aggiemom

green - what state do you live in? I like a state that likes 55 mph.

KT

My state is California (SF Bay area), and the speed limit on local city streets is usually 25 or 30 mph. And 25 mph, by the way, is also the default state speed limit (i.e., the speed limit unless otherwise posted) in business, residential, and school zones). And it's definitely not "understood" here that you can go 15 mph over the limit before getting ticketed. Nor is "they didn't do it that way back where I came from" considered a defense to violating a posted speed limit. Maybe Orange County is different, though.

bassharborbaby

Hello. Sorry to hear about your daughter's ticket. Having moved to Maine from Massachusetts, I have found that drivers here are courteous - they use directionals and let you cross into traffic. School zones are 15 mph when the light is flashing and seem to go back to posted, sometimes up to 50 mph when the light isn't. I support restrictions on teen driving - # of kids in the car, age limits, not on school property, etc. I understand that this may not work in rural areas but school buses (loser cruiser in teen speak) here are generally empty. Hopefully, your daughter will be aware of speed limits and drive accordingly. We can talk to them until we are purple but being pulled over is the wake up call.

aggiemom

Oooh...so that's what's going on in CA. Yes, we left before Ahhnold. That's probably why we never got a ticket, even after 20 years there.

KT

Unless you're on a state highway, enforcement of speed limits is a local, not a state, matter. And people in the locatlities around here did get speeding tickets in the pre-Arnie days, too.

Barbara

And in San Diego, school zones are 25mph. And there are often police outside schools ticketing people who zoom right by, many of them students form the school. Big ticket. Most neighborhoods are 30-35mph. Wider commuter roads are 40-45mph usually. You'll get a ticket here for driving 41 in a 35 zone, but probably not for being one mile over the limit, unless you were doing something else too.

Surely you've got used to the speed limits there in four years.

aggiemom

Well, I've learned a few things here. I feel better that many other states are as slow as Texas.

nytraveler

Perhaps this is the reason more state are adopting restrictions of various types on teens driving. (Here in NYC you have to be 18 to drive - and 17 in a lot of the suburbs).

As for 35 in a school zone that's ridiculous - it should be 15 or 20 - the idea is the safety of the children - not getting the drivers past quickly. And our speeding tickets start at $100.

I would use this as a lesson for your daughter - and ground her for at least a couple of weeks - so she'll learn to be a better driver - and not a menace on the roads.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

"Another speeding ticket!" your title reads.

Seems to imply there have been others. Maybe some native Californians are slow learners. Sorry! I think that the case is more like most of the states with slower speed limits are the more reasonable ones, not the faster ones. Other roadway users - animal-drawn wagons/coaches, bicyclists, pedestrians - deserve to be able to move about safely. The Kalifornia Kar Kulture is what's out of line with society.

Gee, your sobbing baby was only doing DOUBLE the speed limit! I know I am being harsh. You would too if some sob put you in the hospital for 2 1/2 months and you lost over half a years employment (and wages). I can not write anymore about this; it drives me crazy, even at the speed limit.

Barbara

ny and rb, maybe you should read the other posts before you start criticising California. We have some of the strictest laws in the nation for teenage drivers.

AuntAnnie

I live in Minnesota and our school speed limit is 20. It does seem very slow when you are only going 20. I have 2 young drivers and I know it is so hard to watch them make mistakes and it can bring out the Momma Bear in me. My daughters were both school crossing guards when they were in 5th grade. They were responsible for helping about 100 kids safely cross into the schoolyard on foot every day. I know when they were out with their flags they were so vulnerable to traffic and I really appreciated the 20 mph law and those who followed it. Its all of our kids out there; in the cars but also crossing the street or riding bikes. What are we all in such a hurry for?

LoveItaly

My daughter received a ticket in our city about a year ago aggiemom. She was going something like 12 mph over the speed limit.

The State of CA has made new teen drivers licenses more restrictive,as of Jan 1st I believe. Can't remember all the details but something along the lines that for the first year they are licensed they cannot drive from 11:00pm to 5:00pm and they cannot have anyone under the age of 20 in their car unless they also have a passenger over the age of 25. Perhaps some one else here in CA can clarify the new law for sure.

In the small city I lived in for years I got a speeding ticket for going 10 miles over the posted limit..so you sure are not able to drive 15 mph over the speed limit without getting a citation. But I have lived in N CA all my life so can't speak for all of CA.

4khansen

Another thing to be aware of, my 19 year old daughter lost her license for 30 days because she had another girl's license in her purse when stopped for a violation. The other girl had asked her to hold it the night before because she didn't want to carry her purse. My daughter inadvertently pulled it out of her purse instead of her own when the police officer asked for it. He confiscated the license

BuffaloGirl

It's 15 mph in a school zone here and 30 on city streets.

There's been some talk about raising the the minimum driving age from 16 to 18 and I'm all for it. My son is 14 and I cannot imagine him driving in two years!

greenfieldhunter

Aggie- I am a Virginian- I used to like our liberal speed limits on secondary roads but as our population has increased in some counties (tripled) the roads have gotten crowded and dangerous.

RedRock

aggiemon

No one in your family knows what being a safe driver means.

I think all states should have a law stating the license is suspended if a "new" driver gets a ticket of any kind in the first year. They should also put mom and dad on notice if the driver is under 18 .............. Happy Motoring.!

Cargillman

I lived in California, and generally didn't mind the drivers there. Outside of a bizarre tendancy to go through red lights for the first second or two after they turn, they seemed OK.

It is sad for me to say, but the worst drivers are in the middle of the country. And I'm from the middle of the country. The big swath from MN/WI down to TX is filled with drivers who just don't share the road well. My theory is that they all feel that someone from the big city is "out to get them", so they drive with a certain viligance that results in them being horrible on the roads.

To answer your question, the 20 mph speed limit in a school zone is relatively common.

Binthair

School zones are 20 mph in Houston, and I pass through four zones in the space of 3 miles taking my son to school. I do not believe you are allowed to do defensive driving if you are speeding in a school zone, which is what everyone does otherwise when receiving a speeding ticket.

dwooddon

Just so no one is confused by the erroneous information in the original post, California's state-wide school zone speed limit is 25 mph (Calif Vehicle Code section 22352C(2)). Local jursidictions can lower it if they have a traffic engineering study to justify a lower limit but cannot raise it.

El_Swainer

Speed limits are there for a reason. I do not think they are a joking matter.