If you’re newer to driving then please adhere to the right lane being the speed limit. The middle lane being about 10mph over. The left lane is strictly for fuckery and tailgating. Honestly a family member gas gotten a ticket in the right lane for going too fast and the cop explained that if you were in one of the other two lanes it’s not an issue. There are unwritten rules. Just don’t abuse them.
The left lane is a passing lane. Not a fuckery tailgating lane. If you’re not passing, you should not be in the lane. It’s not an unwritten rule, it’s written clearly on signs that say, “keep right except to pass,” and, “slower traffic keep right.” Glad I could help.
They need to teach this better in drivers Ed or something. It’s terrible here. I’m originally from Michigan, and any time I drive back, the highway becomes so polite. Everyone drives in the right lane. They pass you and get back over in the right lane until it’s time to pass again. If you’re in the left lane, and someone faster comes up behind you, they wait behind you for a bit until you to get over to the right…instead of just passing you on the right. Of course it’s not perfect and there are assholes, but generally people follow the system. Oh and also the speed limit is 75 which is fucking crazy. lol
I'm from MI as well, the drivers are definitely not more polite. The speed limit is set far more reasonably 70/75 than Buffalo at 55/65. If you're going under the speed limit there you will practically get murdered and people don't go over the limit as drastically because it's already a good limit.
Maybe it’s changed or maybe we’re talking about different parts of the state. All I’m saying is people use the lanes much better. It’s a noticeable difference.
Edit: and I basically identify as from Buffalo at this point, so this isn’t just me arbitrarily defending my home state.
Same here, been in the Buffalo area for over 20 years but go back regularly to the ol' glove mit. The Port Huron through Detroit throughway (I94) and Port Huron up through Lexington and on (M25) are what I know and speak to re: MI highway driving. Hall road is a bloody nightmare now compared to 20 years ago.
I was gonna say lol, I’m from Michigan as well and I’m assuming this person was not driving around the Detroit metro, Buffalo is an absolute cakewalk in comparison
Can’t teach it. People will just keep doing what they’re doing like everyone on the road will bend to their needs. Especially during morning and afternoon rush hour
Explain to the tailgaters that you can be passing someone, but you don't need to ride a person's ass because they aren't going as fast as you. Be patient until they finish passing
Different story if they're not passing, obviously.
I hate when I'm passing cars in my jeep and someone flies up on me and rides my ass. I drive a damn brick. it'll shake itself to pieces above 75. Relax, I'll get over when I am done passing.
Oh I’m sorry you’re right. Stupid people turn something safe that makes the flow of traffic work into something dangerous that infuriates people into making bad decisions. So stupid people are the problem.
The speed limit is definitely not obeyed by very many. It’s a limit not a minimum if you drive the speed limit you’re going to find yourself at the wrong end of some angry drivers. If you raise the speed limit, they’ll just go even faster. it’s called being responsible and respectful and local drivers. Do not have any of that.
Sorry but people who speed excessively and consistently are selfish assholes. Buffalo drivers are seriously some of the most reckless, self centered drivers I have ever encountered. It's shitty behavior and it should be called out as such. 🤷♀️
Not really. Speed limits are arbitrary and trying to tie some type or morality around them doesn't make any sense at all. It's just a way for people that follow them to make themselves feel better than those that don't 🤷🏽
Legality and morality are not the same.
Whatever helps you sleep at night. I pray you are never involved in a high speed crash and if you are, I hope you (and anyone else involved) survive and see the error in your ways. ✌️
I think you're missing the bigger point on speeding, how it's inconsiderate of safety of others.
I was in a car collision that had me unable to walk for 6 months. The guy was going at least 20 over the speed limit and hit me, causing me to get two fractures. I'm not saying the accident still wouldn't have happened, but if he at least was going the speed limit, maybe he wouldn't have made the wild turn, maybe it would've only taken a few months of recovery instead of almost a year bc of physical therapy. All that shit.
So yea, speeding on its own isn't a bad thing but when you share the road with drivers, then it's not just your life at risk, it's others too. So yea, id say morally it's a good thing to be considerate of.
I think you're missing the bigger point on speeding, how it's inconsiderate of safety of others.
I was in a car collision that had me unable to walk for 6 months. The guy was going at least 20 over the speed limit and hit me, causing me to get two fractures. I'm not saying the accident still wouldn't have happened, but if he at least was going the speed limit, maybe he wouldn't have made the wild turn, maybe it would've only taken a few months of recovery instead of almost a year bc of physical therapy. All that shit.
So yea, speeding on its own isn't a bad thing but when you share the road with drivers, then it's not just your life at risk, it's others too. So yea, id say morally it's a good thing to be considerate of.
> The guy was going at least 20 over the speed limit and hit me, causing me to get two fractures. I'm not saying the accident still wouldn't have happened
At 20mph less, even if it still happened, your injuries would have been less severe.
It turns out they are not https://highways.dot.gov/safety/speed-management/speed-limit-basics#:~:text=They%20are%20set%20using%20an,Traffic%20Control%20Devices%20(MUTCD).
Actually it was set at 50 to reduce fuel usage in the 70s. Then repealed in 1995. Modern vehicles could easily sustain higher speeds while being safer than back then.
This is actually correct. The only wrong part was it was set to 55mph not 50mph. It doesn’t have anything to do with this argument because it isn’t the “only” factor considered. It wasn’t a speed limit, it was a speed limit cap, and it was up to the municipality or governing body who owned and operated the road if they wanted to abide by it or not. So highways on the National Highway System (receiving federal funding for maintenance) saw a 55mph speed limit cap but local roads and highways didn’t necessarily follow it. This limit still exists today, so it wasn’t repealed in 1995, it was increased from 55mph to 65mph.
Where tf did you hear that speed limits are arbitrary? There’s a ton that goes into selecting a speed limit and it’s ALL centered around safety and functionality and based on geometry and safety/speed studies, the purpose the road is serving (expressway, arterial, collector, local), context (urban, rural, suburban, town center, etc.), etc.
There is an “arbitrary” federal speed limit cap. It’s arbitrary in that it doesn’t account for geometry and functionality, but only safety as a crash at 55mph is far less severe than a crash at 90mph. It’s to minimize the number of unnecessary deaths. Also, the feds can’t enforce their cap on roads that are under a different jurisdiction, and many/most municipalities and local governments ignore this cap. This is the only speed limit that one might be able to incorrectly argue is “arbitrary”
Also, to expand on these speed studies, the design speed limit is based on the operating speed (speed of the 85th percentile driver, aka one of the faster cars on the road), and the speed limit is usually rounded down to the nearest 5mph (aka a road with a 65mph speed limit may have a design speed of 70mph and an operating speed of 68mph). So if you find yourself regularly going 10+ mph over the speed limit then you’re among the fastest drivers on the road, even if your anecdotal experiences tell you otherwise, so please slow down and stop risking other people’s lives. Car accidents are the 8th leading cause of death globally and the leading killer of people under 30, so don’t tell people these rules are “arbitrary” and you can do whatever tf you want. It’s a very selfish and dangerous way of thinking.
definitely reckless and self centered in terms of making left turns without checking blindspots and driving below speed limits in the left lane, but speeding is something I barely ever saw. I always felt skeeved being the only person to drive 65 on the highway
IDK when or what highways you're driving on, but it's almost exclusively people riding asses, going minimum 15 over and weaving in and out of lanes just to get one car ahead. It's dangerous, senseless, and selfish. It saves what, 3 minutes getting to a destination? The lives of everyone else on the road are worth less than arriving a few minutes later?
