Craig6z

Not sure I would agree that the flow of traffic on freeways is 80 during off-periods, but it certainly is not a risk driving 8-10MPH over.

Los Angeles (City) is considered one of the most underpoliced large cities in America. To wit these 2009 stats:

Officers per 1,000 population
National Average: 2.5
Washington DC: 6.53
Chicago: 4.79
NYC: 4.35
Los Angeles: 2.41
Long Beach, CA: 1.96

Another factor is the sheer size of the Los Angeles City limits - 468 square miles. Chicago in comparison is 227. While there is a noticeable part of Los Angeles that is not occupied (sections of the Santa Monica Mountains), the number of officers per square mile are pretty dramatically lower.

Ultimately getting back to the original report about speeding tickets, you have to really be obvious to get a speeding ticket here, or lack common sense.

I wouldn't say I am a lead foot, but I moderately exceed the limits fairly often. My last speeding ticket was 29 years ago, and that qualified as lacking common sense.

CPRich

I suspect the most likely place for you to get a ticket is near home, where you probably put on a vast majority of your miles. I have 3 in the PIT area of the last 20 years, and 6 across the rest of the US, none in the same state.

dd992emo

Probably true. One interesting note in my history is that I have been stopped by the police in Foley, AL 3 times in the past 10 years (only one stop resulted in a ticket). The weird (or maybe not) part is that each time I was driving a rental car with out of state plates. I've driven hundreds of miles in Foley and never been stopped in a vehicle bearing Alabama plates.

Mr. Vker

You do. It's like a little cash register there. That plus the I-95 tolls for DE. No wonder they have no sales tax!!!

Yaatri

The I-95 toll can be easily avoided, and sometimes quicker too. Their income tax is pretty high too. Another trick they use is calculate DE tax on all income of non-residents (not just income derived from sources in DE), prorate it based on the ratio of DE income to total income. This could bump you up to a higher marginal tax rate.
They will also give you probation if you appear in court, so that you don't get points on your DL. AT least you are not gouged by insurance then.
I have never p[aid that toll, not once in 35 years.

scubadiver

Any night landing at IAD you will see the ground dotted with flashing blue lights.

M 6-mile commute to the office in Reston-Herndon includes at least one speed trap - radar/lidar - daily. The end of my street in Reston is what cops call a "cherry spot." The road is much faster than the speed limit. There are good places to hide, light traffic. More important, the traffic is commuters, not gang-bangers likely to take a punch at a cop.

Last weekend I drove about 400 miles through four states. Here is the speed-trap box score:

N. Virginia - 8
W. Virginia - 1
Maryland - 1
Pennsylvania - 0

While I agree that Washington DC area drivers are the worst this side of LA, this seems a bit lopsided.

Gamecock

I-95. Anywhere in SC.

dd992emo

Actually, most speeding tickets handed out on I-95 in SC are the result of people seeing a billboard that says "Squat and Gobble" on it, and they are speeding to get there and see if that place really exists...