Jason Stephens | October 20, 2022 | Car Accidents
Sometimes, the speed limit on the highway just doesn’t seem fast enough. It can be tempting to exceed it, especially when the road is open and traffic is light. You may feel like going faster than the posted limit will help you arrive at your destination sooner, even if it’s unlikely to actually save you time.
Many people think exceeding the speed limit by a couple of miles per hour isn’t a crime. If you’re a Texas resident, you might think the law gives drivers some leeway when it comes to speeding. However, both of these beliefs are incorrect.
No Grace for Texas Drivers
Texas drivers and those driving on Texas roadways must follow the state’s traffic laws. This includes the laws against driving at speeds over the posted speed limit.
A law enforcement officer can pull you over when you exceed the speed limit. You might receive a warning, or the officer could issue you a ticket.
The reason you’re likely to face penalties is simple: Texas law doesn’t give drivers any grace when it comes to speeding.
Can you go 5 over the speed limit in Texas? Exceeding the speed limit is a violation of Texas speeding laws, regardless of whether it’s by one, five, ten, or 50 miles per hour.
Why Do Some Drivers Believe You Can Safely Speed?
If you can’t legally exceed the speed limit by any amount, why do so many Texas drivers think you can? The source of this belief may have more to do with the nature of radar equipment than it does with anything in the law.
The equipment that law enforcement officers use to measure vehicle speed is accurate up to a point. However, even the most advanced radar equipment has a fairly wide margin of error. In this case, margin of error refers to the number of miles per hour the result displayed on the radar is off. A standard radar unit may have a margin of error of several miles per hour.
Suppose that a police officer using a radar unit with a margin of error of two miles per hour clocks you going 70mph in a 60mph zone. The unit’s margin of error means that your actual speed may have been anywhere from 68mph to 72mph.
Another alternate explanation for this erroneous notion is that officers simply have more pressing things to do than stop someone for going five or fewer miles per hour over the limit.
Rumors and stories began circulating among drivers in Texas and throughout the U.S. that officers won’t bother stopping a vehicle if it’s traveling five or even ten miles over the speed limit. Many of these drivers believed officers wouldn’t act if their speed was within the radar unit’s margin of error or that stopping a driver for going a little too fast wasn’t worth their time.
Speeding Is Illegal in Texas
No matter what you might have heard or been led to believe, according to the Texas speed limit laws it’s never legal to exceed the speed limit on a Texas road.
You risk being stopped by an officer and ticketed every time you do. Going even one mile per hour over the speed limit could result in hundreds of dollars of fines and costs assessed against you.
Therefore, the best course of action is to stick to the speed limit. Not only does traveling at or below posted speeds limit the risk of a ticket, but it also protects you and others from needless car accidents.
Contact Our Car Accident Law Firm in Fort Worth, TX
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Fort Worth and need legal help, contact our Fort Worth car accident lawyers at Stephens Law Personal Injury | Wrongful Death | Truck Accidents to schedule a free consultation.
Stephens Law Personal Injury | Wrongful Death | Truck Accidents
1300 S University Dr # 300
Fort Worth, TX 76107
(817) 420-7000