Stop Speeding
Speeding is not only against the law, but also wastes gas and is a risky activity. It can hurt you and the drivers around you. Perhaps you forgot the speed limit, or you don't see any police and think, "Maybe I should get to work earlier so let's go fast. Hey, the police aren't around anyway?" Whatever the reason, follow these steps to avoid wasting gas and breaking the law by speeding.
Contents
Steps
- Use the "cruise control" option if your car supports it. It will automatically maintain the current speed you set, helping to curb your desire to drive faster.
- Don't drive as much. If you feel the urge to go fast, play a racing game or something at the arcade (or a home racing game on your computer or game console), find local car club that runs autocross events or take up club racing with the SCCA.
- Pay close attention to the speedometer, while still carefully watching the road. Make quick, frequent cross-checks to monitor your speed.
- Drive under the speed limit. Even 5 mph (8 km/h) or so will not significantly decrease your travel time, and it will reduce your chances of accidentally going over the speed limit.
- Leave earlier so you don't feel rushed. Don't put yourself in a situation where you feel pressured to get to work or an appointment on time. Who knows, you may even enjoy the drive.
- Figure out the fine amount for speeding. As you find yourself going too fast, mentally calculate how much that ticket would cost you. Tickets can easily reach $400, and you don't want to spend that much money. So think twice before speeding.
- Figure out just how much time you save by speeding. It is probably much less than you think: going 65 mph in a 55 mph zone for 15 mi (or going 100 km/h in a 90 km/h zone for 25 km) "saves" less than three minutes. 5 mph (8 km/h) over saves less than 90 seconds.
- Listen to classical or light music instead of hard rock. The soft music will help you relax and slow down.
- Purchase a slower car. A slower car will likely be cheaper to own than a fast car, and get better fuel mileage (with a smaller engine).
Tips
- Pay very close attention to the speed limit signs. Repeat over and over again in your mind, "I have to pay money if I speed. I don't want to spend money."
- Your insurance rates could be affected by too many speeding violations.
- Make sure your car is just at a comfortable temperature. If not, you may rush just to get out of that "uncomfortable" car.
- Think about relaxing things. But don't let your attention drift from the road.
- Relax. Take the deep breaths and let it out slowly.
- Use air fresheners with relaxing scents, decorate your car nicely, and make it so great that you can enjoy spending time in your car.
- Pop in a slow song in the car stereo and then drive along to the music.
- If you have to be at this place at an exact time, leave a little earlier.
- Remember if you wreck you have to pay for everything, your car, their car if it's a multicar accident and hospital bills which can easily be in the thousands( if you live in Canada, the gov pays for them)... And if worse comes to worse you can serve jail time for vehicular man slaughter, try sleeping with that on your mind.
Warnings
- Receiving a ticket for a speeding violation will add points to your license, eventually leading to a suspension or revocation of driving privileges.
- Speeding is against the law. Remind yourself of this important thing: You will get a ticket if you speed. You may have to pay hundreds of dollars.
- Cars are difficult to control at a high rate of speed, it takes longer in some instances to bring the vehicle back to a safe speed or to stop when going too fast. In that time you could have a serious wreck in which you or someone else is killed or injured. The 10 or 15 second rush you get when speeding is not worth someone's life or yours, not to mention a large fine, so don't do it and be sure to abide by the posted speed limit.
- Do not drive too slow. This disrupts the flow of traffic, ticks off the people behind you and it is possible to receive a ticket for driving too far under the speed limit.
- Children move quickly and are unpredictable; slow down to allow reaction time if a child darts out in front of you.
- Going fast is risky not only for you, but for other drivers and pedestrians as well.
- You may feel super relaxed with some of these methods, but never let your eyes drift off the road.
