« A Slick Profit Opportunity | Main | The Ultimate Resource» Don Boudreaux
June 07, 2004
What Part of "Speed Limit 65" Do I Not Understand?
Don Boudreaux
There it was, in big, bold, black and white: "SPEED LIMIT 65"
As I drove on Saturday to a conference, signs with this crystal-clear message were displayed prominently along I-66, I-81, and I-64 in Virginia. And yet I disobeyed this command not to drive at speeds in excess of 65 MPH. I set my cruise-control on 73 (just shy of ten-miles per hour over the posted speed limit), kept it there, and enjoyed the drive. I even passed three or four patrol cars lying in wait for speeders. Not one pursued me.
....
I do a mental experiment. Suppose that I had been pulled over and ticketed for violating the posted speed limit. I would have felt wronged, despite the fact that I did indeed drive faster than the posted limit. In contrast, had I instead been driving along at, say, 95 MPH and gotten pulled over and ticketed, I would not have felt wronged; I would regret being caught, but nothing within me would have yelled "I was ticketed unjustifiably!"
This everyday driving experience and my mental experiment confirm that law is not just what the state says it is and only what the state says it is. Law is much more nuanced, rich, and spontaneous than the state's written rules. The real law on U.S. highways is something like the following: if weather conditions are decent and if traffic is not too heavy, then you can drive between five and ten miles per hour over the posted speed limit. No one legislated this rule; it's not written down in any official statute book; it's certainly not posted along highways. It evolved spontaneously from everyday practice and is now part of the expectations of all drivers -- and, importantly, it is also part of the expectations of highway patrol officers.
Posted by Don Boudreaux in Law | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834518ccc69e200d8342123cb53ef
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference What Part of "Speed Limit 65" Do I Not Understand?:
» Speeding from Modulator
Don Boudreaux at Cafe Hayak tells this story:There it was, in big, bold, black and white: "SPEED LIMIT 65" As I drove on Saturday to a conference, signs with this crystal-clear message were displayed prominently along I-66, I-81, and I-64 in Virginia. ... [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 8, 2004 4:14:45 PM
» Letting the Market Pick the Speed Limit from Business Opportunities Weblog
Cafe Hayek: "The real law on U.S. highways is something like the following: if weather conditions are decent and if traffic is not too heavy, then you can drive between five and ten miles per hour over the posted speed... [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 9, 2004 10:06:34 AM
» Full Albums Archive from MP3 Album Finder
Enter Artist or Song or Album name to search: ... Download VA - –усска€ коллекци€ 4 «олотой шл€гер 70 х (1973 1979) mp3 ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 5, 2006 5:48:01 PM
» MP3 Downloads, Full Albums, Latest Hits, MP3 Search from Global Media Search Engine
Big Mp3 Archive, Mp3 Search, Mp3 Albums, Mp3 Songs, Mp3 Software, Mp3 Traffic Exchange, Advertising... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 5, 2006 6:08:56 PM
» Auto Search: 1936 oldsmobile for sale from Online Auto Guise
Search and Compare Certified Pre-Owned Cars. Car Shopping Tools and Advice · 2006 Auto Shows · New York Auto Show Check out 2007 models and cool concepts ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 27, 2006 9:48:21 PM
» Europages, European directory from Open Directory Project
Multilingual european business directory, 600000 european companies, european company directory and business opportunities, trade leads, ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 29, 2006 5:38:39 AM
» Grandma Shielded Girl in Mexican Bus Crash
(AP)
from Mexican bus crash
was saved by her grandmothers embrace, her father said Saturday as his daughter left the hospital. [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 29, 2006 8:37:37 AM
» Library of Congress WWW/Z39.50 Gateway from Harvard Seismology: Centroid Moment Tensor Catalog
Contents: Search Library of Congress Catalog | Search Other Catalogs | About the Z39.50 ... Library of Congress Online Catalog. Simple Search (any keyword) ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 30, 2006 5:05:47 AM
» MPi Releases ARGIS 3.0 with New Tools to Help Service Managers Improve Vehicle Service Inspection & Sales Process from version of the
URI: http://www.prweb.com/zingpr.php/SW5zZS1TdW1tLVRoaXItU3VtbS1IYWxmLVplcm8=
[Read More]
Tracked on May 2, 2006 3:32:17 AM
» CIBER Unveils Next Generation of State Labor Information Management from Labor Market
(LMI) officials from 12 states convened at CIBER, Inc. (NYSE: CBR) headquarters April 26 and 27 to review new features in [Read More]
Tracked on May 6, 2006 9:29:32 PM
» College Opportunities Online Locator from Search the Web
Search by criteria. Search by location, program, or both. By Location - Select up to 12 States or a Geographic Region ... [Read More]
Tracked on May 20, 2006 10:11:39 PM
» Dictionary Search Page from Dictionary Search
An unabridged dictionary from aalii to zymurgy, including a pronunciation guide... [Read More]
Tracked on May 22, 2006 6:03:09 AM
» GAO: Agencies need better telework plans from that FEMA become
today before the House Government Reform Committee.
GAO surveyed 23 agencies [Read More]
Tracked on May 23, 2006 12:46:32 AM
» Alonzo Mourning Explains the Key to Heat Success from possessed a political-convention
day before AmericanAirlines Arena hosted Game 5 between the Heat and Chicago Bulls, the media [Read More]
Tracked on May 26, 2006 7:17:07 AM
» For Mavericks, the Times Are a Changin' from MORNING NEWS
One of the keys to the Mavericks' postseason success is coach Avery Johnson's ability to juggle the minutes of players off the bench. [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 5, 2006 5:56:59 AM
» The Christian e-Book Revolution has Arrived from writers, introduces
FaithWriters.com, the premier site for Christian writers, introduces their [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 7, 2006 1:29:46 AM
» Internal Audit: Resources for Internal Auditors from Audit Company
Internal Audit - is the Web portal and online community for the internal audit profession provides free audit work programs, ICQ's, checklists, ...
[Read More]
Tracked on Jun 7, 2006 5:36:39 AM
» Startseite - Musicload from MP3 Download
Die Musikdownloadplattform von T-Online mit Songs aus allen Genres. Titel sind im geschtzten Windows... [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 7, 2006 11:54:24 PM
» FINANCIAL FEATURE: Tight Credit Union Margins Getting Tighter, Says JMFA Exec; Consultant Advises Florida Credit Unions on Survival in Low-Margin Environment from to tightening
improving non-interest income. He advises C.U. managers to improve productivity; to optimize cost of human capital; [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 18, 2006 11:17:33 PM
» Organic SEO or Pay-Per-Click Advertising - Which Should You Choose? from Blog ] On the
or more for results to be apparent. In this case, pay-per-click is advantageous for those who [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 20, 2006 8:29:13 PM
