How do some people speed without fear?

I know two risk takers. My stepson just got caught speeding. His usual speed is 80mph.
It is more important for some people to arrive quickly to their destination than to worry about silly little $100+ tickets. It’s stupid.

There’s a whole personality profile I read once about speeders and income brackets, etc…I’ll try to find it.

As a recovering speed freak, I can tell you that the only thing that slowed me down was the threat of a large fine (anything over 10 mph over the limit.) It’s the adrenaline rush and the wind in your hair, passing others (winning!) It is stupid and dangerous.

My mom and husband agree I can never own a vehicle over 4 cylinders, and the only thing that finally made me realize it was an issue was getting mad and passing a family vehicle and seeing the faces of the kids staring back at my scowl. I would never forgive myself for hurting a child or anyone for that matter.

People who drive that fast aren’t thinking about the risk of a ticket, they’re more for the thrill of driving fast. In a lot of places, it’s a minimal risk day or night anyway.

You evaluate things in terms of the law and the chances of getting caught. Others evaluate things based on safety and recklessness. Still others evaluate the chances of getting a thrill. Everyone evaluates things on a different basis. It’s what makes life interesting.

Some GPS systems have the location of speed cameras listed, and you get warned when there are traps and speed cameras coming up, it could have something to do with it.

I don’t think driving at 120 has much to do with thrill, it is probably a “time is money” mentality, with the occasional fine not being heavy enough to outweigh the benefit of being home 20 minutes early each day.

I have driven fast for thrills in the past, and it used to be much faster than 120. We used to buzz the police by the airport in their speed trap, by driving past at 270kph. By the time they pulled out we were at the horizon. People going 120 are probably just in a hurry.

I would also argue that speeding is not so bad now days, and that speed limits should be raised. A modern car with wide tires on it can do 120 safely.

I loved speed, just the rush of adrenaline for pushing the envelope. We don’t have interstates, so it was usually on two lane state highways that weren’t patrolled much in the day or the night. You learn were the state police stations are and be careful around those. Plus fines were lower when I did most of my crazy stuff. Plus I always was belted in.

I was once driving on I-285, the beltway around Atlanta, about 10am on a Sunday morning. Very little traffic, I guess everyone was at church. I was going about the speed limit – 65 or so, minding my own business.

This guy in a white BMW comes flying up the road behind me – must have been going 85–90 mph. He was moving fast – seemed to be under control and using the full width of the road for banking – i.e. he wasn’t necessarily staying in a single lane; he was taking curves across several lanes to use the banking of the roadway.

Anyway, he was going great right up until he lost control, went off on the right side, went up the hill, bounced off a tree, and smashed into the side of a bridge abutment. Oops. No more white BMW. No more driver.

I don’t understand people who feel the need to speed. Unless they are suicidal.

My regular speed on the interstate is 80–85, and the speed limit usually sits at 70. I’ve never gone over 90, and I only go about 5 over the speed limit off the interstate. On the interstate I drive on daily, if you’re in the fast lane and doing anything under 80, there’s someone riding your ass. They all go 80, and most of the time it’s higher. At this point, speeding is more of a habit than a conscious decision for me.

@elbanditoroso ” using the full width of the road for banking”

Now that’s just stupid. He was probably being arrogant in the first place, not thinking he had to slow down around a curve. I don’t test the limits of cars for that reason.

@Blackberry Have you checked pricing on tracks to test your car? Very high for a normal person.

@KNOWITALL I saw a 265 horsepower 4 cylinder turbo Subaru yesterday. They also make a 325HP version. I had to get out of the dealership fast. I wanted that so bad. My small child at play.

@KNOWITALL Yeah, it’s the best way to safely get my fix, but I’m not paying for that right now. There are actually some really great tracks in VA, too. Oval and actual courses.

@Adirondackwannabe Well then be JEALOUS, I worked at a Lamborghini dealership here (new and used both), and we also repaired Ferrari’s. Went over 100mph and didn’t get out of second, which is when my love of speed was born.

The job sucked but I was in love with the cars! One of these day’s I’ll post a pic of me with the first Saleen S-7 ever made, it’s pretty awesome!!!

I normally drive over the speed limit by anywhere from 5–15 mph, and in most parts of the country that’s just over “keeping-up-with-traffic” speed. Once a year I make an 1150 mile trip to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving; in two of the last three years I’ve been stopped, but not ticketed, for speeding. (One Wisconsin trooper told me that the minimum fine in that state for speeding is now $200. The Indiana trooper who stopped me year before last – after I had driven through a hellacious wind and rainstorm and was now in clear weather on a “just wet” roadway – told me that I was driving “too fast for conditions” – which at the time were way better than the conditions I had just driven through. In both cases I received written warnings and admonitions to “be good”.)

Part of the reason I escaped those tickets, I think – aside from my age and gray hair and being white and all – is that when they asked me “Do you know why I’m stopping you?” I give them a big smile and answer cheerfully, “No, but I have a pretty good idea.” Being sober and wide awake helps, too, I think.

