Myth About Speeding In Texas

Here you are, just cruising along the Texas roads. Whether you're on the highway or just a main road in your city, you know there's a posted speed limit. Now, if you aren't a believer in cruise control, you do your best to maintain the speed limit, but it's going to fluctuate.

Even if you use cruise control, you probably pop it a good 5 mph over the posted speed limit. Why? Because it's a widely common thought that as long as you're not going more than 5 mph over the speed limit, the police wont get you for speeding.

Hate to break it to ya, but that is actually a very incorrect statement. Police will 100% nail you for going even 2 mph over the speed limit if they feel like it. The posted limit is all you can go, no more, not even 1 mph.

There are many people who feel that if no one is around, they can go 5 mph over the speed limit in a school or work zone. Let's be honest, those are the two WORST places to test this theory. These are the areas where most police are going to be the most stringent.

Others will go 5 mph over the limit no matter where they are, yet they do it knowing there IS a chance they get pulled over. Some feel we should be able to travel faster than 5 mph over the speed limit. If that was the case, what would the point of a speed limit be?

Sgt. Marc Couch of the Texas Department of Public Safety said many people think, “I set my cruise control at 5 miles per hour over the speed limit because highway patrol gives you five. That’s not the case. Highway patrol doesn’t five you 5 miles per hour over the speed limit.”

Now, there IS a spot where they will give you up to 5 mph over the limit, but it's in a very specific area. Couch said, “That 5 miles per hour that you want to take a lot of times is for us to utilize in case you’re going down a hill or something of that nature and you gain 5 miles per hour. We’re not going to jump on that.”

Ah, so THAT is where the misconception comes from. Any car going down a hill naturally picks up speed, and they'll account for that, as long as you're attempting to manage it. It doesn't mean we can run our vehicles 5 mph over the speed limit at all times.