[thefreehunter]

My biggest problem isn't with paying the fine (for example, associated with speeding), it's with the other penalties that come with it. If it was just a fine, I would pay it and be done. I fight every ticket I've gotten because of the increase of the cost of insurance that is associated with it. I got a ticket for 75 in a 70 on the freeway, ticket was $137 (the judge upheld the ticket...), no points but I still got an increase of $30/mo on my insurance for the next 2 years. That's much more than the cost of the ticket.

As for the other point you make, in my state (Michigan), the courts ruled that jurisdictions need to provide a good case for having the speed limit lower than the standard. As soon as that ruling went into effect, most all the streets in town raised their limit to 45mph.

[Zak]

It seems to me that jurisdictions should be able to provide a good reason for having the speed limit at all. "It's the 85th percentile speed" is a good reason but simply being "standard" doesn't seem like one to me.