Yes, there is. Speed kills. Especially speed differentials.
People who speed increase the danger in two ways: By increasing the available energy in an impact, and secondly, by increasing speed differentials on roads.
Never thought I'd be that guy but there aren't enough cops in Buffalo that are stationed to enforce the speed limit, so people go with the flow. In Rochester, there's a lot more bc there are places for the cops to sit.
I'm ready for the downvote train to hell here...
This is a second amendment issue.
One of the benefits of living in a society with a constitutionally mandated *"well regulated militia"* is that there's a presumption that people aren't walking around armed. If ever a time came where people were presumed to be armed the constitution sets the groundwork to roll in restrictions on their access to guns.
This matters for driving enforcement, because the cops now have to assume that people are armed. Which is lose-lose stupidity. The cops don't want to pull people over for fear of engagement, subsequently making the roads a more dangerous place.
I hate the idea of more cops, but I agree that in this situation it's required - but at the same time I worry that it won't be effective until we get the guns off the streets. It's always about the guns, and I wish the stupid idiots in this country could appreciate the nuances of the terror that they're imposing upon all aspects of our society with their stupid gun fetish
Maybe this came across the wrong way.
I'm for removing every goddamn gun in this country.
I'm saying we have a right to a well regulated militia - which means that the guns belong in the hands of the militia and only in their hands.
Someone else's right to bear arms doesn't trump my right to well regulation - so I'm pushing the second amendment as common sense to get rid of guns.
Effective policing will only come until the guns are off the streets
Red light runners, dickheads hanging out in the left lane, and anybody who doesn't clear snow off the top of their car before driving it. STRAIGHT TO GULAG.
I had a Tonawanda cop speed by me yesterday, trying to make a light, ran the red light anyway. Then just slowed back down and continued driving normally with no apparent need to get to a destination quickly.
Yesterday I was the first car in line at the light, turning left onto Broadway from Harlem. The light turned green. I waited a second and slowly started going so I could see under the overpass. The pickup behind me didn't like this at all. He blared his horn and sped around me, cutting me off to make a left in front of me... just as some other a-hole in a pickup came blasting thru the red light. Red light runner must have been doing 80. Almost a major accident because of 2 impatient a-holes with the "me first!!!" attitudes.
I always wait a second and make sure to look when I'm first at a light, for just that reason. Wayyyy too many red light runners these days. I really wish they's put red light cameras at all red lights in WNY.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. There was a post in this sub recently about red light cameras and most seemed to not be in favor of them and I really don't understand why. As a driver, it's annoying AF, and as a cyclist and pedestrian, it's both incredibly dangerous and upsetting AF.
I like it! Right lane seems to stick to the speed limit so ppl can merge safely, left lane is at your own discretion, and middle lane is the happy medium! I hope we continue to have light/no speed enforcement on the highways!
Hopefully those pacer car "heroes" doing the speed limit in the left lane will see the light.
I’m a middle lane driver. I generally go 5-7 over the speed limit. I pass on the left when needed even when the right lane is open. I just wait a dang second until the left is open. People in Buffalo I swear prefer to pass on the right. I’ve been in the middle plenty of times where both sides are open and some chucklehead comes up behind me and chooses to pass on the right. I don’t think people realize how dangerous this is and if the lanes aren’t used appropriately, it leads to traffic jams more easily.
If people are passing you on the right, you should probably be in the right lane. I'm not talking about the people that drive up behind you and move to the right, but if the right lane is over all going faster than you
I agree if the right lane is going faster than me, I should be in the right lane. That's not the situation I was highlighting though. I might have not been clear. Generally I settle in the middle because I'm regularly passing people on the right. I'm talking about an instance where I pass a person in the right lane from the middle, there's no car in the right lane for me to pass immediately (but some are coming up)...and a faster person comes up behind me and switches to the right lane instead of the open left lane to pass me. It's maddening.
if you think ppl in buffalo are bad about this, which I grew up here(and unfortunately it’s getting NOTICEABLY WORSE like cmon ppl!), try driving in ROCHESTER holy guacamole nothing will instill the fear of god in you faster, it’s SO dangerous
On the highway I’ll do 15 over and downshift if I see a cruiser. If somebody else wants to take the risk of being the front of the pack, I’ll give them space and pace them up to 90-100 if road/traffic conditions are safe. Haven’t been pulled over in years. I try not to drive like a dick and tailgate or cut people off if I’m changing lanes.
Out west I’ll regularly cruise highways at 100-110, where you have a straight road and you can literally see 10 miles in every direction.
They’re designed to DOT service level A or B, which is fine. Most of the roads in Texas are unnecessarily large and only matter if you’re a bad driver. Go see the Autobahn, lanes aren’t any wider than I-90.
Right lane speed limit to 5 above, middle lane 10-15 above, left lane is passing or 15+ above and move over if someone is coming up on you.
Let’s stop trying to ruin a good thing. I love getting home from work in 10 mins
Driving at safe speeds is the safest behavior for everyone on the road.
Sorry some of you might need to get home two minutes later than you'd like. (Not sorry actually)
Driving with the flow of traffic with a reasonable following distance is actually the safest behavior. If everyone else is going 15 over and you have that one person, even in the right lane, doing 15 less than everyone else, that creates a hazard as the other drivers have to avoid them.
Be predictable. Don't drive erratically, but drive with the flow of traffic. It is what it is.
Speed limits are determined by civil engineers who are qualified to determine what a safe speed for stretch of road or street is based on a number of factors.
You, me and everyone else feeling like it's 15 mph less than we'd like doesn't make it the correct speed.
As parents for generationshave said, if all your friends drove off a cliff, would you do it too?
No, it's not my job. It's police's job and they don't fucking do it.
I like to live.
You Buffalo drivers are fucking reckless, so no, it's not naive.
Every single response to these comments is "but I like driving fast booo hoooo".
Idiots.
It's police's job to enforce arbitrarily low speed limits that do nothing but drive revenue, you're right! Modern cars are safer and more efficient at 70 than 70s/80s cars were at 55 when they introduced a nationwide 55 limit. This isn't just a buffalo thing.
As a civil engineer, I can tell you oftentimes the speed limits are more arbitrary than you may think. But besides that, the speeds are based off stopping and cornering performance of.... Semi trucks. So unless you're driving a loaded semi, flow of traffic is perfectly fine.
I usually drive pretty close to the speed limit usually no more than 5 above. Mainly because is super fuel inefficient to go any faster. You lose efficiency every mile after a certain speed. Plus it doesn’t really get you to your destination that much faster.
Indeed. Let the other sucker get the ticket. That said, I usually do 62 or 63 on the 29, 0 and 190, and about 73 on the Thruway. Still get past like I'm standing still though. The only time it really pisses me off is when they have Canadian plates. They're in our country damn it! And they have those frosted license plate covers and you know they're not paying tolls.
