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Originally Posted by JacobAziza
A "typical driver" does not set the law, and they most definitely don't decide the laws of physics, and therefor what is safe. Traffic engineers, who get degrees in relevant fields of study, set particular speed limits for a reason. Going above the speed limit, even by 0.5mph, is a crime. Speeding is the single largest factor in traffic fatalities, so it definitely is not safe, regardless if the typical driver "feels" that it is.
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Speeding is a factor in the majority of fatalities. I would be willing to bet that in the very large majority of these cases, we are talking extreme speeds. People driving 5-10 over the limit, in normal conditions do not cause these accidents. Accidents at these speeds are caused by inattentiveness.
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It is a maximum speed, not a minimum speed, and that is not really up for any legitimate debate. States that have a minimum speed usually set it 15-20 mph below the maximum. Many states have a maximum speed for semi-trucks 10-20mph below the max for cars. Some highway legal vehicles are physically incapable of going the max speed in some states. So drivers need to be expecting to come across vehicles going less than the speed limit.
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There are vehicles such as farm vehicles incapable of the speed limit. These vehicles require special markings or emergency flashers. I don't have an issue with them and they are rare enough in most areas that they are not an issue.
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It doesn't matter if the lead car was doing 15 under the (MAX) limit, the car rear-ending them is at fault. If they did not have time to see and react to coming up on another car, they were driving too fast for conditions - regardless of the posted limit, that is illegal and dangerous.
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If they are driving the limit and come around a turn and can't get their vehicle under control in time to keep from hitting someone moping along in front of them, they suck at driving and need to pay better attention. We know that these idiots exist. And knowing this, we should drive accordingly which means keeping to something approaching the speed limit in areas where they know that driving well below the limit could result in an inattentive driver causing an accident. A good example of this would be driving at night where depth perception is crap, or driving on roads with many sharp bends.
In the end, it really doesn't matter who was right or legal. We have to share the road and that is a two way street.
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The vast majority of roads either have low limits (<45), multiple lanes, or regular passing zones / turn outs, so there is really no reason a person should ever have to speed up or drive in the shoulder for the person behind them. The person behind a slower car can go around when its safe and legal to do so.
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Yes they can. And on roads with minimal shoulders this is certainly the way to do it. On roads that have wide shoulders, it is perfectly safe to slow a little more, put on your right blinker and allow others to pass. I have a toyota motorhome, so I get to practice this technique frequently when driving it.