Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida
But if 45 is the posted minimum and the car goes 46 what right does the cop have to kick him off the interstate?
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Under the law, the officer cannot ticket or cause to be removed from the road anyone who is maintaining at least the legal limit (in most states; Florida? I don't know the application of this law).
However, officers, especially State Troopers do have the "less safe" legal doctrine on their side.
This is a clear case in my mind for a Trooper to have the vehicle sidelined (low speed, low visibility, low engineering structure to take a hit) in order to protect the other drivers on the road.
Yes, you may consider this a "Nanny State" doctrine, protecting us from ourselves, but someone doing 68 in a 70 with a well maintained car and a defensive driving attitude should not have to be endangered by someone else ahead in traffic pushing his rights to drive at the minimum in a vehicle clearly NOT designed for modern highway traffic at the possible expense of both himself and the law abiding citizen.
The closest, and certainly not definitive, similarity to this doctrine is the low horsepower motorcycle (usually under 4 hp) being banned from restricted access highways. Old diesel MB's, VW vans, and other 70's candle wax burners should probably be included under the "less safe" doctrine!!
I make my living on the highway, 8-12 hours a day, usually on I-95, and while I'd like to see the German/Euro system of Autobahns where possible, the American system and road engineering will never make this superior system workable. We are left with the words of Sgt. Phil Esterhaus of "Hill St. Blues", "Let's be careful out there!"