Which speed is the safest to drive on a non congested straight dry road freeway?

[veeman]

My wife hates it when I keep up with the faster moving traffic on freeways which, since the pandemic, regularly is 80 plus mph.  I usually argue that it's actually safer to do that since I'm less likely to get hit from behind, especially at night. I capitulate to her demands however when she's in the car with me and try to keep it to 10 mph above the posted speed limit. I feel more vulnerable however as cars go past me often 10 to 20 mph more than I am driving. If the posted speed limit is 55 mph on a freeway, and the faster moving traffic is driving 80 mph, I feel that keeping up with that faster moving traffic, assuming adequate distance with the car in front of you and straight and dry roads, is probably safer than going 65 mph. Also a car going 80 mph is less often near semi trucks compared with a car going the speed of semi trucks. Going the posted speed limit of 55 mph I find is actually unsafe since you will be habitually passed by semi trucks at that speed. 

[FoMoJo]

If it's a 3* lane freeway, I tend to keep up with the middle lane.  The inside (fast lane) drivers tend to be a little nuts.  I've noticed that if someone in the fast lane is zipping along at 30+ kph over the limit, someone is tailgating them wanting to go faster.

[veeman]

If it's a 3* lane freeway, I tend to keep up with the middle lane.  The inside (fast lane) drivers tend to be a little nuts.  I've noticed that if someone in the fast lane is zipping along at 30+ kph over the limit, someone is tailgating them wanting to go faster.

Fair point.

[Eye of the Tiger]

110

[r0tor]

If it's a road I don't routinely drive on (or have ever been on) I usually keep things under 10 mph over.

If it's a routine route, I'll keep up with maybe 75% of traffic.  On my daily ride to work that means about 20 mph over

[AutobahnSHO]

Before reading the orignal post, I was going to say 55mph

Speed doesn't kill, hitting things that aren't moving, does.

[Laconian]

I think that big speed differences are more hazardous, but sometimes the prevailing speed itself can be dangerous, e.g. a big traffic clot comes undone, everybody goes up to 80, only to careen at a high speed into the next clot. A recipe for high speed distracted driving disasters.

[Eye of the Tiger]

If driving over the speed limit is normal, then the speed limit is wrong. Nobody drives the speed limit in Conneeccttiiccuut, unless they are driving 20 under because of retardation.

[veeman]

If driving over the speed limit is normal, then the speed limit is wrong. Nobody drives the speed limit in Conneeccttiiccuut, unless they are driving 20 under because of retardation.

Yeah totally. Since the pandemic I see fast traffic often averaging 80 mph on the parkways which have posted speed limits between 50 and 55 mph.  At least no semitrucks on the parkways.

[CaminoRacer]

Whatever speed helps me keep a good distance from other cars

[Morris Minor]

On an uncongested freeway? 75-80.

If it's busy I noodle along in a middle lane with the radar cruise pinging off whatever's in front, and let the loonies have the run of Lane 1.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

10-15 over depending on the road.

[CaminoRacer]

The BMW and El Camino like 100

The Bolt likes 75-80. Miata was similar.

[giant_mtb]

I'm a 5-over guy. Biggest road we have here is a 4-lane divided highway (US41, 2 lanes each direction) with a 55mph speed limit. Most people putts along at 60-62, some people stretch it to 10 over, but I'm never in that much of a hurry or desire for attention from the State Boys. I'm almost never going more than 15 miles on said highway, so the time savings between going 60 or 65 is miniscule. I just like cruisin.

So when I drive elsewhere with a real many-lane freeway and real traffic, I am honestly out of my element. I very rarely have a chance to legally drive 70+mph, so I just hang to the middle/right lanes, have no desire to keep up with anybody. The people in the left-most lanes give me anxiety, but it's interesting to watch. Taco isn't a speed machine and sucks gas like a pig, so I'm content chillin' to the right with the truckers and other slowpokes.

Edit:  And if we're talking non-congested, safe conditions...I'd still be doing no more than 5 over.  If I was in my ol' A4 I may have dabbled with the nuts in the left lane a bit. But I prefer to do dumb shit when nobody else is around. 

[RomanChariot]

Most of the freeways in Utah have 70-80mph speed limits so I generally go around 80mph if the traffic allows it.

[veeman]

If I'm driving without my wife in the car I generally keep up with the faster traffic on highways in the left lane, which around where I live, is often 20 to 25 mph above the posted speed limit, especially on the parkways. I don't camp out in the left lane but I usually follow the left lane traffic.  As long as the roads are dry, it's not a construction zone, and the car ahead of me is many car lengths ahead of me, this is my natural inclination to drive a little bit aggressively. 

