Impeding traffic, speed limits?

[madii'swife]

Alright, my hubby and I are disagreeing on something I thought I'd bring here and see if anybody has the answer.
He's driving on I-75 around Atlanta, GA. Posted speed limit is 55, most other traffic is doing close to 70, if not more. My husband is thinking that he can get ticketed for impeding traffic if he doesn't come close to staying with the rest of the traffic. Can he? I would think as long as you're not going way under the posted speed limit, or the speed limit minimum that you'd be just fine on that...
Does anybody KNOW?

[MADLUX]

I know in most places if you drive 10 to 15 m.p.h below the limit then you can be cited for impeding traffic (unless of course the weather is nasty.)

[mike3fan]

Keeping above the mininum and being in the slowest travel lane would prevent any ticket,If he is running 55 in the 3rd lane holding up traffic yes he could be ticketed IMO.

[Uturn2001]

As long as he is traveling the posted minimum speed limit he is good to go unless some traffic condition requires him to go slower.

[Skywalker]

Keeping above the mininum and being in the slowest travel lane would prevent any ticket,If he is running 55 in the 3rd lane holding up traffic yes he could be ticketed IMO.

DITTO!!

While the traffic speed enforcement around I-285 at Atlanta is seemingly very lax.....the smaller towns that it passes through quite often get a "wild hair" and put their officers out their on the loop.....and when they do, they tend to write alot of citations.

While I go around the loop...I stay very close to the posted speed limit of 55 and stay to the right....out of the 3rd lane where there is 4, and generally limit myself to the 2d and "granny lane". Tell him not to fall prey to the pack syndrome and run with the pack.....lest he fall victim to a wolf pack with a ticket book in hand. Besides, if traffic is moving that fast, then amount of time he will be on the loop is not that great and then when clear of I-285 the speed limit jumps rapidly. Slower is better, and lets you keep your $$$ in YOUR pockets, not theirs.

[silvan]

Does anybody KNOW?

Nope, I don't KNOW, but I've heard you can get cited for impeding traffic if everyone is running 15-20 over, and you're not speeding. Around Hot-lanta and Suicide Circle both. Is it just another :dung: trucker legend?

Probably, but I've been doing 65 around there plenty of times, with 10,000 people passing me every second, and didn't get in trouble for either speeding or impeding traffic. I always aim to run with the pack, but to be one of the stragglers in the back. If everybody is going a lot faster than you, except for the odd blue hair or RV, you probably won't get the ticket, unless they're just gunning for trucks, or it's training mission day.

(I had one where I was running 65 in a 55 on a highway where everyone else was going 75 or better. I rounded a bend, saw a cop, saw I was having my doors blown off by four fourwheelers doing 80+, and eased back to 59 without missing a beat. The bear jumped out with his blue lights on. I knew he was going after one of the fourwheelers, but no, he came after me.

It was a training mission. The cop was like 13 years old, and his daddy was teaching Junior how to pull over a big truck. They gave me a perfunctory butt chewing about the evils of speeding, and sent me on my way. I was very nice to Junior, even though he looked completely ridiculous. I guess he must have been 18, or maybe 21, but in my past life at Wally World, I would have carded him to buy cigarettes.)

[Skywalker]

Does anybody KNOW?

Nope, I don't KNOW, but I've heard you can get cited for impeding traffic if everyone is running 15-20 over, and you're not speeding. Around Hot-lanta and Suicide Circle both. Is it just another :dung: trucker legend?

Yes, its a "trucker's story" or legend if you wish. You cannot be ticketed for "driving the speed limit".

(I had one where I was running 65 in a 55 on a highway where everyone else was going 75 or better. I rounded a bend, saw a cop, saw I was having my doors blown off by four fourwheelers doing 80+, and eased back to 59 without missing a beat. The bear jumped out with his blue lights on. I knew he was going after one of the fourwheelers, but no, he came after me.

It was a training mission. The cop was like 13 years old, and his daddy was teaching Junior how to pull over a big truck. They gave me a perfunctory butt chewing about the evils of speeding, and sent me on my way. I was very nice to Junior, even though he looked completely ridiculous. I guess he must have been 18, or maybe 21, but in my past life at Wally World, I would have carded him to buy cigarettes.)

That is precisely why you stick to the speed limit. Any cop, anywhere can do precisely the same thing.....and even if you had 1000 witnesses there is virtually nothing to be done. Its called "selective enforcement", and while its technically illegal...it happens, and there's not a whole lot that can be done about it. Hell's fire, the judge may have been one of the cars passing you....but the cop won't stop him :shock: :shock:

[Useless]

I made it a point to run Atlanta at night; far safer, much quicker, no problems!! 8)

[jjcasper]

Hey madii'swife, He running under the belief “there’s safety in numbers…Impeding the flow of traffic is..Failing to keep right, failing to yield, failing to maintain posted minimum posted speed. The focus on highway enforcement has been “stopping aggressive driving”. The fines are higher, the crime is higher. As we all know 4 wheelers will jack-up when they see a smoky. I would not want that radar to capture my speeding high profile vehicle as that four wheeler decreases my safe following distance. Stay right when possible and stay above the limit. My mistake cost me $230 in the great state of MD. Gee that was a lot of miles I worked for nothing.

