Highway minimum speed limit

[bentjazz]

Hi everyone,

Where I live (Cincinnati), there is no minimum speed limit posted on the highway. Just curious if anyone knows if I can get a ticket going, say, 50mph on the highway? Speed limit is 65mph in some places, 55 mph in other places.
Thanks.

[Thuja]

Specifically British Columbia, there is a section of the motor vehicle act which states that a driver must not impede the normal flow of traffic. There is no specific speed nor number of vehicles you can have following you, it is up the the police I suppose.
Check your motor vehicle act (or equivalent) for similar wording.

:)
Thuja.

[Yaristeve]

California has a catch-all law which is basically "unsafe speed for conditions". Police and CHP use this for any act that is not specifically prohibited, such as the recently enacted cell-phone law. I would guess that your state has the same law.

[Betrivent]

If you notice, Thuja, here in CB there are signs saying vehicles or bicycles that cannot maintain 50km/h are not allowed on the highway.

[rningonfumes]

I'm going to go with Steve. I think you'll be okay as long as you're not being obnoxious about it. Obnoxious meaning driving 50 in the far left lane or driving 50 on a two lane and not wanting to speed up so the current pack of waves could trickle ahead of you.

I personally don't go past 55 unless I'm in a rush. Here's the thing, you're better off staying at the maximum for semi-trailers because it seems like the magic number most motorist are willing to put up with when traffic is free of congestion. Other wise they get stupid and flash their headlights even though you are at the far right and there is plenty of room to pass you. ** don't get me started on the ones which pass you just to get to an off ramp 2 seconds quicker than had they waited behind you.

[STC]

OP: I live in PA and with 65 MPH Interstates signs say use flashers at under 50 MPH. This is for long grades on hills on I-80. With 55 MPH Interstates I see use flashers for under 40 MPH. It is safe to say one can drive around 15 MPH under the speed limit on interstates. Of course if the flow of traffic is heavy you may want to bump up the speed closer to the posted speed limit so you do not create any traffic dangers.

Cheers! :smile:

[Flipper_1938]

I've always heard that 45 mph was the minimum speed for the interstate. I personally wouldn't try it in an area where the flow of traffic is 75 mph.

[mbt109]

Here in MN 40 mph min limit on Interstates

[mryaris]

Don't be a hazard to other drivers (and yourself) and just drive the speed limit. You will not save any appreciable amount of gas or money by impeding traffic, but you will piss off a lot of people!

On a side note, I love my Yaris, but hate having to baby the thing just to get 43-45 MPG. I still have it, but bought an old CRX HF last month for my work beater (I drive 1200 miles/week). My absolute worst tank average is better than my best tank average in the Yaris.....I get 47MPG when I beat on it and 60MPG when I'm nice (I average 54MPG) and that's on the highway cruising between 65-75 MPH. In contrast, my best tank in the Yaris has been 47.5 MPG and I average right at 40.

I think the Yaris should be capable of those numbers without driving it like a little old lady afraid of touching the gas pedal.....it's the one thing that aggravates me the most about my Yaris. [/rant]

[TLyttle]

"Don't be a hazard to other drivers": seconded. I drive with the traffic flow. If I don't like the speed, I find a secondary route (there is nearly always one) and take that. I find it rude to stick to the speed limit (or below!) and impede other traffic; that is a bad attitude.

[swidd]

Don't be a hazard to other drivers (and yourself) and just drive the speed limit. You will not save any appreciable amount of gas or money by impeding traffic, but you will piss off a lot of people!
[/rant]

We agree. Just drive the speed limit. But all too often I drive the speed limit while everyone else wants to go 20 above, (I do 55 in 55, they do 70-75). I still piss people off. It is not easy.

[rningonfumes]

Look, if there is 2 lanes to the left of you which are clear other drivers have no reason to be mad.

..If they're using the right lane to pass, they're idiots. If they're too impatient to wait a mile before their exit, you can't help them. If they're 50 and are driving like they're 16, mark them as trouble and help them pass you because you don't want any of that sillyness.

Just drive safely on the right if you're slower than the majority of traffic but don't drive unreasonably slow. If you're uncomfortable start by following a semi that is driving at the speed you want to be at. This doesn't mean drafting AT ALL. It means you're using the semi as a crutch for drivers behind you to sub conciously want to pass you on the left.

Good luck.

[bentjazz]

Thanks for the posts, everyone. Yeah, I've been doing 50-53 in a 65mph zone for a couple weeks. I've been flipped off a couple times, too. I bet if I had a Jeff Spicoli look going on I could get away driving at significantly lower speeds without irritating other drivers....

