"rob tyler" wrote in
:

by
the way are your road speeds really as low as we are led to
believe - our motorways are 70 mph but everybody goes 90mph in the
fast lane - is it a serious business keeping to your speed limits
or does everybody transgress like here ?

Speed limits on interstates vary from 65 and 70 in the east to 75 out
west. Speed limits on roads that aren't limited-access highways will
almost always be lower -- 65 or 55 being common, maybe 70 out west.

A more-or-less standard rule of thumb for highways, limited-access or
otherwise, is 10mph over the posted limit. Keep it less than 10
over, and you're *usually* pretty safe, though there are exceptions
(ie, Waldo FL, a notorious speed trap -- you can find other speed
traps on the net). In 75mph zones, though, I wouldn't take it much
over 82.

If you're consistently traveling at 90, you should expect a string of
expensive tickets, or, in the slower east, a nontrivial chance of
arrest.

Of course, that's on roads that are traveled. Out west, and
especially in blasted hellholes like west Texas, if you get off the
interstates you can easily find stretches of road where you can see
30--40 miles, and see that there aren't any cars. Then, you're
pretty safe going as fast as your car and the road surface will bear.

--
Jim Battista
A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.