ArcaMax

In the '80s, when most cars were slow, you could drive fast and mostly get away with it. You might get a ticket. But going to jail - or even losing your license - was something you really had to work for.

Today, cars are much more powerful - and far faster than they were back then - but we hardly dare use them for fear of extreme repercussions, legally and otherwise.

In some states, for instance, it's an automatic "reckless driving" cite to get caught driving faster than 20 mph over the posted limit. Or (as in Virginia) get caught driving faster than 80 MPH - anywhere.

Do either and you're in danger of being cuffed and stuffed on the spot - and of losing your license for several months upon conviction. It will cost you thousands in fines and insurance surcharges if you lose. And thousands if you win, to pay the lawyer.

We have a major secondary road here in my area where the speed limit drops from 45 to 35 on a downhill stretch. Most traffic is already doing at least 45 because (as is common) the speed limit is set 5-10 MPH below the 85th percentile (the measured average speed of 85 percent of the cars traveling on a given stretch of road). This turns almost every driver on the road into a "speeder." Their rate of travel is not unsafe. Just illegal.

And once the limit drops by another 10 MPH it's all to easy to find yourself saddled with a "reckless driving" ticket. This recently happened to a friend of my wife's - who was caught on US 220 in VIrginia outside of Roanoke, Va. Four lanes lanes, two in each direction. It is a highway ... with a posted speed limit of 45 MPH.

My wife's friend got pulled for 66 MPH - automatic "reckless" driving. Cops hand them out like Jehovah's Witnesses do their little "get saved now" cards.

And on the actual highway, it's worse - ironically, because speed limits are more reasonable now. It's 70-75 on many Interstates. Most cars are running about 5 over - again, because the PSL is set below the 85th percentile (which is supposed to be the basis for setting speed limits).

But the law says even 1 MPH over 80 is "reckless" - by definition. No nuance, no room for the exercise of judgment. Thus, 77 in a posted 70 MPH zone is just a run-of-the-mill speeding ticket. Pay the fine, drive on. But four miles-per-hour faster than that is "reckless" driving - and the likely loss of your driving "privileges" as well as the possible loss odf your freedom (they can and sometimes do arrest/cage you on the spot for this "crime").

It's ridiculous - but it's also the reality. And it's a reality that spoils the joy of owning something speedy. What's the point? Use it - even a little bit - and you'll lose it.

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