I once had to drive 90+ mph for about 5 miles on I-5 in California as some weird stalkerish guy was pacing the car I was driving with my (blond and very pretty) wife. I’d pass him doing 65, then he’d pass us and slow, etc. So I blew him off and decided that if the cops stopped us I’d have a reason (and a pretty wife in the passenger seat). But that was in a sports car built for such speed, in clear weather at midday on straight, dry pavement.

I don’t hit 90 too much any more, but… it’s no great shakes when you do, if you have control of the car – and clear roads, good view, excellent pavement, etc.

@KNOWITALL Now I am jealous. And really turned on. Why does that happen? blushes.:)

@Adirondackwannabe Ba-hahaha! They’re only a couple hundred grand, go get a couple, I want the red Ferrari though!

I never go faster than 185 gsxr1000 ,it’s just my rule.

@fredTOG That’s nuts, man….Just nutty.

When I have to speed, it’s like my mind goes into Superwoman mode. I can watch the road, scan every other lane and car for signs of impending doom, and keep full control of the car. Maybe it just comes naturally to some people, or maybe I learned it after having to escape two creepy men one night, bobbing and weaving my little car through traffic to lose them.

I once had to get my daughter to the ER, quickly. I turned a 25–30 minute drive into 10 minutes, including blowing through a 40 mph shopping district and 30 mph residential area. I still felt confident in my pedestrian scanning abilities, even at the crazy speed I was going. I was like Mario Andretti in a Suburban. It was weird, but there were zero cops out that day.

@WillWorkForChocolate Same here when hubby had a kidney stone, freaked out and hauled down I-44 fast I could with flashers on. You gave me a perfect visual there.

@KNOWITALL Yeah, I was doing about 65–70 through town, then about 90 as soon as I hit the highway. The speeding didn’t scare me, and I figured if a cop got behind me, I’d just let him follow me to the hospital.

@WillWorkForChocolate You can’t get inside the hospital if you’re riddled with bullets by the time you get out of the car lol.

If a cop had shown up, I was planning to pop my flashers on and wave him up, so he’d know something was going on.

1) Use bear bait. I don’t get down to serious speeding until someone in a little red car booms past. Then I follow them at a slightly slower speed. And I make sure I’m never the fastest car on the road.

2) Drive an innocuous vehicle. I am pretty sure my Honda minivan is invisible to cops – I have driven past traps at speeds that definitely would have gotten me pulled over in my old Passat.

3) Be more careful if your plates stand out in the area – having PA plates while living in CO was a red flag for cops; they always asked me about it when I got pulled over. And if you’re in a different country, fuhgettaboudit – my cousin and his wife have Québécois plates but live in NYC, and he will be the one to get pulled over in a pack of cars all doing the normal 5–10 over the limit.

When I was driving the old 68 Cadillac ambulance I would just turn on the lights and sirens. Speedometer topped out at 150 but that pegged out with room to spare. Fastest trip I took was the normal 1 hour trip to the nearest city hospital took 18 minutes. The cop driving the Corvette couldn’t keep up.

Cops don’t pursue 100+mph speeders. Too much liability to injure someone. Not worth the lawsuit against the department. Less damaging to the public to just let them speed away.

Only the slower speeders get pulled over, along with those who drive considerably under the speed limit… which is much more dangerous, imho.

I hit 100 MPH today… I was late to a meeting.

I love speed, but I definitely am less inclined to speed at night when visibility is worse, and critters are more likely to bound out in front of you from nowhere. The ticket isn’t a big deal, but the increase in car insurance for 5 years does add up. I use cruise control to keep me 9–14 MPH over the limit.

@wildpotato – I consider my dark grey V6 Passat to be inconspicuous compared to my British Racing Green Mini Cooper S that I got up to 120 MPH. I miss that car.

@wildpotato Yeah, I always follow the pack, but I was wondering what made that guy I’m following so ballsy in the first place.

One time, this guy I was following was staying above 110 for miles and miles….like he knew he wouldn’t get pulled over or something.

Well, @Blackberry, he might have been a cop, after all. They do often know each other and “make allowances”. And for all you know he might have been responding to a silent alarm and just wishing he could have let you go by so that he could pull you over and give you what-for.

So basically…I need to become a cop. Gotcha :)

If you drive a lot, you get to know what cops look for in a hiding place. You also notice how often other cars are pulled over to the side in that area. Then it becomes a matter of risk assessment. I feel like there’s a 5% chance that I’ll get caught here… is it worth taking that risk in order to get to point B in X minutes less than I would otherwise? Maybe yes, maybe no.

Some of the people passing you at high speed do get pulled over. If they are chronic speeders, they probably all get pulled over, even if none of them are pulled over on the night you see them speed.

OMG… I take it all back, @Blackberry. They weren’t cops. Don’t you be one.

Speeding on city streets is irresponsible like waving a gun around in a children’s playground. Don’t put yourself or anyone else at risk. If you can access a track off the roads to experience speeds, then do it there only.

There are times when I honestly just don’t notice how fast I’m going, I’m more focused on the cars around me, then ill look down and realize I’m going 95–100mph and I slow down. When I have my son in the car I focus a lot more on my speed though and generally stay out of the fast lane to avoid speeding. I got a ticket for going 83mph last year on my birthday, $342, it sucked, but at the same time I’m glad he hadn’t seen me about 2 minutes before he did or it would have been a much more expensive ticket.