[landrym28]

Personally, usually when I get my best fuel economy is when I'm driving at 4 in the morning when there's no other traffic on the roads, and I can go the speed limit or a little bit less and not have to worry about getting flipped off. Sad, but true.

[rick996]

I've been doing 55 on the highway (65 limit) for few weeks now. I haven't had any major problems, just the idiots that come up on you fast even though there are two clear lanes to the left.

I did have to deal with road rage a few years ago when I passed a car that was doing 20 miles per hour after he pulled out in front of me. I passed him on the right in a climbing lane (thought he was just a slow driver) and he went berserk with flashing lights, horn, hand gestures and mouth going a mile a minute. When I stopped at a stoplight he came around me in the left turn only lane and cut me off to pin me in (there were cars behind me), hitting my car. He only damaged his own car, running the right side of it up my front bumper. He got out, obviously drunk, and started screaming threats at me. All I said (through my closed window) was "I'm going to the police station as soon as I leave." His wife or girlfriend managed to get him back in the car and they left. When I got to the station I found out that he had called to complain about me. Luckily I wrote down the plate numbers of the cars that were behind me as they passed us while I was still pinned in and one older couple was willing to talk when they were called. They never got him on drunk driving but they got him on five other charges including "following to harass".

Of course this incident had nothing to do with hypermiling but it does say something about the dangerous nut cases out there :eyebulge:. It scared the hell out of me :eek:.

[rningonfumes]

I'm glad you're okay Rick. That's one of those "silly" situations I was talking about.

[mryaris]

We agree. Just drive the speed limit. But all too often I drive the speed limit while everyone else wants to go 20 above, (I do 55 in 55, they do 70-75). I still piss people off. It is not easy.

I hear you....I'm lucky that my route is mostly rural and not on the interstate, but occasionally I get caught up in some traffic that wants to go much faster than I do. My biggest problem with the CRX is it accelerates so slowly it's painful (only has 62 HP), although once up to speed it cruises nicely. I usually do the semi truck thing and follow one of them so everyone else can blame the trucker for going so slow and not me (then I can pass him after all the fast traffic blows by).

After putting 8000 miles on the CRX, I have now a greater appreciation of just how peppy the Yaris is. It feels like a sports car by comparison! :biggrin:

[Thuja]

You`re right Betrivent, I have seen those signs on a freeway or two in BC; but I only remember seeing them near the coast and I personally live in the `Kootenays`. I was referring in my post specifically about Section 145 of the Motor Vehicle Act of BC which states:
145 (1) A person must not drive a motor vehicle at so slow a speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.

(2) If the driver of a motor vehicle is driving at so slow a speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, a peace officer may require the driver to increase his or her speed, or to remove the motor vehicle from the roadway to the nearest suitable place and to refrain from causing or allowing the motor vehicle to move from that place until directed to do so by a peace officer.

[big lo]

^+1

[bentjazz]

myyaris or anyone,

If they can sell a high efficiency car like the CRX HF way back when when the gas prices were low in the US, why can't they give us something like this now when the gas prices are only going up? I really don't get it.

[rningonfumes]

Newer safety requirements and standards have to be met now than years before and cars have grown. Consider this, our car is considered a sub-compact but it is actually the size of a corolla or even a camry from the early 90s.

[Idahotom]

I set my cruise on the 75 mph interstates at 63, that lets the truckers pass me, and they are good enough drivers to just get over to the left and pass. The drivers who are so clueless as run up my rear end, when they could just pay a bit more attention and pass me.....screw them. This is assuming little traffic if any, so in others words I am not slowing anybody down as they can pass anytime. When in busier places where passing for others is less of an option, I bump it up somewhere between 65 and 70, and then the truckers are the slowest. Mostly I adjust my cruising speed by using my mirror to see if I'm "the problem", and if not I don't worry about it.

[mryaris]

myyaris or anyone,

If they can sell a high efficiency car like the CRX HF way back when when the gas prices were low in the US, why can't they give us something like this now when the gas prices are only going up? I really don't get it.

This is an interesting question and one that is not so easy to answer. I can't begin to gove a complete answer, but here are some of my observations (sorry if they seem to ramble.....I type as I think, which is sometimes in circles).

Part of it is todays consumer would not buy a CRX HF if it were presented as a new car today. It is a no-frills car....it only came with a 5-speed, has no power options at all and with only 62HP is very slow. Modern cars are a lot heavier due to safety mandates and engines are more powerful because most people want to accelerate more briskly than the 12 or 13 seconds it takes the HF to get up to 60MPH (maybe closer to 15 seconds!).

