FARK.com: (7591262) DOT decides speed limit is too low after Secretary of Transportation gets speeding ticket

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		DOT decides speed limit is too low after Secretary of Transportation gets speeding ticket (flanews.com)		82
		More: Florida, United States Secretary of Transportation, speeding tickets, speed limits

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11450 clicks; posted to Main » on 13 Feb 2013 at 7:19 PM | Favorite | share:

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The Stealth Hippopotamus		2013-02-13 05:55:18 PM

F THE DOT!!

Kyosuke		2013-02-13 06:13:43 PM

She does look rather fast, doesn't she.

a0.vsoh.com

Walker		2013-02-13 06:38:49 PM

Just a coincidence I'm sure

/I couldn't even keep a straight face when I typed that

Elzar		2013-02-13 06:39:33 PM

farking pigs - they complain about crime and budget cuts and then go after the low hanging fruit by setting up speed traps. fark them all right in their asses.

/ Also I bet that secretary does the needful...

Popcorn Johnny		2013-02-13 06:44:19 PM

Elzar: farking pigs

Oh boy, here we go.

Lord Jubjub		2013-02-13 06:46:01 PM

Walker: Just a coincidence I'm sure

/I couldn't even keep a straight face when I typed that

Considering that the SOT initiated an investigation, I would say no.

/Ditto for the disappearance of patrol cars.

netizencain		2013-02-13 06:58:02 PM

The invented criminality of speeding.

Bashar and Asma's Infinite Playlist		2013-02-13 07:14:27 PM

The guy got caught, paid his fine, and was humble about it. Then after hearing from other citizens about that stretch of road, he commissioned a fact-based study that reported that the speed limit was artificially low, so they recommended it be raised. I don't see where the Florida tag comes into play. That's kind of an ideal way for the system to work.

Deep Contact		2013-02-13 07:24:19 PM

Big Man On Campus		2013-02-13 07:24:22 PM

Before you people start complaining, at least find the right target. It's possible the DOT legitimately found and corrected a situation created by a local municipality trying to raise money via speeding tickets.

It's also possible that the head of the DOT was abusing his power.

It's also possible that Jesus lived and died for my only sin, which is posting too much on Fark from work.

meyerkev		2013-02-13 07:25:54 PM

85th percentile unless overriding factors is the guideline.

/CA. A fast main road is 35, a slow is 25.
//And then everyone ignores it and goes 45 anyways.
///My gas mileage dropped 25% going from MI (45 MPH main drags) to CA.

dr-shotgun		2013-02-13 07:26:47 PM

Bashar and Asma's Infinite Playlist: The guy got caught, paid his fine, and was humble about it. Then after hearing from other citizens about that stretch of road, he commissioned a fact-based study that reported that the speed limit was artificially low, so they recommended it be raised. I don't see where the Florida tag comes into play. That's kind of an ideal way for the system to work.

The ideal way the system would work is for the local government to set speed limits based on well proven methods, such as the kind of traffic flow study that the DOT head ordered performed.

Instead, what happened here was that the local government decided to get into the revenue generation business and artificially lowered the speed limit, knowing full well that people drive at the 85th percentile speed anyhow. This created a fish in a barrel situation for their officers to write lots of tickets and generate lots of revenue.

Only when someone with some power was nabbed by the charade, did anything actually change. That isn't how shiat is supposed to work at all.

GilRuiz1		2013-02-13 07:28:03 PM

ActionJoe		2013-02-13 07:28:24 PM

Fark speed limits in Florida. Just moved here a couple months ago and it's appalling and agonizing to be on a straight, 4 lane road, with barely anything around and the speed limit be 35. What the fark is up with that? Everything down here is already spread out and low speed limits make it even more of a trek to get places. Low speed limits are also more dangerous, when you feel like you should be doing 45 but it's 35 you have the people who follow it to the law and the others going 45-50. So you end up having a huge speed difference which results in more accidents.

It's farking retarded. This is just the slow build up to the hatred for this state.

wild9		2013-02-13 07:29:17 PM

There is this one neighborhood in Fairborn, OH that I had to drive through all the time. I loved it because there were no stop signs at intersections, only yield signs. It was amazing to be able to roll stop everything without having to worry about getting pulled over for it.

wild9		2013-02-13 07:30:39 PM

ActionJoe: Fark speed limits in Florida. Just moved here a couple months ago and it's appalling and agonizing to be on a straight, 4 lane road, with barely anything around and the speed limit be 35. What the fark is up with that? Everything down here is already spread out and low speed limits make it even more of a trek to get places. Low speed limits are also more dangerous, when you feel like you should be doing 45 but it's 35 you have the people who follow it to the law and the others going 45-50. So you end up having a huge speed difference which results in more accidents.