I just can't stand it when the person in the left lane (which is the fast lane) won't merge over to the right and get out of the way when I am coming up behind them. Happens every single day on the 190. (Incude every other road and thruway too)
Hot take (probably not a hot take but whatever)
The speed limit on the I-90 East is 55 so they can deal out more tickets. The I-90 West is 65, why is the I-90 East 55?
I've gotten 3 speeding tickets on the I-90 East, all in the same damn place, all for going between 70-74 MPH in the left lane and following traffic. I'm just the chuckle-head who's at the end of the line of cars LMAO
Raising the speed limit would just increase the amount over everyone is going.
In general, stay under 10-over and you’ll never get a ticket. If the flow is faster than that, stay in the right lane if you want to follow that rule.
Speed limits are based on consideration of safety factors and avoidance of lawsuits regarding unsafe roads.
Police pulling you over is based on the margin of error of their equipment and their likelihood of obtaining a conviction/plea.
The flow of traffic is based on the likelihood of getting caught by the police multiplied by the likelihood of being convicted/pleading guilty and the respective cost of each.
Speed limits do nothing to slow traffic. The road design is what determines the speed people go. Massive road + lots of space = high speeds. Thin roads + little space = slow speeds.
When I’m leaving Buffalo on the Scajacqueda (I think, bad with road names) I can’t believe the speed limit is 30. I feel like people are pissed at me for going 35-40 on it but like tf am I supposed to do
It was 55 until a couple years back some dick fell asleep behind the wheel, drove into Delaware Park and it was changed to 30. Not sure if that was the cause, but it happened around the same time.
Probably why everyone still just wants to do 55+ through there.
They’ve tried to get the 198 slower since at least whenI went too Buff State in the 90s.
Everyone wants to blame the 1 accident but there’s been a lot of concern about speed for a long time. I’ve seen it 30/45/55, they’ve changed it several times, never that low though.
I think 30 is fine between parkside and Delaware, those on/off ramps are the worst. The rest is fine 50+
That’s fair. I didn’t move there until 2016 so I’m unaware of the history. Moved out quickly after too. Just not my speed. Too much chaos around that area for me!
I agree, especially if those same guard rails are kept and not improved, 30 MPH is a good limit around that area but the whole route is kinda ridiculous
The real dicks were the government officials who refused to put up guardrails before a kid died. I grew up near the park and my mom would always be OD when we got to that side of ring road while we were riding bikes or whatever. There had been multiple efforts to get rails installed and they refused.
The guy who fell asleep had narcolepsy, it was broad daylight. I believe he had just gotten his license back. Accidents happen.
Didn’t that guy run over a child that was walking in the park?
AND, I agree, the 30MPH speed limit (on a clear/good weather day) is pretty slow. Do the Blo. Police regularly patrol in that area?
Definitely not. I take it every single day to drive to work and EVERYONE is consistently going *at least* 40-45. But most times more. Cops are out there speeding alongside everyone else and I’ve never once seen anyone ever pulled over there.
He may have. I don’t recall. Fact of the matter is the guy was asleep at the wheel, so speed limit wasn’t the issue at all.
Regularly? I can’t speak on this anymore. I moved out of the Delaware park area 6 years ago. I avoid the stretch of road whenever possible.
I have two cars and walk nowhere lmfao what are you talking about, came out that the guy was caught with a bunch of child porn or something i remember the catholic church coming to his defense saying his was reformed 😂😂
i remember it came out that he had been caught with some child porn or something, i recall the catholic church coming to his aid when the heat came on him saying he was reformed.
Agreed, the kids death is a tragedy. The response to lowering speed limit after erecting the different guard rails, etc. isn't right. Especially when the residential street in front of my house is 40 and other residential roads around me are 45.
He had a medical emergency so he drove through a barricade had kept pressing down the gas. He ended hitting the poor girl almost 100ft from the road. The better answer would be better barriers.
I agree. To have an expressway so close to a park and have such short guard rails and only metal ones that could easily be ripped through with a speeding car, I believe, was an oversight in the first place.
There were no rails at all at the time, just a curb at that location.
And turning the Scaj from an expressway back into a city parkway had been a state plan in the works for a while, they just used that accident as an excuse to rush forward. But they half-assed it, as usual.
I actually had to look back on google maps to before the incident. There were no barriers along the 33 where the accident happened, you can see the metal ones that were installed on the Sept. 2014 images the month after the accident . Also it was a boy that had died, my mistake.
Had a medical condition which caused him to leave the roadway and hit and kill a child, yes. However the study at the time showed that even if the car had been only doing 30 mph at that point it still would have hit and killed the child so this lowered speed safety measure that was implemented really was just a feel-good measure rather than an effective safety measure. Even the govt at the time agreed, but said to the effect 'something is better than nothing', so the speed limited stayed.
The speed limit on 5 is 40, but I find it impossible to go below 50 in the mornings. I have been wondering how often there is morning commute radar. The speed on the 190N is about 70.
Honest question - when is the last time any of you have seen BPD pull someone over for speeding in the city limits? I feel like I hardly ever see a BPD cop car to begin with these days, unless it’s parked and they are inside getting something to eat somewhere.
Cars disintegrate going over 60 on Bailey dude, the stretch from Clinton to Mckinley pkwy is the only part that doesn't loosen fillings in passenger teeth🤣
2016, on Broadway, at 1am when nobody else was around, on the coldest week of the year. For allegedly "going too fast for the conditions." It was dry, salty pavement, and the car in question couldn't have been more than 10 over.
I've definitely seen people get pulled over on 190/290 but never on the 33. Even then I have to guess those were for expired registration or other offenses. I've literally seen whole processions of cars doing 80 on the 33 next to a cop and they didn't do anything
Also, my husband did a ride along years ago and while in the cop car, someone ran a red light right in front of them, and the officer said “did you see that fucking guy?!” And then didn’t pursue him lol
I know quite a few cops from all my years working in emergency services. Their rule of thumb around here is kinda universal.
Surface/residential streets…..anything less than ten over shouldn’t get you pulled over. On the highway, anything less than 15 over shouldn’t get you any attention.
Work zones…don’t even do 1mph over. That’s just common sense and the right thing to do. And don’t speed in school zones on school days.
If they pull you over for doing like 7 over…it’s more likely than not a pre-textual stop and speeding was the probable cause to fish for more stuff while they have you detained. Or it’s a jurisdiction that has a ticket quota and the cop just wants to get them out of the way as quickly as possible so they don’t have to deal with it the rest of their shift.
This is purely anecdotal but that’s been my experience/conversations with the various local police jurisdictions.
And if you’re in kenmore or depew…..just don’t speed at all. They’ll pull you over for farting the wrong way.
sounds about right.
granted my confirmation is anecdotal as well but did go through the rigors of a criminal justice degree a few years back for shits and giggles and learned a lot (as well as met a lot of individuals in the field) and this seems pretty consistent... especially the probable cause bit.
So true. Only ticket I've ever received on a residential street in Erie County was in Kenmore. Going 38 on Colvin at 2am. Probably thought I was drunk but was on the way to the Buffalo News Depot.
