Is It Legal In Louisiana To ‘Speed’ When Passing Another Vehicle?

Driving in Louisiana can be described as a contact sport. Certainly, as you traverse down I-10, I-20, or even the rural parts of I-49 we don't want you "contacting" another vehicle or some immovable object but our Louisiana highways make any journey not one for the faint of heart.

If you speak to the Louisiana Highway Patrol or State Police they will tell you that distracted driving, impaired driving, and driving without a seatbelt are three of the major contributing factors when it comes to crashes around the state. Those same three scenarios play a large part in the fatal crashes our state's motorists and passengers experience as well.

There is a fourth contributing factor to most crashes across Louisiana and it might be the factor that creates the most carnage on the roadway. That of course is speed. Well, excessive speed if we are being accurate. If you look at data from 2020, 281 fatalities on Louisiana roadways were the direct result of excessive speed.

Can You Drive 10 mph Over The Posted Speed and Not be Ticketed?

Perhaps that was the case once upon a time but if you look at Louisiana traffic laws we are a state that observes "absolute" speed limit rules. And that means exactly what you think it means, the posted speed is the posted speed. If you are driving one mile an hour over you are breaking the law and can be ticketed.

Fortunately for those of us with a little extra weight in our right foot, the men and women of Louisiana law enforcement have been professionally trained and they possess an awful lot of common sense, so just maybe if you were doing 72 in a 70, they might let you slide.

Can You Drive Over the Posted Speed When Overtaking Another Car?

Common sense would tell you that's certainly allowed under the laws of Louisiana. But common sense and Louisiana law very seldom collaborate on legislation so the answer to the question is "NO".  What part of "absolute" isn't getting through to you?

But, because we have human members of the law enforcement community and not robots or pay-per-view cameras, you'd probably be okay if you had to drive 75 to get around someone doing 68. The caveat is that you slow back down to the posted speed once your overtaking maneuver has been completed.

Most officers in most states do allow for "excessive speed" when overtaking especially on two-lane roads. As long as the action is not taken in an aggressive or reckless manner and you return to the posted speed once you're back in your lane, you just might have a case. But based on the law you could still be fined.

What Other Advice to Avoid A Speeding Ticket?

Don't speed would be the best advice and the second best advice is to be respectful if you get pulled over. No one likes being disrespected and no one likes to be told how to do their job. The same applies to law enforcement officers, however, they do have a higher tolerance for the general public than you or I probably do.

And one other reason to not speed, is our roads aren't in the best of shape. So all the extra bumping and bouncing will eventually take its toll on your vehicle. You'll be spending a lot more on tires and alignments not to mention fuel the faster you drive. Oh, and your insurance rates could get even higher than the way to high rates we already pay in Louisiana.

And when you do the math, unless you're going to travel much higher than the posted speed limit on any road in Louisiana, you won't get there that much faster than you would if you drove the speed limit. You could always leave earlier? No? Not you? That's why your driving record is in the shape it's in.