It's farking retarded. This is just the slow build up to the hatred for this state.

Oh, where I live now they just built a 4 lane divided highway as a bypass. Speed limit is 55. I live on a two lane, curvy as fark country road and the posted limit is 55

BumpInTheNight		2013-02-13 07:31:07 PM

Imagine that, someone actually willing and capable of addressing a wrong they personally encountered and followed through...and people still find a way to biatch about it.

obamadidcoke		2013-02-13 07:31:46 PM

DOT guy uses his position as head of DOT to change the speed limit on a road he probably goes down everyday. The city is mad because they dont get to collect revenues for tickets on a road with an artificially low speed limit.

I'm not really sure who to root for in this douchebag fight

I_Can't_Believe_it's_not_Boutros		2013-02-13 07:31:56 PM

I grew up right off Thomasville Road in Tallahassee; I can't believe that the speed limit there was still 35. That was ridiculous a few lanes ago.

Bonus nostalgia--the "local motorist" they quoted was on my high school golf team in the early 80s.

amquelbettamin		2013-02-13 07:35:17 PM

BumpInTheNight: Imagine that, someone actually willing and capable of addressing a wrong they personally encountered and followed through...and people still find a way to biatch about it.

Thanks a lot, Obama. Now instead of social mobility we have the elite-ruling class and the peasants. Only when the aristocracy gets a ticket is the speed limit too high.

vudukungfu		2013-02-13 07:37:30 PM

Traffic calming measures.
It's like talking to a child.

Day_Old_Dutchie		2013-02-13 07:39:44 PM

meyerkev: 85th percentile unless overriding factors is the guideline.

/CA. A fast main road is 35, a slow is 25.
//And then everyone ignores it and goes 45 anyways.
///My gas mileage dropped 25% going from MI (45 MPH main drags) to CA.

Conclusion:
s11.postimage.org

Ned Stark		2013-02-13 07:40:55 PM

amquelbettamin: BumpInTheNight: Imagine that, someone actually willing and capable of addressing a wrong they personally encountered and followed through...and people still find a way to biatch about it.

Thanks a lot, Obama. Now instead of social mobility we have the elite-ruling class and the peasants. Only when the aristocracy gets a ticket is the speed limit too high.

thats... more than 4 years old.

VTGremlin		2013-02-13 07:46:27 PM

I daresay the speed limit on many rural Virginia roads is designed for body bag generation, not ticket generation. It is quite nice to have the option to choose how fast you want to drive though.

edenza		2013-02-13 07:47:23 PM

Only time I've ever been pulled over was up on Thomasville Road. The cop said it was because I blew through a stop sign but as that's a pet peeve of mine, I said I didn't think so. He let me go on that once he found out my license was a week expired. I'd just turned 21 and I wanted that special over-21 FL license (they looked different and I didn't want to get the stinkeye for my under-21 license for however many years).

On the best of days it was always a road for cops who'd sit like vultures on wires so when you go 45 in the 35, it must be like Christmas.

steamingpile		2013-02-13 07:48:13 PM

I once was told speed limits are merely suggestions for bad drivers, seeing as he was an above average driver he felt no need to adhere to those limits. I wish the law worked like that......

occamswrist		2013-02-13 07:50:59 PM

wild9: There is this one neighborhood in Fairborn, OH that I had to drive through all the time. I loved it because there were no stop signs at intersections, only yield signs. It was amazing to be able to roll stop everything without having to worry about getting pulled over for it.

Its called stillborn.

Don't ask why I know.

jigger		2013-02-13 07:51:05 PM

Florida's Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad was ticketed on a Tallahassee for doing 44 in a 35.

I hate being ticketed on a Tallahassee.

Rich Cream		2013-02-13 07:53:07 PM

steamingpile: I once was told speed limits are merely suggestions for bad drivers, seeing as he was an above average driver he felt no need to adhere to those limits. I wish the law worked like that......

Was he a cop because cops say that shiat all the time.

/and not just about speed limits

Yogimus		2013-02-13 07:53:39 PM

Popcorn Johnny: Elzar: farking pigs

Oh boy, here we go.

