Court Rules That Driving 5 MPH Under Posted Limit Is Just Cause To Pull Motorists Over

Spartanburg County Circuit Court Judge Roger L. Couch ruled that driving just 5 MPH under the speed limit, not in the fast lane, is suspicious enough to justify a traffic stop. South Carolina's second highest court on October 5 examined the case, but sidestepped the speed issue to decide whether a man could be convicted of marijuana possession simply because he was in a car that contained the drug.

The three-judge appellate panel reviewed the September 16, 2008 incident that when Nicholas Carl Davy was driving in the middle lane of traffic on Interstate 85 through Spartanburg County. Andre Jackson was a passenger taking a ride to Greenville. He went to school with and was a friend of Davy's 22-year-old son.

The legal speed limit on the road was 60 MPH, but Davy was driving at 55 MPH.

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Larrybel2000 - 10/17/2011 12:34:13 PM

+2 Boost

Good

dumpsty - 10/17/2011 1:19:14 PM

+2 Boost

The cop got lucky on the traffic stop. In reality, if you're trying to maintain the speed limit when the rest of traffic is going 10mph above it, you look "out of place" and would then slow faster-moving traffic - even if you're not in the passing lane. If the two where traveling about the same speed as the rest of the other traffic, they would've blended-in - but of course they'd still been speeding & could have been stopped anyway.

I've had plenty of friend who'd be carrying "stuff" in their cars. I would try my best to not ride with them unless it was absolutely necessary. Didn't want to get caught up in this same type of situation.

Agent009 - 10/17/2011 3:11:55 PM

+1 Boost

It starts playing into speedometer error though.

If you are driving slightly under and your speedometer reads slightly under as well you can be pulled over and searched for acting suspicious.

truckman - 10/18/2011 3:41:45 AM

+2 Boost

Lets say he was in the slow lane and doing exactly the speed limit, could he get a ticket then? And if he was driving with the flow of traffic he would get a ticket too, you can't win, although I see an issue with him driving 5mph under the limit when thee limit is slow as it is and everyone is driving 20mph faster, under the circumstances I have no pity for his slow driving, I hate driving in America, I drive exactly the speed limit, it is tough to do because I speed a bit, I have heard of people being ticketed for 1mph too fast or a few mph under, cops should be there to serve and protect , not tax, we already have a tax man.