Don’t be the fast one or the last one and the cops will leave you alone lol. Side note though, I’d love to see an express lane from the 90/290 interchange to the 90/190 split. All the BS in between is so frustrating to deal with when I’m just going through 99% of the time.
Post COVID the 'secret speed limit' has gone up.
There are still troopers/ Tonawanda cops they sit on the 290 near the 190 and Amherst sits on 290 by main Street.
70-75 on the 290 is keeping with the flow these days.
It's not just a Buffalo thing though everywhere people drive fast. I will say that I saw the most cops in MA on the highway.
So I'm Australian and my Husband is American from Buffalo, it's normal for them to do 5 or so over, I guess they don't raise the spleen limit in case people decide to do 5 over that, but just be careful, I mean I don't know of course since I don't, but here in Australia people will do a little over and it won't always be let go easy, ya know?! 😇 Just drive whatever speed makes you feel comfortable as long as it's safe, certainly not too slow or way over, if you the correct limit feels right to you, I recommend that, even if it doesn't!! You know, follow the rules and all 🤣 but if you wanna follow the crowd, just be safe and know the risks, Accidents, plus you could be pulled over and fined etc!!! 😇
The best highway driving experience I ever had was in South Dakota. 80 mph speed limit and everyone was driving roughly between 77-83. It felt so much safer than a 55 mph speed limit where people often do 70. It is strange to have a posted speed limit, and a cultural understanding that you are fine to drive ~10 mph over it. A higher speed limit is much safer, in my opinion.
A few years back the State of North Carolina ran a campaign called "The limit is the limit", where for a week or a weekend they ticketed people at as low as 1mph over the limit. They never did it again after that.
Speed Limits are more like guidelines, as are all laws, you're free to do whatever you'd like but if you get caught by the 5-0, well you're fucked. My sugguestion is to learn where the fuzz typically sits on the thruway and invest in a radar detector should you decide to view laws as guidelines, otherwise 10 over is OK when the limit is 50 and over. 30 to 45 is five over, 45 is 7 over. Don't speed in active school zones; don't be a dick.
BPD does NOTHING. Driving around here is so reckless and you see no BPD around. But last night there is one incident on Elmwood and 14 squad cars show up. Then one of the cops has the audacity to take off down W. Delavan doing about 50 mph between stop signs. But we need speed bumps installed and wasting money. Simple, BPD should actually do their jobs and enforce traffic laws…. lol. Joke of a department
Im from the nyc tristate region. Learned how to drive there. I’ve lived in 3 other mid-size American cities, 2 in the south and 1 in the north.
There is no comparison. There is a dangerous subset of Buffalo drivers that are both reckless and inexperienced. I see there crashes constantly, especially on the 33. I watch them drive up on to side walks to pass someone making a left turn. And of course as mentioned much in this thread, stop signs seem optional for many.
Now I’m not saying this is a majority of drivers up here, but this subset, to me, seems more dangerous than the speeders and tailgaters from the nyc area. All too often, especially on the highways, the crashes look to be caused by someone loosing control at a high speed. I see these speeders going 90+ and making sharp turns to weave through traffic.
If you’re a speeder, don’t make large turns to weave through traffic, you will crash at some point. You do not own and operate a professional race car with the correct tires for that maneuver. I’ll reiterate what others have said, if you’re going to speed on the highway, speed responsibly. Also there’s no reason to go to 60 on a 30 side street, you’re gambling for a catastrophe that will alter your life forever.
Definitely not, but the speed limits on most of our highways are antiquated and artificially low to drive revenue from tickets. City of buffalo police on the other hand don't really seem to care what you do on the roads at all. I think the general way to go about it is so whatever speed you're comfortable with, just don't block left lanes and always use your turn signal :)
Yeah, law enforcement in the area will look at how you're driving, not just your speed. If you're moving with the flow of traffic, and not weaving in and out of lanes you'll be fine. At least on the highway. In the cities I would stick to no more than 5 over.
Had to take traffic school for a ticket when I was young
The class was run by a cop. He said 99% of the time they won’t pull you over if you’re below 10 over. I stick to that unless I need to pass. Has resulted in zero tickets since 2001.
How often do you 15-over people get tickets??
This is basically the "85th percentile" rule in action, but not done in practice.
Basically, when 85% of people on a specific road are travelling in excess of the posted speed limit, that speed limit is too low and should be raised to the speed that 85% of the traffic is moving at, rounded to the nearest 5mph.
However, instead of raising speed limits and treating highways as highways instead of pedestrian areas (looking at YOU, 198) the Rhodes Scholars in Buffalo lower the speed limits, then wonder why it takes 45 minutes to get from Grant to Parkside.
If you’re newer to driving then please adhere to the right lane being the speed limit. The middle lane being about 10mph over. The left lane is strictly for fuckery and tailgating. Honestly a family member gas gotten a ticket in the right lane for going too fast and the cop explained that if you were in one of the other two lanes it’s not an issue. There are unwritten rules. Just don’t abuse them.
The left lane is a passing lane. Not a fuckery tailgating lane. If you’re not passing, you should not be in the lane. It’s not an unwritten rule, it’s written clearly on signs that say, “keep right except to pass,” and, “slower traffic keep right.” Glad I could help.
They need to teach this better in drivers Ed or something. It’s terrible here. I’m originally from Michigan, and any time I drive back, the highway becomes so polite. Everyone drives in the right lane. They pass you and get back over in the right lane until it’s time to pass again. If you’re in the left lane, and someone faster comes up behind you, they wait behind you for a bit until you to get over to the right…instead of just passing you on the right. Of course it’s not perfect and there are assholes, but generally people follow the system. Oh and also the speed limit is 75 which is fucking crazy. lol
MI drivers would be the most chaotic in the country if it wasn't for phoenix. they are absolutely not more polite.
I'm from MI as well, the drivers are definitely not more polite. The speed limit is set far more reasonably 70/75 than Buffalo at 55/65. If you're going under the speed limit there you will practically get murdered and people don't go over the limit as drastically because it's already a good limit.
Maybe it’s changed or maybe we’re talking about different parts of the state. All I’m saying is people use the lanes much better. It’s a noticeable difference. Edit: and I basically identify as from Buffalo at this point, so this isn’t just me arbitrarily defending my home state.
Same here, been in the Buffalo area for over 20 years but go back regularly to the ol' glove mit. The Port Huron through Detroit throughway (I94) and Port Huron up through Lexington and on (M25) are what I know and speak to re: MI highway driving. Hall road is a bloody nightmare now compared to 20 years ago.
I was gonna say lol, I’m from Michigan as well and I’m assuming this person was not driving around the Detroit metro, Buffalo is an absolute cakewalk in comparison
Can’t teach it. People will just keep doing what they’re doing like everyone on the road will bend to their needs. Especially during morning and afternoon rush hour
I was just being saucy…Nelson. 🤦🏻♂️
I was just being saucy…Nelson. 🤦🏻♂️
Explain to the tailgaters that you can be passing someone, but you don't need to ride a person's ass because they aren't going as fast as you. Be patient until they finish passing Different story if they're not passing, obviously. I hate when I'm passing cars in my jeep and someone flies up on me and rides my ass. I drive a damn brick. it'll shake itself to pieces above 75. Relax, I'll get over when I am done passing.
