slacker Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Irregular News for 01.03.07 Michigan -- You're tooling down the freeway at 70 m.p.h., keeping an eye out for cops because signs say the speed limit is 65. Relax! You're driving perfectly legally. It's one of the state's best-kept road secrets that the signs are wrong, and no cop is going to stop you. Hundreds -- possibly thousands -- of signs still say 65 on I-94, I-75, I-96 and even I-696, the state's busiest expressway. But despite what they say, the 65 m.p.h. speed limit on freeways is pretty much dead. Last fall, lawmakers expanded the number of freeways where you can drive 70. The exceptions are areas where Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Transportation agree a lower speed is necessary for safety reasons -- like around busy cities. But the Legislature didn't provide money for MDOT to upgrade signs. Changing thousands of signs will cost $1.2 million, and in an economy like Michigan's, that's not chump change. So it will be months -- probably late June -- before all freeway signs statewide reflect the law, MDOT said. You don't have to take my word for it. First Lt. Thad Peterson, commander of the Michigan State Police traffic services section in East Lansing, said the Legislature in November made three significant changes in freeway speeds to encourage uniform traffic flow. On freeways where cars can travel 70, lawmakers raised the speed limit for big rigs to 60 m.p.h. from 55. They also raised the minimum speed for all expressways to 55 m.p.h. from 45. Less publicized was the part about 70 m.p.h. becoming the de facto speed limit on all but a handful of stretches of expressways. The exceptions include 55 m.p.h. limits posted on parts of I-75, I-94, I-96 and the Lodge Freeway in Detroit, Peterson said. In November, he notified State Police post commanders across Michigan to make sure their troopers enforce the speed limit at 70 m.p.h., not 65. But drivers like Rod Sibley of Oak Park still have questions. "Now that the speed limit on the section between Southfield and I-94 has been raised to 70 m.p.h., when is the state going to change the signs ... so that you can drive the new limit without worrying about getting a ticket?" Sibley asked me about I-696 in an e-mail. That's where the money issue comes in. State officials couldn't immediately say how many signs have to be changed or how much each signs cost. But MDOT spokesman Bill Shreck said signs on freeways in some outstate areas are already updated, and the new signs will start popping up in metro Detroit by spring. So what's a driver to do in the meantime? Peterson told me Friday he believes most law enforcement agencies are aware of the change, so it's highly unlikely drivers will be ticketed for doing 70 m.p.h. in a zone marked 65. "If they were to be ticketed for that, it not would not be a legally defensible ticket, and the driver would have a valid defense, because the law says the speed limit is 70," Peterson said. "It's just a question of catching the signs up to the law." But in 55 m.p.h. zones, stick with what the signs say! source Quote Link to comment
BIGREDIOWAN Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Here in the Des Moines Metro Area if the sign says 65 everyone goes 92!!!!! Some of the worst drivers ever live in Des Moines...... Quote Link to comment
Nigel87 Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 You want to see bad drivers? Check out Calgary... People are worried that they'll burn out their turn signal light if they use it Speed Limit signs are for decoration (a section of freeway that I drive everyday (McLeod Trail) the speed limit is 80 km/h (50~55 MPH), and there are always cops there and speed traps set up, but people think this is the Daytona 500 and drive about 70 MPH. And don't get me started on Deerfoot Trail aka Thunderfoot 500 [the city's north-south expressway] where the speed limit is 100 km/h (60~65 MPH) and people drive like it's the Autobahn). I don't drive Deerfoot because everyday you hear about the latest fatality.) Parking lots here need stop signs and speed limit signs because nothing's posted p eople think they can drive like maniacs! Quote Link to comment
BIGREDIOWAN Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 speed limit signs=helpful suggestions in Des Moines Quote Link to comment
General Blackshirt Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 living in a small town, i live almost in the city park in a corner of our town...... every weekend, its the perfect hangout for people to recover after they are terribly drunk....saw a convoy of like 4-5 cars once going about 85+ each on a city road... Quote Link to comment
admo Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Correct me if I'm wrong, but I swear I saw the speed limit from York to Lincoln showing 75mph. I thought that was pretty impressive when I drove out to Omaha last year. Quote Link to comment
HuskerNCo Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I think I, (me by myself) have been on I-25 here in CO maybe 3 times since I've lived here which is 20+ years. No one uses turn signals, tailgating is the norm and it just freaks me out. I do not drive on the interstate no way no how if I can avoid it. Actually, I can remember when we first moved to Colorado, I had to drive to Boulder for a job interview...I had to turn around the first time and go back to Longmont...anxiety attack... .. I came from a very small NE town, no traffic, no agressive driving. Back then, I actually drove I-80 every day to get to work. I used to work at the Union 76 Truck Stop. (I was a Cashier at the fuel desk) I'm better now but I still don't do the interstate nor have I ever driven in the mountains. I'm such a weenie...I know... I think speed limits are just guidelines for most people, not the rule. Quote Link to comment
Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 People (mostly college kids) drive by my place at like 50 (speed limit is 25 by the way) all the time. Me and my roommate spent an entire afternoon one day sitting on the porch watching people get pulled over because they had a speed trap set up right in front of our house. It was a good time....we pointed and laughed at every one of them that were pulled over. Quote Link to comment
husker rob Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I used to work at the Union 76 Truck Stop. (I was a Cashier at the fuel desk) glad you cleared that up, some os us might have thought that your were a working girl Quote Link to comment
HuskerNCo Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Oh, you are a funny man, Husker Rob, a funny man! Quote Link to comment
husker rob Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 i try to keep a smile on a few faces around here Quote Link to comment
HuskerNCo Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I finally have 100 posts...do I get a prize? Yeah for me! Quote Link to comment
BIGREDIOWAN Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Man I remember my first 100 posts...................aaaahhhh those where the days!!! Young and wild and no worries........ Quote Link to comment
AR Husker Fan Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I used to work at the Union 76 Truck Stop. (I was a Cashier at the fuel desk) glad you cleared that up, some os us might have thought that your were a working girl What - she can't have two jobs???? Quote Link to comment
Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I used to work at the Union 76 Truck Stop. (I was a Cashier at the fuel desk) glad you cleared that up, some os us might have thought that your were a working girl What - she can't have two jobs???? I never did catch her name. Quote Link to comment
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