My wife hates this and is a middle lane or right lane camper and likes to drive the posted speed limit or 10 mph above the posted speed limit and forces me to do that when she's in the car with me.  I don't like getting habitually passed by cars going 20 mph more than I am, especially at night.  If semi trucks start to overtake me, that's when I ignore her and start going faster. 

[GoCougs]

Though I generally only do ~5-7 mph over on surface streets, I tend to really haul ass on the freeway. IME being near other drivers; esp. big rigs; is higher risk vs. "speeding." Left lane driving though as FoMoJo points out has its own risks - people are more disordered and DUI than ever and traffic enforcement is virtually nonexistent so it's a bit MadMax-ish.

One thing to bear in mind maybe is that in some (many?) states, 20 mph over the limit can be criminal (a crime = mandatory court appearance and the option of arrest as opposed to a civil infraction = not a crime). Pick yer poison. "Speeding" esp. on freeways is mostly a red herring plus I'm 4-0 with my traffic attorney.

[veeman]

Waze has really cut the risk of speeding tickets on highways for me. It's not zero risk but it's much less than the pre-Waze era.

[Laconian]

Left to my own devices, I'm a 10% over guy. Maybe that's +7mph on the freeway, +5mph on highways, +3-5mph on surface streets.

[CALL_911]

I do a lot of this type of driving, and I'll admit I'm the fast traffic. I drive the entirety of the Massachusetts turnpike at least 2 weekends/month. On the way back to Albany, it's usually at like 4-5am. I'll cruise at 85-90.

[Morris Minor]

Though I generally only do ~5-7 mph over on surface streets, I tend to really haul ass on the freeway. IME being near other drivers; esp. big rigs; is higher risk vs. "speeding." Left lane driving though as FoMoJo points out has its own risks - people are more disordered and DUI than ever and traffic enforcement is virtually nonexistent so it's a bit MadMax-ish.

One thing to bear in mind maybe is that in some (many?) states, 20 mph over the limit can be criminal (a crime = mandatory court appearance and the option of arrest as opposed to a civil infraction = not a crime). Pick yer poison. "Speeding" esp. on freeways is mostly a red herring plus I'm 4-0 with my traffic attorney.

Georgia cops cannot ticket you for excesses 9 mph or under, if clocked by stationary roadside radar. Overages of nine mph & under have to be clocked by moving units.

But... there's this nasty thing called a super speeder law:

"Georgia's Super Speeder Law, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-189, adds a $200 fine to speeding tickets for drivers who are caught speeding at 75 mph or higher on a two-lane highway, or 85 mph or higher on other roads. The law has been in effect since 2010.
In addition to the fine, drivers convicted of speeding as a super speeder must pay any local fines in effect in the jurisdiction where the offense occurred.
Drivers under 21 who are convicted of a first offense for speeding as a super speeder have their license suspended for six months. A second offense results in a 12-month license suspension.
Drivers who fail to pay the fine within 120 days of the notice date may have their license, permit, or driving privilege suspended in Georgia."

Two-lane highways here generally have 55 mph limits, so threshold is 20 mph. The freeway limits were 65 when this law was passed but have since been raised to 70, so the super speeder threshold dropped from 20-over to 15-over.

So if you get nicked for doing 90 on I-75, be nice to the trooper and hope he writes the ticket for 84.

[giant_mtb]

One thing to bear in mind maybe is that in some (many?) states, 20 mph over the limit can be criminal (a crime = mandatory court appearance and the option of arrest as opposed to a civil infraction = not a crime). Pick yer poison. "Speeding" esp. on freeways is mostly a red herring plus I'm 4-0 with my traffic attorney.

Indeed. Speeding alone can qualify as reckless driving here in Michigan, as the law as written is quite vague/general. 'Tis a misdemeanor. I've always heard 15+ over can be cited as reckless, but there are no specifics written in, so it would be up to the officer's discretion if he thinks such a charge would be worthwhile prosecuting. I have only heard people getting cited for reckless driving (or at least threatened/warned of it) while whippin' shitties in snowy parking lots when they were a teen.

https://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(drkxnhiq3ol4drd0bhd4n4ma))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=mcl-257-626

[giant_mtb]

Also, I voted "The posted speed limit" because, on a non-congested straight dry road, the speed limit probably is *technically* the safest speed to go...

[AutobahnSHO]

Georgia cops cannot ticket you for excesses 9 mph or under, if clocked by stationary roadside radar.

Good to know, 90% of my commute is Georgia

I generally put the cruise at 10mph over on the interstate and 55mph highway, which is about the pace of traffic.