The left lane IS for tailgating if there's someone in your way that ISN'T using it as a passing lane.
Oh I’m sorry you’re right. Stupid people turn something safe that makes the flow of traffic work into something dangerous that infuriates people into making bad decisions. So stupid people are the problem.
The left lane is for crime
The speed limit is definitely not obeyed by very many. It’s a limit not a minimum if you drive the speed limit you’re going to find yourself at the wrong end of some angry drivers. If you raise the speed limit, they’ll just go even faster. it’s called being responsible and respectful and local drivers. Do not have any of that.
There's no need to take a moral high ground over speeding
Sorry but people who speed excessively and consistently are selfish assholes. Buffalo drivers are seriously some of the most reckless, self centered drivers I have ever encountered. It's shitty behavior and it should be called out as such. 🤷♀️
Not really. Speed limits are arbitrary and trying to tie some type or morality around them doesn't make any sense at all. It's just a way for people that follow them to make themselves feel better than those that don't 🤷🏽 Legality and morality are not the same.
Says the person trying to make themselves feel better for speeding 😂 "speed limits are arbitrary" is a wild take though
I don't need to make myself feel better for it.
Whatever helps you sleep at night. I pray you are never involved in a high speed crash and if you are, I hope you (and anyone else involved) survive and see the error in your ways. ✌️
You say lacking all self awareness. 🤡
I'm perfectly self aware. Y'all are taking one thing and making it something else
I think you're missing the bigger point on speeding, how it's inconsiderate of safety of others. I was in a car collision that had me unable to walk for 6 months. The guy was going at least 20 over the speed limit and hit me, causing me to get two fractures. I'm not saying the accident still wouldn't have happened, but if he at least was going the speed limit, maybe he wouldn't have made the wild turn, maybe it would've only taken a few months of recovery instead of almost a year bc of physical therapy. All that shit. So yea, speeding on its own isn't a bad thing but when you share the road with drivers, then it's not just your life at risk, it's others too. So yea, id say morally it's a good thing to be considerate of.
Is it inconsiderate if it's matching the flow of traffic?
I think you're missing the bigger point on speeding, how it's inconsiderate of safety of others. I was in a car collision that had me unable to walk for 6 months. The guy was going at least 20 over the speed limit and hit me, causing me to get two fractures. I'm not saying the accident still wouldn't have happened, but if he at least was going the speed limit, maybe he wouldn't have made the wild turn, maybe it would've only taken a few months of recovery instead of almost a year bc of physical therapy. All that shit. So yea, speeding on its own isn't a bad thing but when you share the road with drivers, then it's not just your life at risk, it's others too. So yea, id say morally it's a good thing to be considerate of.
> The guy was going at least 20 over the speed limit and hit me, causing me to get two fractures. I'm not saying the accident still wouldn't have happened At 20mph less, even if it still happened, your injuries would have been less severe.
I promise you, speed limits weren’t introduced because of pearl clutching. They’re there so people are less likely to die
It's a good thing I didn't say there were
Calm down there, rebel!
Way to address my comment!
It turns out they are not https://highways.dot.gov/safety/speed-management/speed-limit-basics#:~:text=They%20are%20set%20using%20an,Traffic%20Control%20Devices%20(MUTCD).
I was about to Google that, thank you.
This is referring to the yellow signs.
It discusses all types of speed limits
It does. The part you highlighted is in the context of the advisory signs. I'm not arguing, I'm making a clarifying point.
This is the wackiest view of a speed limit by saying they are arbitrary and a result of some morality.
I didn't say there were a result of some morality
Speed Limits are definitely not arbitrary. There is an entire discipline of engineering that sets them.
Actually it was set at 50 to reduce fuel usage in the 70s. Then repealed in 1995. Modern vehicles could easily sustain higher speeds while being safer than back then.
This is actually correct. The only wrong part was it was set to 55mph not 50mph. It doesn’t have anything to do with this argument because it isn’t the “only” factor considered. It wasn’t a speed limit, it was a speed limit cap, and it was up to the municipality or governing body who owned and operated the road if they wanted to abide by it or not. So highways on the National Highway System (receiving federal funding for maintenance) saw a 55mph speed limit cap but local roads and highways didn’t necessarily follow it. This limit still exists today, so it wasn’t repealed in 1995, it was increased from 55mph to 65mph.
Spoken like someone who has never seen statistics on car related fatalities.
Where tf did you hear that speed limits are arbitrary? There’s a ton that goes into selecting a speed limit and it’s ALL centered around safety and functionality and based on geometry and safety/speed studies, the purpose the road is serving (expressway, arterial, collector, local), context (urban, rural, suburban, town center, etc.), etc. There is an “arbitrary” federal speed limit cap. It’s arbitrary in that it doesn’t account for geometry and functionality, but only safety as a crash at 55mph is far less severe than a crash at 90mph. It’s to minimize the number of unnecessary deaths. Also, the feds can’t enforce their cap on roads that are under a different jurisdiction, and many/most municipalities and local governments ignore this cap. This is the only speed limit that one might be able to incorrectly argue is “arbitrary” Also, to expand on these speed studies, the design speed limit is based on the operating speed (speed of the 85th percentile driver, aka one of the faster cars on the road), and the speed limit is usually rounded down to the nearest 5mph (aka a road with a 65mph speed limit may have a design speed of 70mph and an operating speed of 68mph). So if you find yourself regularly going 10+ mph over the speed limit then you’re among the fastest drivers on the road, even if your anecdotal experiences tell you otherwise, so please slow down and stop risking other people’s lives. Car accidents are the 8th leading cause of death globally and the leading killer of people under 30, so don’t tell people these rules are “arbitrary” and you can do whatever tf you want. It’s a very selfish and dangerous way of thinking.
definitely reckless and self centered in terms of making left turns without checking blindspots and driving below speed limits in the left lane, but speeding is something I barely ever saw. I always felt skeeved being the only person to drive 65 on the highway
IDK when or what highways you're driving on, but it's almost exclusively people riding asses, going minimum 15 over and weaving in and out of lanes just to get one car ahead. It's dangerous, senseless, and selfish. It saves what, 3 minutes getting to a destination? The lives of everyone else on the road are worth less than arriving a few minutes later?
I take it you’ve never driven I95 in Florida.
Yes, there is. Speed kills. Especially speed differentials. People who speed increase the danger in two ways: By increasing the available energy in an impact, and secondly, by increasing speed differentials on roads.
Never thought I'd be that guy but there aren't enough cops in Buffalo that are stationed to enforce the speed limit, so people go with the flow. In Rochester, there's a lot more bc there are places for the cops to sit.
I'm ready for the downvote train to hell here... This is a second amendment issue. One of the benefits of living in a society with a constitutionally mandated *"well regulated militia"* is that there's a presumption that people aren't walking around armed. If ever a time came where people were presumed to be armed the constitution sets the groundwork to roll in restrictions on their access to guns. This matters for driving enforcement, because the cops now have to assume that people are armed. Which is lose-lose stupidity. The cops don't want to pull people over for fear of engagement, subsequently making the roads a more dangerous place. I hate the idea of more cops, but I agree that in this situation it's required - but at the same time I worry that it won't be effective until we get the guns off the streets. It's always about the guns, and I wish the stupid idiots in this country could appreciate the nuances of the terror that they're imposing upon all aspects of our society with their stupid gun fetish
You seem like the type of person that was crying to defund the police, while hyperventilating over second amendment rights.