Dude, go into the sheriff's office and shoot someone in the farkING FACE!!!! Then burn your truck! YEA! DOWN WITH THE MAN!

natazha		2013-02-13 07:54:21 PM

Had a friend that got a ticket for 47 in a 25 zone. Went to court and showed that, even though it was a residential area and his family had been trying for 13 years to get the limit lowered, that it was in fact posted at 50. Two months later, new posting to 35.

amquelbettamin		2013-02-13 07:55:15 PM

Better have an atomic clock for this one

f.kulfoto.com

Crunch61		2013-02-13 07:55:16 PM

steamingpile		2013-02-13 07:57:07 PM

Rufus Lee King: Remember, it's your God-given right to ignore speed limits. Forget other drivers, pedestrians, and all the rest of those peasants. If they hadn't been in your way in the first place, they wouldn't have gotten killed. Also, if you do get pulled over, tell the cop that you are a member of FARK, and therefore immune from all these silly laws. The cop will be impressed, let you go, and personally clean up all the bodies you left in your wake.

I think all cars should be equipped with cameras if you jaywalk, prove the guy you hit drove like shiat, or the pedestrian just decided to walk too slow after the light changed you should never be charged. So many people drive like complete shiat out there, 10 miles under on the highway, slowing down to talk on the phone, changing lanes for no damn reason, its farking amazing how many drivers should not be allowed to drive. Oh and people over 75 should have to take yearly tests if they want to keep driving.

WayneKerr		2013-02-13 07:58:09 PM

Speed traps aren't for everyone.

occamswrist		2013-02-13 07:58:34 PM

steamingpile: Rufus Lee King: Remember, it's your God-given right to ignore speed limits. Forget other drivers, pedestrians, and all the rest of those peasants. If they hadn't been in your way in the first place, they wouldn't have gotten killed. Also, if you do get pulled over, tell the cop that you are a member of FARK, and therefore immune from all these silly laws. The cop will be impressed, let you go, and personally clean up all the bodies you left in your wake.

I think all cars should be equipped with cameras if you jaywalk, prove the guy you hit drove like shiat, or the pedestrian just decided to walk too slow after the light changed you should never be charged. So many people drive like complete shiat out there, 10 miles under on the highway, slowing down to talk on the phone, changing lanes for no damn reason, its farking amazing how many drivers should not be allowed to drive. Oh and people over 75 should have to take yearly tests if they want to keep driving.

A wise man once said anyone who drives faster than me is a maniac and anyone who drives slower than me is a moron.

steamingpile		2013-02-13 07:59:16 PM

Rich Cream: steamingpile: I once was told speed limits are merely suggestions for bad drivers, seeing as he was an above average driver he felt no need to adhere to those limits. I wish the law worked like that......

Was he a cop because cops say that shiat all the time.

/and not just about speed limits

LOL no, he would fail the background check

steamingpile		2013-02-13 08:00:56 PM

occamswrist: steamingpile: Rufus Lee King: Remember, it's your God-given right to ignore speed limits. Forget other drivers, pedestrians, and all the rest of those peasants. If they hadn't been in your way in the first place, they wouldn't have gotten killed. Also, if you do get pulled over, tell the cop that you are a member of FARK, and therefore immune from all these silly laws. The cop will be impressed, let you go, and personally clean up all the bodies you left in your wake.

I think all cars should be equipped with cameras if you jaywalk, prove the guy you hit drove like shiat, or the pedestrian just decided to walk too slow after the light changed you should never be charged. So many people drive like complete shiat out there, 10 miles under on the highway, slowing down to talk on the phone, changing lanes for no damn reason, its farking amazing how many drivers should not be allowed to drive. Oh and people over 75 should have to take yearly tests if they want to keep driving.

A wise man once said anyone who drives faster than me is a maniac and anyone who drives slower than me is a moron.

I love Carlin, he's right mainly because I drive fast so they are maniacs but the people who drive 50 or slower on I-285 here in Atlanta should be executed.

wild9		2013-02-13 08:02:54 PM

occamswrist: wild9: There is this one neighborhood in Fairborn, OH that I had to drive through all the time. I loved it because there were no stop signs at intersections, only yield signs. It was amazing to be able to roll stop everything without having to worry about getting pulled over for it.

Its called stillborn.

Don't ask why I know.

