those horrible outsiders speeding through their neighborhood. Some of them went so far as to walk over to the school to bless people out.

Finally the police decided to set up "selective enforcement," which is a fancy expression for "speed trap."

Then they published the results in the town paper. They issued no citations, but issued five written warnings for speeding. They did not hesitate to point out that all five warnings were issued to people who lived in the neighborhood.

If It's a Private Road...

The road I live on can be considered a private road, mainly because it is unpaved and only 12 feet wide. The town isn't interested in spending money to bring it up to standards so it can be accepted and neither are those of us who live on it. Nevertheless it is also considered a public right of way and the town does take responsibility for maintaining and plowing it. There is no posted speed limit, but nobody is nuts enough to try going much faster than 25 MPH at the MOST.

At one time the guy who lived in the house next to ours had a problem with a person who figured that 40-50 MPH was lots of fun. The neighbor spoke with him and asked him to slow down. The speeder was one of those folks who is congenitally incapable of doing as anybody else requests, so he continued speeding and made sure to make a racket while he was at it, just to rub it in.

Needless to say, the neighbor decided it was time to file a complaint with the police. The police stated that our road was a private way and they wouldn't do anything but speak to the guy.

Which they did. It didn't do any good. They guy just got more obnoxious. Another complaint was filed. The police stated that it was a private road and they refused to do anything about it.

So the neighbor decided that since it was a private road, it was his to do with as he pleased. He dug a shallow trench across the way, buried some metal pipe (about 8in. in diameter) and covered it over with dirt.

Speeder came along and hit the speed bump at about 45 MPH. He had some car damage. Guess who filed a complaint with the police next?

So the police confronted the neighbor for creating a hazard. He stated that it was a private road and silently left that though hanging there to see if it would penetrate. It did.

The police told the speeder that they had requested that the speed bump be dug up and they were also requesting that he keep his speed down. It worked.

[Rapscallion]

Hah! That last one reminds me of a situation where a local business had trouble with the local council.

There was a road that connected two other roads, and it ran along his loading bays for his business. People were forever cutting through and then complaining about the pot holes. Both the owner of the business and they complained to the council and demanded that the holes be filled.

"Not our problem," the council said. "The road clearly belongs to you, mr Business Owner, and it's therefore your responsibility."

He challenged this long and loud, trying to get them to accept responsibility for their road. Even a legal challenge failed, and the council responded with a legal action of their own forcing him to keep the road in a good state of repair.

Mr Business Owner repaired the holes. He then erected huge metal gates either end of the alleged road, and waited. It didn't take too long for the council to send him a letter, backed up by legal enforcement threats, for him to remove the gates from a public right of way.

He responded by telling them that the land clearly belonged to him. The particular tentacle of the council dealing with him now challenged his interpretation of the boundaries until they took him to court, whereupon he produced the previous legal ruling that it was actually his.

The gates are still there.

Rapscallion

[Jack7957]

I know for a fact now, just tested it a few days ago, that my work truck, a 4-ton when fully loaded GMC van, will do 15mph without touching the gas. In order to keep it at 10, I'd have to ride the brakes.

[Andara Bledin]

I'm not certain about my current car, but my last car would cruise at 22 mph without me touching the gas pedal. The spedometer started at 10.

^-.-^