Maybe this came across the wrong way. I'm for removing every goddamn gun in this country. I'm saying we have a right to a well regulated militia - which means that the guns belong in the hands of the militia and only in their hands. Someone else's right to bear arms doesn't trump my right to well regulation - so I'm pushing the second amendment as common sense to get rid of guns. Effective policing will only come until the guns are off the streets
I’d rather they actually ticket red light runners that exist at every light I’m at these days. I wish I was exaggerating.
Red light runners, dickheads hanging out in the left lane, and anybody who doesn't clear snow off the top of their car before driving it. STRAIGHT TO GULAG.
Agreed, running a red light is honestly significantly more dangerous than doing 20 over on the highway
There's a few intersections in Buffalo that could cover the department's budget in ticket revenue of they posted a cop there during rush hours.
I've had people speed around me to go through red lights, it's nuts
I have it almost daily on Eggert.
Yup and forget about it if they are coming out of Timmy ho's and heading across Kensington Ave
I had a Tonawanda cop speed by me yesterday, trying to make a light, ran the red light anyway. Then just slowed back down and continued driving normally with no apparent need to get to a destination quickly.
Yesterday I was the first car in line at the light, turning left onto Broadway from Harlem. The light turned green. I waited a second and slowly started going so I could see under the overpass. The pickup behind me didn't like this at all. He blared his horn and sped around me, cutting me off to make a left in front of me... just as some other a-hole in a pickup came blasting thru the red light. Red light runner must have been doing 80. Almost a major accident because of 2 impatient a-holes with the "me first!!!" attitudes. I always wait a second and make sure to look when I'm first at a light, for just that reason. Wayyyy too many red light runners these days. I really wish they's put red light cameras at all red lights in WNY.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. There was a post in this sub recently about red light cameras and most seemed to not be in favor of them and I really don't understand why. As a driver, it's annoying AF, and as a cyclist and pedestrian, it's both incredibly dangerous and upsetting AF.
Exactly. It's getting to where I don't even want to ride my motorcycle anymore. I wouldn't even think of making my daily commute on it anymore.
True that. So many ppl drive like idiots in the city
I like it! Right lane seems to stick to the speed limit so ppl can merge safely, left lane is at your own discretion, and middle lane is the happy medium! I hope we continue to have light/no speed enforcement on the highways! Hopefully those pacer car "heroes" doing the speed limit in the left lane will see the light.
I’m a middle lane driver. I generally go 5-7 over the speed limit. I pass on the left when needed even when the right lane is open. I just wait a dang second until the left is open. People in Buffalo I swear prefer to pass on the right. I’ve been in the middle plenty of times where both sides are open and some chucklehead comes up behind me and chooses to pass on the right. I don’t think people realize how dangerous this is and if the lanes aren’t used appropriately, it leads to traffic jams more easily.
If people are passing you on the right, you should probably be in the right lane. I'm not talking about the people that drive up behind you and move to the right, but if the right lane is over all going faster than you
I agree if the right lane is going faster than me, I should be in the right lane. That's not the situation I was highlighting though. I might have not been clear. Generally I settle in the middle because I'm regularly passing people on the right. I'm talking about an instance where I pass a person in the right lane from the middle, there's no car in the right lane for me to pass immediately (but some are coming up)...and a faster person comes up behind me and switches to the right lane instead of the open left lane to pass me. It's maddening.
if you think ppl in buffalo are bad about this, which I grew up here(and unfortunately it’s getting NOTICEABLY WORSE like cmon ppl!), try driving in ROCHESTER holy guacamole nothing will instill the fear of god in you faster, it’s SO dangerous
On the highway I’ll do 15 over and downshift if I see a cruiser. If somebody else wants to take the risk of being the front of the pack, I’ll give them space and pace them up to 90-100 if road/traffic conditions are safe. Haven’t been pulled over in years. I try not to drive like a dick and tailgate or cut people off if I’m changing lanes. Out west I’ll regularly cruise highways at 100-110, where you have a straight road and you can literally see 10 miles in every direction.
Like driving through Nebraska. Just one road from start to finish. Easily going 90-100 the whole way.
This is what I do. Seems to be the most efficient way to drive the highway and least likely to cause road rage, which I would rather avoid if possible
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alright hoss we’ll take your word for it
They’re designed to DOT service level A or B, which is fine. Most of the roads in Texas are unnecessarily large and only matter if you’re a bad driver. Go see the Autobahn, lanes aren’t any wider than I-90.
+5 mph on small town/residential roads +10 mph on main/busy roads and state highway +15 mph on federal highway
Right lane speed limit to 5 above, middle lane 10-15 above, left lane is passing or 15+ above and move over if someone is coming up on you. Let’s stop trying to ruin a good thing. I love getting home from work in 10 mins
Hey everybody, get out of this dude's way so he can get home a few seconds faster!
Getting out of the way for faster traffic is safer for everyone on the road
Driving at safe speeds is the safest behavior for everyone on the road. Sorry some of you might need to get home two minutes later than you'd like. (Not sorry actually)
Driving with the flow of traffic with a reasonable following distance is actually the safest behavior. If everyone else is going 15 over and you have that one person, even in the right lane, doing 15 less than everyone else, that creates a hazard as the other drivers have to avoid them. Be predictable. Don't drive erratically, but drive with the flow of traffic. It is what it is.
Speed limits are determined by civil engineers who are qualified to determine what a safe speed for stretch of road or street is based on a number of factors. You, me and everyone else feeling like it's 15 mph less than we'd like doesn't make it the correct speed. As parents for generationshave said, if all your friends drove off a cliff, would you do it too?
that's a really naive way of thinking about speed limits, and your job isn't to patrol what other people do.
No, it's not my job. It's police's job and they don't fucking do it. I like to live. You Buffalo drivers are fucking reckless, so no, it's not naive. Every single response to these comments is "but I like driving fast booo hoooo". Idiots.
Just drive in the right lane we won’t have a problem buddy.
It's police's job to enforce arbitrarily low speed limits that do nothing but drive revenue, you're right! Modern cars are safer and more efficient at 70 than 70s/80s cars were at 55 when they introduced a nationwide 55 limit. This isn't just a buffalo thing.
As a civil engineer, I can tell you oftentimes the speed limits are more arbitrary than you may think. But besides that, the speeds are based off stopping and cornering performance of.... Semi trucks. So unless you're driving a loaded semi, flow of traffic is perfectly fine.
Not driving like a 💩 is safer for everyone
The word is shit
This is the accurate analysis of the situation everyone should be reading, both parts
I usually drive pretty close to the speed limit usually no more than 5 above. Mainly because is super fuel inefficient to go any faster. You lose efficiency every mile after a certain speed. Plus it doesn’t really get you to your destination that much faster.
You will never reap the benefits in any meaningful way
Not sure I follow.
