Old people and the minimum speed limit

Scott Manning
March 26, 2003 | Comments (4)

speedlimit (2k image) After taking a week-long vacation to Jacksonville, I saw a lot of things on I-95. One of them was the Maximum Speed Limit and directly below that was its close relative, the Minimum Speed Limit.

Now, when I see that the Maximum Speed Limit is 55, I immediately think, "Okay, I can probably push it up to about 60 or 65." Do old people see the Minimum Speed Limit of 45 and think, "Okay, I can probably push it down to about 40 or 35"?

Continuing down this train of thought, how do old people come to this slow state of driving? I mean, will I eventually find myself daring to go ten miles below the speed limit as opposed to ten miles above?

I find it hard to believe that these slow drivers once drove like the rest of us. You'd think that the older one gets, the more prone they are to realizing how much time is actually left in life. From there, you think the person would be willing to speed things up a bit. I mean, who wants to waste time on the road?

What the manager had to say
I ran this whole question by my manager and he said that it's because people's eyesight goes out and joints start hurting. This theory may prove true since in the past year of car pooling with him I have seen him start driving a little slower and continually yell at people who are driving fast.

When I brought this point to his attention, he said, "What? Do I?" Deep down, he's probably making a conviction to start driving as though he was thirty once again.

Anyway, if you do decide to test the cops by pushing the lower end of the speed limit, just be courteous and stay to the right side.

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Comments (4):

1) Posted by: Bad Mouth
October 22, 2003 10:56 PM

Actually you be a fool to push your speed limit above the maximum.
Specially if it’s stated on the sign as maximum, you will in no doubt give an officer
a reason to pull you over.
You might say yeah but I do it and I never got caught!
Well I can say this is why you didn’t get caught:
1. Your traveling in rush hour.
2. Your traveling on a busy weekend.
3. Your traveling on the 1st or the 2nd week of the month.
4. Your traveling on the time cops are sitting having donuts.
5. Your traveling on a highway that is a very well traveled strip.

If you try that in NJ roads you won’t get too far unless traveling in city
highways.
As for the old people:
1. Some drive slowly because they are too careful.
2. Some have problems like leg nerves which make their legs to tire.
3. Some have foot problems where their nerves make their foot jump.

But some of them can pass you by like if you were 80yrs old.
B.M

2) Posted by: Mike
February 7, 2004 9:26 PM

I don't like those old people who drive slow in the left lane. I have not noticed this problem in many other places except for where I live, in Maryland. Here, we have HOV lanes, turn lanes, acceleration lanes, and we are on the verge of having an old people cruising lane. (the left lane.) It is up to the young drivers of america to prevent this from happening. If any old people or other poeple who like to drive slow in the left lane are reading this I would just like to tell you:

1. If people are tailgating you then you should probably move to the right and let them pass.

1b. If it is night time and people are flashing their lights at you then you should probably move over to the right and let them pass.

2. If people are passing you on the right then you definatly are driving too slow.

3. If you are driving the same speed as the person to the right of you and there is a huge line of 50 + cars behind you waiting for you to move over to the right, you should either pass the car to your right and then move over or slow down and indicate your intention to move to the right... but PLEASE move to the right. YOU are the cause of agressive driving!

4. Finally, don't go speeding down the highway trying to catch me after I pass you on the right because your old bones are never going to be able to keep up. So you should probably just move to the right, stop being upset about not being able to see anything anymore, and stay out of everyone else's way. That way you can make the road a better place for you and the rest of us.

ps- I am glad that I do not live in New Jersey, I travel only during rush hour or during busy holidays, I travel on well-traveled highways, that the cops in my state don't need quotas because there are already enough people breaking the law for them to have their hands full, and that the cops in maryland aren't pricks like the ones in new jersey. oh, and even though my state has the lowest literacy rate and the highest std rate in the nation, and I am glad my state doesn't smell like an oil refinery.

3) Posted by: FrankDale Tony
April 27, 2004 5:50 PM

You speak about saftey, but if you were really concerned about saftey then you would do the right thing and obey the laws that were placed for our safety. Maybe when you end up in a wreck, and break your legs and smash your car, you will finanlly relize your stupidity in going over the speed limit. In fact I hope that you get pulled over by a cop,and get fined a large sum of money. Moreover I hope that you do have a wreck, so that you learn your lesson.

4) Posted by: Suzie Brown
December 8, 2005 12:27 PM

across the entire country, even where it is not posted, is there a minimum speed limit of 10mph under the max speed limit?