Not surprising. After living for ten years in the US, I would say that Americans are among the worst drivers in any developed country. Really awful behaviour all around.
this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2026
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I don't, and even before I was on a ghost probation.
Long-Short: got a ticket, did a defensive driving course to have it not affect my driving record, I'm now on a ghost probation. There's no checkups or anything, but if I get another traffic ticket within 3 months of completing that course it's like a default "throw the book at them" stop.
I didn't speed then, I don't speed now, I just don't want to be close to a cop let alone a legally permitted situation where not showing the utmost care, respect, and caution can trigger a qualified immunity action for something minor
There are roads where speeding is so common you will in fact be dangerously tailgated if you drive the speed limit
There are roads...
Lmao. These roads are everywhere then. I have in my life not seen a single place where driving speed limit doesn't earn you someone glued to your back, even though a minute ago there was no one behind you.
This is experience from driving all over Europe and the US.
i have gotten tailgated by a semi truck in a highway construction zone, one of the scariest things i have experienced while driving. i couldnt even see his lights in my back window he was so close
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In my experience, American roads are built to support much higher speeds than the speed limit is set. Going 10-20mph over the limit doesn't feel particularly unsafe on the wide, straight roads.
On the other side, it felt crazy to drive the speed limit on (for example) the narrow, windy roads in Ireland. The limit there felt like a literal maximum, whereas in the US it feels like the minimum.
As noted car enthusiast NotJustBikes has said, driving is not a conscious activity. We drive to what feels right, to a degree. A road built to support 100kph will always have speeder problems until layers of traffic calming are put in place.
UK B road limits are in fact limits (as opposed to North American suggested minimums), often being little more than millennia old cart paths with asphalt applied
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People will always drive at the speed that feels safe, it's not just Americans. Gradually here this is being recognized, and roads narrowed, speed bumps added, etc. in places where we need to go slowly. At my work complex the stated limit is 10 mph and even on my bike I am speeding, and cars are passing me, but it doesn't feel unsafe at all.
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the real answer to question "why people speed" is someplace closer to "why was this neighbourhood road designed like a freeway". Another is "why is it safe to have virtually no speed limits on Autobahns?". I mean people act on environmental queues - from the size of lanes to what speed fellow motorists are observing. Just pinning it on individuals is incorrect. HOWEVER there are entitled arseholes out there who will totally ride jour read bumper at high speed because they need to pass you only to turn off at nearest exit.
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