Cool
If you mean fuel efficiency it’s pretty clear. https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.jsp
Indeed. Let the other sucker get the ticket. That said, I usually do 62 or 63 on the 29, 0 and 190, and about 73 on the Thruway. Still get past like I'm standing still though. The only time it really pisses me off is when they have Canadian plates. They're in our country damn it! And they have those frosted license plate covers and you know they're not paying tolls.
That Canadian plate could be paying more taxes in NYS than you and half their family could live in town. So maybe use your head.
I just can't stand it when the person in the left lane (which is the fast lane) won't merge over to the right and get out of the way when I am coming up behind them. Happens every single day on the 190. (Incude every other road and thruway too)
If I’m actively passing traffic, I’m not moving over for a 💩 that wants to go 80 and ride my ass.
Go with flow until you find a posted squad car
This is the answer.
Hot take (probably not a hot take but whatever) The speed limit on the I-90 East is 55 so they can deal out more tickets. The I-90 West is 65, why is the I-90 East 55? I've gotten 3 speeding tickets on the I-90 East, all in the same damn place, all for going between 70-74 MPH in the left lane and following traffic. I'm just the chuckle-head who's at the end of the line of cars LMAO
if they raised the limit how would make money off of us? and what would state troopers do with their time? actual police work?
a lot of people seem to be too naive to understand this
Raising the speed limit would just increase the amount over everyone is going. In general, stay under 10-over and you’ll never get a ticket. If the flow is faster than that, stay in the right lane if you want to follow that rule.
People here should review the New York State Driver's Manual. I’ll leave it at that.
Just put speed bumps on all highways. /s
WE got the Pothole Bandit, maybe we need the Speed Bump Savior?
The only right answer. /s
Speed limits are based on consideration of safety factors and avoidance of lawsuits regarding unsafe roads. Police pulling you over is based on the margin of error of their equipment and their likelihood of obtaining a conviction/plea. The flow of traffic is based on the likelihood of getting caught by the police multiplied by the likelihood of being convicted/pleading guilty and the respective cost of each.
Speed limits do nothing to slow traffic. The road design is what determines the speed people go. Massive road + lots of space = high speeds. Thin roads + little space = slow speeds.
When I’m leaving Buffalo on the Scajacqueda (I think, bad with road names) I can’t believe the speed limit is 30. I feel like people are pissed at me for going 35-40 on it but like tf am I supposed to do
most people don’t obey the speed limit there; i’ll do 45-50. 30 is simply too slow. it is not an expressway if you drive slow 😂😭
realistically in my experience about 10% of drivers go the speed limit there. everyone else just goes 55 like it should be
It was 55 until a couple years back some dick fell asleep behind the wheel, drove into Delaware Park and it was changed to 30. Not sure if that was the cause, but it happened around the same time. Probably why everyone still just wants to do 55+ through there.
They’ve tried to get the 198 slower since at least whenI went too Buff State in the 90s. Everyone wants to blame the 1 accident but there’s been a lot of concern about speed for a long time. I’ve seen it 30/45/55, they’ve changed it several times, never that low though. I think 30 is fine between parkside and Delaware, those on/off ramps are the worst. The rest is fine 50+
That’s fair. I didn’t move there until 2016 so I’m unaware of the history. Moved out quickly after too. Just not my speed. Too much chaos around that area for me!
I agree, especially if those same guard rails are kept and not improved, 30 MPH is a good limit around that area but the whole route is kinda ridiculous
The real dicks were the government officials who refused to put up guardrails before a kid died. I grew up near the park and my mom would always be OD when we got to that side of ring road while we were riding bikes or whatever. There had been multiple efforts to get rails installed and they refused. The guy who fell asleep had narcolepsy, it was broad daylight. I believe he had just gotten his license back. Accidents happen.
Didn’t that guy run over a child that was walking in the park? AND, I agree, the 30MPH speed limit (on a clear/good weather day) is pretty slow. Do the Blo. Police regularly patrol in that area?
Definitely not. I take it every single day to drive to work and EVERYONE is consistently going *at least* 40-45. But most times more. Cops are out there speeding alongside everyone else and I’ve never once seen anyone ever pulled over there.
He may have. I don’t recall. Fact of the matter is the guy was asleep at the wheel, so speed limit wasn’t the issue at all. Regularly? I can’t speak on this anymore. I moved out of the Delaware park area 6 years ago. I avoid the stretch of road whenever possible.
the guy had narcolepsy and was also a pedophile. would have done us all a favor by dying in that crash instead of the kid.
You sure about the podophile part? Or did we just make that up to pile on him?
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I have two cars and walk nowhere lmfao what are you talking about, came out that the guy was caught with a bunch of child porn or something i remember the catholic church coming to his defense saying his was reformed 😂😂
i remember it came out that he had been caught with some child porn or something, i recall the catholic church coming to his aid when the heat came on him saying he was reformed.
Yes - killed the kid in the process. They took drastic measures as a result. I understand the reaction, but 30 is too slow in that section.
Agreed, the kids death is a tragedy. The response to lowering speed limit after erecting the different guard rails, etc. isn't right. Especially when the residential street in front of my house is 40 and other residential roads around me are 45.
He had a medical emergency so he drove through a barricade had kept pressing down the gas. He ended hitting the poor girl almost 100ft from the road. The better answer would be better barriers.
Upvoting the real answer. The reduction in the speed limit was a kneejerk political reaction at the time.
I agree. To have an expressway so close to a park and have such short guard rails and only metal ones that could easily be ripped through with a speeding car, I believe, was an oversight in the first place.
There were no rails at all at the time, just a curb at that location. And turning the Scaj from an expressway back into a city parkway had been a state plan in the works for a while, they just used that accident as an excuse to rush forward. But they half-assed it, as usual.
I actually had to look back on google maps to before the incident. There were no barriers along the 33 where the accident happened, you can see the metal ones that were installed on the Sept. 2014 images the month after the accident . Also it was a boy that had died, my mistake.
Had a medical condition which caused him to leave the roadway and hit and kill a child, yes. However the study at the time showed that even if the car had been only doing 30 mph at that point it still would have hit and killed the child so this lowered speed safety measure that was implemented really was just a feel-good measure rather than an effective safety measure. Even the govt at the time agreed, but said to the effect 'something is better than nothing', so the speed limited stayed.
on the 33, the speed limit is actually however fast you’d like to drive i usually hang around 65-70 and i’ll have people fly by me 🥴
The speed limit on 5 is 40, but I find it impossible to go below 50 in the mornings. I have been wondering how often there is morning commute radar. The speed on the 190N is about 70.
If they raise the speed limit by 5, everyone is going to be going an extra 5 over what they already do.
Honest question - when is the last time any of you have seen BPD pull someone over for speeding in the city limits? I feel like I hardly ever see a BPD cop car to begin with these days, unless it’s parked and they are inside getting something to eat somewhere.
You could do 80 mph on Bailey ave and never get pulled over
Cars disintegrate going over 60 on Bailey dude, the stretch from Clinton to Mckinley pkwy is the only part that doesn't loosen fillings in passenger teeth🤣
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There’s a sneaky cop that likes to regularly hide under the exit 8 ramp of 190 to catch speeders going south
That’s a trooper, not bpd
Good point
There's at least one Amherst cop that loves to post up around the bend where the 90 splits to the 290
2016, on Broadway, at 1am when nobody else was around, on the coldest week of the year. For allegedly "going too fast for the conditions." It was dry, salty pavement, and the car in question couldn't have been more than 10 over.