I went to Wright State University. I have heard it called many things :)

AndreMA		2013-02-13 08:03:22 PM

obamadidcoke: I'm not really sure who to root for in this douchebag fight

Reading the article (if you know how) might clarify things for you.

meyerkev		2013-02-13 08:06:55 PM

Day_Old_Dutchie: meyerkev: 85th percentile unless overriding factors is the guideline.

/CA. A fast main road is 35, a slow is 25.
//And then everyone ignores it and goes 45 anyways.
///My gas mileage dropped 25% going from MI (45 MPH main drags) to CA.

Conclusion:
[s11.postimage.org image 433x358]

Yep.

And one of the big reasons why the highways are so crowded is that even a slow freeway is better than trying to get anywhere on a 25MPH road with lots of lights. Make a reasonably flowing multi-lane 45MPH road and I'll take it over a backed-up highway any day. Not so much with the single-lane25.

thomasvista		2013-02-13 08:25:28 PM

Tallahassee is known for having obscenely low speed limits for its roadways, including the stretch of road in the article. I used to live there, and somehow, never got a ticket despite hauling ass down Thomasville Road many times.

/works at FDOT

phalamir		2013-02-13 08:30:38 PM

dr-shotgun
Instead, what happened here was that the local government decided to get into the revenue generation business and artificially lowered the speed limit, knowing full well that people drive at the 85th percentile speed anyhow. This created a fish in a barrel situation for their officers to write lots of tickets and generate lots of revenue.

Not even close, Cousin Larry. Thomasville Highway has been 35 for decades. They haven't ever lowered it from higher. They probably just never did the study to approve the speed limit increase, not to establish a speed trap, but because the widening efforts are were always about reducing parking lot conditions at 7 and 5 (all of Killarn either rides it or Meridian into the center of the city). I don't doubt TPD didn't like it for some odd revenue collection, but they used to announce (been gone for 7 years, but ;lived there 30 before that) all the radared streets each morning on the radio, so if they were trying for a gold-mine from speeding tickets, they really were doing it wrong. To be honest, I want to know who is Tallahassee doesn't know you don't drive over 35 until you pass under the Interstate; because they are stone-cold morons

SirFire		2013-02-13 08:34:32 PM

KrispyKritter		2013-02-13 08:34:55 PM

Rufus Lee King: Remember, it's your God-given right to ignore speed limits. Forget other drivers, pedestrians, and all the rest of those peasants. If they hadn't been in your way in the first place, they wouldn't have gotten killed. Also, if you do get pulled over, tell the cop that you are a member of FARK, and therefore immune from all these silly laws. The cop will be impressed, let you go, and personally clean up all the bodies you left in your wake.

Point of parliamentary procedure! I think the same thing when I'm driving the legal limit and some dooshbag has his bumper so close I could park his car for him. If people are in such a big hurry just pass illegally, risk your car & safety and declare yourself king. Under good driving conditions with high visibility the fellow in the big hurry can get on his way with measured risk. For now I'll continue to signal and pull right off the road when people swoop down on me menacingly.

Igor Jakovsky		2013-02-13 08:42:49 PM

amquelbettamin: Better have an atomic clock for this one

[f.kulfoto.com image 300x356]

Heh, that reminds me of a NYC No Parking sign

crazytrain		2013-02-13 09:01:49 PM

SirFire: The Florida tag comes into play b/c the entire farking state has artificially low speed limits. A road in any other state with a speed limit of 55 is rated 40 if it's in Florida.

Because retirees?

byelii		2013-02-13 09:13:42 PM

Elzar:
/ Also I bet that secretary does the needful...

sounds like someone has offshore employees :)

//do the needful, at the earliest....

wambu		2013-02-13 09:28:53 PM

In Virginia Beach, VA on Shore Drive, over several years' time a half dozen pedestrians were killed when they jaywalked in front of cars. In all but one instance, the pedestrians were drunk. In that one exception, the police ruled it a suicide (I was told he jogged headlong into a bus maintaining eye contact with the driver) until the family complained. In no case were any vehicles exceeding the speed limit nor driving too fast for conditions. The last pedestrain killed was a drunk young second grade teacher who successfully jaywalked across the road after leaving a bar, then turned around suddenly to retrieve her shoe and stepped in front of a car. Her dad is a retired Navy Admiral and good friends with several on the city council. The result was lowering the speed limit to 35 against the traffic engineer's advice after a study. Many speeding tickets have been written, but no tickets for jaywalking have been issued, even when they occurred in front of a LEO.

So there are reasons other than "profit" for artificially low speed limits.