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Comment by taneq | Hacker News Reader

> It was clear the Tesla software wasn't smart enough to close the gap by accelerating above the posted limits

You guys need to figure out whether the speed limit is wrong, or breaking it is wrong, because you're not being consistent.

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Exceeding the posted speed limit isn't actually illegal in Texas. State law requires drivers to travel at a "reasonable and prudent" speed, and the posted limits serve as prima facie evidence that your speed may not be prudent/reasonable/illegal.

If traffic is flowing at 5MPH over the posted limit, it would be reasonable and prudent to match speed with surrounding traffic.

This is what it should be about. The spirit of the regulation, not the letter.

Thank you.

In Texas, at least Travis County, you can go up to 25 MPH over the posted limit and be in the gray area of "safe and reasonable" -- that gray area is determined by weather conditions, other vehicles on the road, and condition of your vehicle. Technically 1 MPH over the posted limit could get you a ticket, but anything under 10 MPH over, assuming clear weather, is easy to claim that you were just going with the flow of traffic. (If you ever get hit by the speed trap on I35 in Kyle I've used this to get out of a ticket, going 80 in a 65.)

The less you cause other drivers to have to change lanes, the better. The less traffic congestion you cause by driving slower than the flow of traffic, the better. This is compassionate driving. If Tesla makes cars that drive selfishly it's bad for Tesla -- it's not just about the person in the car, it's about the safety of everyone on the road.

(But be careful, you'll get downvoted on here just for implying that you have ever been somewhere other than SF.)

I'd much rather a strict rule and proper signage. At least at that point going the proper speed doesn't mean you can still get a ticket whenever a Texas cop feels like you deserve one.

Well, the law as written allows them to give you a ticket for driving _at_ the posted speed -- if that speed wasn't "reasonable or prudent" at the time; for example, in severe storms or during an evacuation.

I'm not sure where to stand, but I do believe that the safe speed to drive it is more than just a function of "do what the sign says."

That actually seems like a pretty good way to do it. Much better than the Australian method of "if you're over the limit we'll fine you even if it's safe, if you're under the limit we can fine you if we want to say it wasn't safe."

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