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$.02 about speeding

Since my car stands out quite well (BMW calls it Brilliant Red), I have
the ///M ground effects we all know and love, and low profile tires on
Racing Dynamics wheels I would have expected to get picked on quite a
bit for speeding.  I guess since I reserve high speed for wide open
roads (or cruising with traffic), drive in the right lane mostly, and
always try to give my signal time to blink 2-3 times _before_ changing
lanes I must look like a pretty sane driver.  I get by with some pretty
outrageous speeds at times (at least as far as the speed limit -- not
conditions are concerned) and haven't been ticketed in the year I have
been driving this car.  If you look like you are driving calmly as you
fly down the road then in actuality you will have to plan ahead more
which makes you pay closer attention.  I don't dive into another lane to
try to get another car length ahead in slow traffic since that makes you
stand out (and makes you dangerous to other people doing the same
thing).  I don't tailgate even though my car WILL stop fast enough
mainly because I don't want to collect any detritus (Fords, Chevys,
Hondas, etc.) on my back bumper -- it looks nice just like it is.

I guess what all this means is that in trying to look like a reasonable
and safe driver to avoid tickets I have become one (for the most part).
The best part is that it is working!

I will admit that I get really annoyed at people who look in their
mirrors, see my signal to change lanes, decide it must be a good idea,
then dive over and nearly clip my front bumper as I come up, but these
idiots will eventually find themselves one of those aggressive drivers
without any help from me and the problem will solve itself.  Some of
these are so consistent at this that I have suckered them into the other
lane when it wasn't the better choice and cruised past them without
moving over.  Seems some people set short term goals to just stay ahead
of a car as flashy looking as mine while my only goal is to get where I
am going as smoothly as possible.

My real goal is to get really smooth on the track so when I blow someone
off the track it won't look like I'm even trying.
- -- 
Pat Donahue
Vienna, VA
'91 M5 4GTFUL
'72 MGB 8LYFGR&