Can You Break The Speed Limit To Keep Up With Traffic?
Going with the flow of traffic is something we often tell new drivers to do. It makes a lot of sense. If the speed limit is 55 miles per hour, but the collection of humanity around you has decided that 68 mph is more appropriate, you're going to be the obstruction. Statistically, it should be safer to drive along at the same speed as everyone else. At least that is the conventional wisdom.
Driving too slowly is dangerous, as it forces other drivers to navigate around you and, to be frank, you risk angering other drivers. Road rage is never a good answer to a traffic situation, but nonetheless, it is a factor to be considered. Given all these arguments, it seems natural to deduce that as a driver, you should keep up with traffic so as not to impede traffic.
That is a sound argument, but it also happens to be wrong. Driving any speed above the speed limit is illegal, and the "everyone else was doing it" argument doesn't hold water in the eyes of the law. Driving too fast accounts for about 25% of all vehicular accidents resulting in a death, and it's 100% avoidable.
The law is the law, but enforcement is another thing
Of course, one of the fundamental principles of law enforcement is the large amount of discretion when it comes to enforcing the law. Make no mistake, driving 56 mph in a 55 mph zone is still illegal, as is rolling through a stop sign, failing to signal while changing lanes, or any of the other common mistakes that will cause people to fail a driver's test.
Drive to the grocery store, and you'll probably spot drivers (yourself included) breaking the law multiple times, even for a short trip. The phrase "it isn't a foul if the referee doesn't blow the whistle" comes to mind. You may get away with it, but that doesn't mean you should tempt fate. At the end of the day, driving above the speed limit (and driving below the speed minimum) is in fact breaking the law.