Then there's the fact that in the mid to late 80's and early 90's there was a "battle" over who had the most fuel efficient car in the US. The Geo Metro XFi and CRX HF (later the Civic VX) were the front runners. You have to remember that the whole oil embargo thing was still relatively fresh in people's minds in the mid-80's and cars were still pretty basic (if you had power windows, etc then you had a fancy car). Even though gas prices are high today, the majority of Americans aren't necessarily clamoring for a fuel efficient car and if they are, then anything that get 30-35MPG is a lot better than what they are currently driving so why get an even slower car for another 10-20 MPG. Essentially, there is no real incentive for manufacturers to build a car like the HF anymore.....there's no profit margin in a car like that.

Todays CRX HF is honestly the Prius and cars like it. They get 50+ MPG, but have all the bells and whistles that people want nowadays. I persaonlly hate the Prius, but there you have it.....the tribe has spoken. They want great fuel efficiency without relegating themselves to driving a small little tin box with no modern creature comforts. The Yaris sort of fits in this category, although it has a lot of modern conveniences. The reason people don't buy one is it is a small car that people perceive as cheap and junky.....something that the CRX was never considered in its day.

The last great fuel efficient Honda (in my mind) was the original Insight. It gets well over 70MPG on the highway, but sales never were very high. It was a bit goofy looking and people wanted a "normal" looking car that got great mileage (which is where the Civic hybrid fits in) . The new Insight is more normal looking now, but gets nowhere near 70 MPG, so that's the trade-off.

Anyway, as cars evolve and consumer tastes change the end product also changes. Today is all about the hybrid, so that's what manufacturers are building. Maybe that will change again.....who knows.

[rningonfumes]

^+1

[Flipper_1938]

The original Insight was a neat little car, but I couldn't bring myself to pay $21,000 for one. I bought a loaded Toyota Echo for $12,000.

As great of a deal as the Echo turned out to be, I find it hard to believe that my yaris with more bells and whistles was only $13,700. If you factor 9 years inflation into the mix, the yaris got quite a bit cheaper.

[bentjazz]

Thanks for the great responses to my CRX HF question, guys.

Drudge is reporting $5 per gallon gas by Memorial Day. That's $50+ to fill up our Yaris tanks. I think as these prices go north, people will start to demand more fuel efficiency. It's inevitable, although I could be wrong. And there has to be a market for those who either can't afford a hybrid car or for those who don't want a hybrid. I, myself, would prefer a bare bones type of car that skipped hybrid tech altogether (but achieves similar FE), like the CRX HF or Metro XFi.
I like my Yaris, but if they started pumping out high fuel efficient non-hybrids I'd trade my Yaris in without question....

[end user]

Specifically British Columbia, there is a section of the motor vehicle act which states that a driver must not impede the normal flow of traffic. There is no specific speed nor number of vehicles you can have following you, it is up the the police I suppose.
Check your motor vehicle act (or equivalent) for similar wording.

:)
Thuja.

Shit wish those on the #1 would follow those rules. With the two lanes in the morning going east from Surrey its either being stuck doing 60-80 or having to speed in the left lane so people don't tail gate you unless you don't mind weaving in and out of the lanes every 30 seconds which done 100'a times in 45min gets a bit tiresome.

Even if they built 4 lanes on the #1 it wouldn't matter as people would still be spread out over the 4 lanes. All it would take is people looking into their rear view and move over for faster traffic and I'm astounded how many people DONT use their rear view mirror.

Alberta has min speed signs on their highways. Never seen any in BC.

[brg88tx]

yall do realize the yaris will still get 37 mpg even at 78mph, right? i did it this past weekend.

[matthewai]

just flip em back with 2 fingers

[end user]

Expensive gas is gonna make some entrepreneurial criminals pretty rich soon. Can we look forward to some Mad Max style Yaris wars? :biggrin:

[Yaristeve]

Expensive gas is gonna make some entrepreneurial criminals pretty rich soon. Can we look forward to some Mad Max style Yaris wars? :biggrin:

Yeah, another round of gas thieves siphoning from peoples' tanks... :frown:

[rick996]

Yeah, another round of gas thieves siphoning from peoples' tanks... :frown:

Maybe they will leave our Yari alone because our tanks are small :laugh:.

[STC]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSaZ5v1eW5I :laugh:

Cheers! :smile:

[mazilla]

I assume people speeding by are on the way to an emergency, and if it was me I wouldn't want somebody intentionally holding me back...I know that's not the case, but I'd rather not play games.