[jnk2001]

Hey madii'swife, He running under the belief “there’s safety in numbers…Impeding the flow of traffic is..Failing to keep right, failing to yield, failing to maintain posted minimum posted speed. The focus on highway enforcement has been “stopping aggressive driving”. The fines are higher, the crime is higher. As we all know 4 wheelers will jack-up when they see a smoky. I would not want that radar to capture my speeding high profile vehicle as that four wheeler decreases my safe following distance. Stay right when possible and stay above the limit. My mistake cost me $230 in the great state of MD. Gee that was a lot of miles I worked for nothing.

Keeping up with the flow of traffic, is NOT a defense...

[madpuppy]

If he is doing the speed limit and in the correct lane no he will not get a ticket!. But if you jump out to pass you can get a ticket for impeding if your not back in the right lane in 90 seconds ! I got one in CA.

[Skywalker]

If he is doing the speed limit and in the correct lane no he will not get a ticket!. But if you jump out to pass you can get a ticket for impeding if your not back in the right lane in 90 seconds ! I got one in CA.

That rule as applied in CA....does not apply in 99% of other places. In GA, specifically the Atlanta Metro...on I-285, trucks with more than 6 wheels are restricted to the two right hand lanes...except within a short distance of the exit to I-20 on the west side of Atlanta...if you are going north to take I-20 west...its a left exit, and you can go into the hammer lane to exit. Other than that....doing 55 or even a little less in the center right lane is legal. Might upset some 4 wheelers and supertruckers...but its still legal. 8)

[coastie]

Alright, my hubby and I are disagreeing on something I thought I'd bring here and see if anybody has the answer.
He's driving on I-75 around Atlanta, GA. Posted speed limit is 55, most other traffic is doing close to 70, if not more. My husband is thinking that he can get ticketed for impeding traffic if he doesn't come close to staying with the rest of the traffic. Can he? I would think as long as you're not going way under the posted speed limit, or the speed limit minimum that you'd be just fine on that...
Does anybody KNOW?

In Atlanta anything is Possible. All pending how many Truckers been in a accident there lately too. I have heard of that happening to, the police giving someone a ticket for not going with the flow of traffic.

I use to do some flea markets in SC. In SC there is a Limit how slow you can go. I would come up behind a old man every Saterday night on my way home doing 30 MPH in a 55. Min limit was 45. One evening after coming up on him in a blind curve in Georgia. I almost did not slow in time. After I got around him, I ran across a Sherriff and waved him down and talked to him about it. But he said here in Georgia, he can not do anything..

[madii'swife]

I wasn't thinking there was much chance of a ticket for impeding traffic by doing the speed limit. I think I have him mostly convinced, hope so anyhow I like this career choice a bit too much to have him flush it with speeding tickets.

[Skywalker]

I wasn't thinking there was much chance of a ticket for impeding traffic by doing the speed limit. I think I have him mostly convinced, hope so anyhow I like this career choice a bit too much to have him flush it with speeding tickets.

Tell him this: If a Commercial Driver... a CDL holder gets a ticket for any moving violation.... it can no longer be "plead down to a lesser charge". The feds passed a rule preventing this. SO, if he gets a ticket....its gonna stick unless he is one "silver tongued devil" with the judge. So, its more than likely he will have to talk to a judge if he gets a ticket....thats more than likely going to cost him $$, then he is going to lose the income for that day and possibly more....because he will have to get there early....take a cab to court...not many courthouses have "truck parking" :shock: :shock: and if he has to go downtown.....hoooboy!!

Besides.... from the junction of I-285/I-75 on the southside to the junction of I-285/I-75 on the northside is only about 33 miles....which means at 55 mph or thereabouts 8) ...it will only take him 35 minutes at a legal speed, and at 65 mph...playing "supertrucker" and taking the risk of getting nailed for BIG $$....he might save about 3 to 5 minutes..... ask him if 5 minutes is worth the $$, the inconvenience of a court appearance, and also having your personal vehicle insurance go up as well for about 3 years. If he is intelligent....he'll realize that Its just not worth it!! 8)

[chapchap70]

My husband is thinking that he can get ticketed for impeding traffic if he doesn't come close to staying with the rest of the traffic. Can he?

To say that he cannot get ticketed is stating that no cops are corrupt. Cops that pull people over and ticket people that are doing what they are supposed to are not enforcing law and ought to be fired. If law gives boundaries regarding what is permissable and a person is within those boundaries, what is the offense?

Does a law become invalidated when more than half of the people violate it? More and more people seem to think so which is why we are losing our collective mind.

But Mom, everyone else is doing it! Are you smarter than a fifth grader?
:wink: