Why driving in the US is better than at home (Australia)

What the... You Aussies actually follow speed limits? 10mph over the limit won't get you pulled over in the States so even in congested New England 80mph+ in a 65 is perfectly normal. On one particular stretch of highway in MA, I've cruise at 95mph with lots of traffic around doing the same speed. Out west, 100mph+ can be pretty normal.

Varies by state. Here you'll get pulled over at 10 over.
 
Over here the cops/traffc cameras react to 3,7mph over the limit. Mostly a written warning untill you hit 6,2mph over the limit. After that it's always a ticket.
 
Here you're given 10% + 2mph with cameras to count for any error in the calibrated equipment. With speedometers in cars reading higher than your actual speed (I drove one that read 7mph higher) you can usually drive at indicated 80mph on the motorway without worrying about cameras. At that speed you'll be amazed at how many people you overtake. You could go faster still and be legal but you're at risk of being caught out by a camera that is also over-reading the speed.
 
When we had speed cameras, they were set at 11mph and over.
 
Why driving in the US is better than at home (Australia)

Varies by state. Here you'll get pulled over at 10 over.

Depends on what you're driving and your age. If you're young and doing 10 over,good luck. If it's someone over the age of 45, you might be stopped but won't get a ticket. If you have a nice or sporty looking car, do the speed limit.

I had a couple cops tail me
In the meth truck but the mustang, despite being silver and having the stock exhaust, attracts bored cops. Ive been getting tailed a lot more.

That said, only going 5 over max and a high mounted radar detector has been keeping me ticket free.
 
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I've done 10-15 over directly in view of cops without a fuck being given.
 
Pfft. I got written warning for driving 83 km/h @ 80 km/h zone. :p
 
Varies by state. Here you'll get pulled over at 10 over.

It varies by state, county, city, village, and heck...even by cop and by day.

There's one stretch of road back home where is well-known that if you go 26 through that 25mph zone, you'll get pulled over. Everyone goes 20 through that part of town. Once you get through, everyone bumps it up to 35-40. :p

In another city, my brother used to get pulled over all the time by the same cop, even when driving other people's cars (he and his friends would trade cars randomly...weird, I know).
 
You will love it when you get back, Victoria now has these which can catch someone using their phone or not wearing a seatbelt from 700m away.
Wow talk about control freaks revenue pump. Remind me not to rent a car if I ever go to Australia.
 
Wow talk about control freaks revenue pump. Remind me not to rent a car if I ever go to Australia.

Just don't use your cell phone and wear a seat belt while driving, both good decisions to make regardless of enforcement :dunno:
 
Just don't use your cell phone and wear a seat belt while driving, both good decisions to make regardless of enforcement :dunno:
Why does it matter to you whether or not I use my seatbelt?
Cell phone use should vary by location. I can see the merit in outlawing it in congested areas but out in the boonies too? In MA talking on the phone is permitted for experienced operators; texting is forbidden for all.
And enforcement matters much. I would argue that being caught from 700m away would be a violation of the fourth amendment, if this was in the US.
 
I kinda lived the opposite, drove in Western Australia for a month (mostly in Perth).

Perfect road surface, great selection of cars, yet people drive so slow I wanted to rip my hair off!

Zero lane discipline (so many right lane huggers), red lights that last forever, made worst by people taking 10 seconds to react when the light turn green (and then making sure to use another full 10 seconds to reach 50km/h).

I would still move there :)

Western Australian drivers have always been a breed of their own
 
Why does it matter to you whether or not I use my seatbelt?
Cell phone use should vary by location. I can see the merit in outlawing it in congested areas but out in the boonies too? In MA talking on the phone is permitted for experienced operators; texting is forbidden for all.
And enforcement matters much. I would argue that being caught from 700m away would be a violation of the fourth amendment, if this was in the US.

You not wearing a seatbelt affects others by turning a small fender bender into an accident with injuries. The results are higher cost to fix for society, greater time to clear up the accident causing more traffic jams, greater traumatization of others from your mangled body being flung out of the car, and so on.
However, the bigger effect on others is you talking on your phone. It's quite obvious that you're much more likely to cause an accident directly or indirectly when preoccupied with your phone call or text or similar.
As for the 4th amendment, how does using a telescope change things? It's a LEO observing a law being broken in plain view :dunno:
 
However, the bigger effect on others is you talking on your phone. It's quite obvious that you're much more likely to cause an accident directly or indirectly when preoccupied with your phone call or text or similar.

In that case, we need to make sure police can't use their mobile terminals or radios while their vehicle is moving, for those reasons. Right now they usually get an exception to the 'no wireless comms' laws in various places.
 
You not wearing a seatbelt affects others by turning a small fender bender into an accident with injuries. The results are higher cost to fix for society, greater time to clear up the accident causing more traffic jams, greater traumatization of others from your mangled body being flung out of the car, and so on.
The "cost to society" argument is bs. By virtue of being alive, you are a cost to society.


However, the bigger effect on others is you talking on your phone. It's quite obvious that you're much more likely to cause an accident directly or indirectly when preoccupied with your phone call or text or similar.
This is not necessarily true. Whenever I get a phone call that I must answer while driving, I move over to the right-most lane and slow down. Also, by your logic, we should outlaw listening to music, changing heater/AC settings, using GPS, checking the speedometer, etc. I'll agree with you on the texting bit, as it requires the driver to take their eyes off the road for a somewhat extended period of time. Merely holding and talking on a phone, is not a big distraction.


As for the 4th amendment, how does using a telescope change things? It's a LEO observing a law being broken in plain view :dunno:
If I am neither aware that I am being watched, nor do I have reason to suspect that I am being watched, then I would expect a certain amount of privacy. It's the same as illegally obtained audio/video recordings are not admissible in court.
 
The "cost to society" argument is bs. By virtue of being alive, you are a cost to society.

That doesn't make sense. Following that logic, society would be better off if everyone killed themselves... at which point there'd be no society any more.

This is not necessarily true.

...which implies it's mostly true in most cases?

Whenever I get a phone call that I must answer while driving, I move over to the right-most lane and slow down.

Slow drivers are a danger to other drivers, speed up!

If you must talk on the phone while driving you could just get some hands-free shenanigans. When my phone rings I press a button on the steering wheel and take the call, no need to take my hands off the wheel or my eyes off the road.

If I am neither aware that I am being watched, nor do I have reason to suspect that I am being watched, then I would expect a certain amount of privacy. It's the same as illegally obtained audio/video recordings are not admissible in court.

You're in public, clearly visible. Of course you're being watched.
 
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