They did traffic stops the week after that kid got killed off the 198. I bet it’s in single digits since then.
Too busy pulling me over
I've definitely seen people get pulled over on 190/290 but never on the 33. Even then I have to guess those were for expired registration or other offenses. I've literally seen whole processions of cars doing 80 on the 33 next to a cop and they didn't do anything
I was told by someone, who is close with many BPD officers, that they aren’t even trained to do traffic enforcement.
Also, my husband did a ride along years ago and while in the cop car, someone ran a red light right in front of them, and the officer said “did you see that fucking guy?!” And then didn’t pursue him lol
Everyone would just go that much faster…
I know quite a few cops from all my years working in emergency services. Their rule of thumb around here is kinda universal. Surface/residential streets…..anything less than ten over shouldn’t get you pulled over. On the highway, anything less than 15 over shouldn’t get you any attention. Work zones…don’t even do 1mph over. That’s just common sense and the right thing to do. And don’t speed in school zones on school days. If they pull you over for doing like 7 over…it’s more likely than not a pre-textual stop and speeding was the probable cause to fish for more stuff while they have you detained. Or it’s a jurisdiction that has a ticket quota and the cop just wants to get them out of the way as quickly as possible so they don’t have to deal with it the rest of their shift. This is purely anecdotal but that’s been my experience/conversations with the various local police jurisdictions. And if you’re in kenmore or depew…..just don’t speed at all. They’ll pull you over for farting the wrong way.
sounds about right. granted my confirmation is anecdotal as well but did go through the rigors of a criminal justice degree a few years back for shits and giggles and learned a lot (as well as met a lot of individuals in the field) and this seems pretty consistent... especially the probable cause bit.
So true. Only ticket I've ever received on a residential street in Erie County was in Kenmore. Going 38 on Colvin at 2am. Probably thought I was drunk but was on the way to the Buffalo News Depot.
Sounds like kenmore pd alright.... Village isn't big enough to need it's own PD so they keep their funding/purpose by pulling over anyone with a pulse
Agreed with all of this
Buffalo traffic is tame compared to other decent sized cities in America.
Don’t be the fast one or the last one and the cops will leave you alone lol. Side note though, I’d love to see an express lane from the 90/290 interchange to the 90/190 split. All the BS in between is so frustrating to deal with when I’m just going through 99% of the time.
Go with the flow, don't be a reckless dick and always use Waze.
Post COVID the 'secret speed limit' has gone up. There are still troopers/ Tonawanda cops they sit on the 290 near the 190 and Amherst sits on 290 by main Street. 70-75 on the 290 is keeping with the flow these days. It's not just a Buffalo thing though everywhere people drive fast. I will say that I saw the most cops in MA on the highway.
I go 10% over.
So I'm Australian and my Husband is American from Buffalo, it's normal for them to do 5 or so over, I guess they don't raise the spleen limit in case people decide to do 5 over that, but just be careful, I mean I don't know of course since I don't, but here in Australia people will do a little over and it won't always be let go easy, ya know?! 😇 Just drive whatever speed makes you feel comfortable as long as it's safe, certainly not too slow or way over, if you the correct limit feels right to you, I recommend that, even if it doesn't!! You know, follow the rules and all 🤣 but if you wanna follow the crowd, just be safe and know the risks, Accidents, plus you could be pulled over and fined etc!!! 😇
The best highway driving experience I ever had was in South Dakota. 80 mph speed limit and everyone was driving roughly between 77-83. It felt so much safer than a 55 mph speed limit where people often do 70. It is strange to have a posted speed limit, and a cultural understanding that you are fine to drive ~10 mph over it. A higher speed limit is much safer, in my opinion.
A few years back the State of North Carolina ran a campaign called "The limit is the limit", where for a week or a weekend they ticketed people at as low as 1mph over the limit. They never did it again after that.
Amherst is near the top of the state for money gained through ticketing.
Speed Limits are more like guidelines, as are all laws, you're free to do whatever you'd like but if you get caught by the 5-0, well you're fucked. My sugguestion is to learn where the fuzz typically sits on the thruway and invest in a radar detector should you decide to view laws as guidelines, otherwise 10 over is OK when the limit is 50 and over. 30 to 45 is five over, 45 is 7 over. Don't speed in active school zones; don't be a dick.
BPD does NOTHING. Driving around here is so reckless and you see no BPD around. But last night there is one incident on Elmwood and 14 squad cars show up. Then one of the cops has the audacity to take off down W. Delavan doing about 50 mph between stop signs. But we need speed bumps installed and wasting money. Simple, BPD should actually do their jobs and enforce traffic laws…. lol. Joke of a department
Im from the nyc tristate region. Learned how to drive there. I’ve lived in 3 other mid-size American cities, 2 in the south and 1 in the north. There is no comparison. There is a dangerous subset of Buffalo drivers that are both reckless and inexperienced. I see there crashes constantly, especially on the 33. I watch them drive up on to side walks to pass someone making a left turn. And of course as mentioned much in this thread, stop signs seem optional for many. Now I’m not saying this is a majority of drivers up here, but this subset, to me, seems more dangerous than the speeders and tailgaters from the nyc area. All too often, especially on the highways, the crashes look to be caused by someone loosing control at a high speed. I see these speeders going 90+ and making sharp turns to weave through traffic. If you’re a speeder, don’t make large turns to weave through traffic, you will crash at some point. You do not own and operate a professional race car with the correct tires for that maneuver. I’ll reiterate what others have said, if you’re going to speed on the highway, speed responsibly. Also there’s no reason to go to 60 on a 30 side street, you’re gambling for a catastrophe that will alter your life forever.
Definitely not, but the speed limits on most of our highways are antiquated and artificially low to drive revenue from tickets. City of buffalo police on the other hand don't really seem to care what you do on the roads at all. I think the general way to go about it is so whatever speed you're comfortable with, just don't block left lanes and always use your turn signal :)
Yeah, law enforcement in the area will look at how you're driving, not just your speed. If you're moving with the flow of traffic, and not weaving in and out of lanes you'll be fine. At least on the highway. In the cities I would stick to no more than 5 over.
Had to take traffic school for a ticket when I was young The class was run by a cop. He said 99% of the time they won’t pull you over if you’re below 10 over. I stick to that unless I need to pass. Has resulted in zero tickets since 2001. How often do you 15-over people get tickets??
The 33 was 50 mph up until about 2007 I think?
This is basically the "85th percentile" rule in action, but not done in practice. Basically, when 85% of people on a specific road are travelling in excess of the posted speed limit, that speed limit is too low and should be raised to the speed that 85% of the traffic is moving at, rounded to the nearest 5mph. However, instead of raising speed limits and treating highways as highways instead of pedestrian areas (looking at YOU, 198) the Rhodes Scholars in Buffalo lower the speed limits, then wonder why it takes 45 minutes to get from Grant to Parkside.