Is driving at 85 in an 80 km/h average speed zone considered speeding?

[DeOlive]

Speeding. Below are the relevant details: 1. Average speed measurement: This refers to the method of detecting the average speed of a motor vehicle passing through a section of road (speed measurement zone) between two adjacent speed monitoring points. For example, if the distance of a speed measurement zone on a highway is 10 kilometers with a speed limit of 120 km/h, a vehicle that takes 5 minutes or more to complete the distance would have an average speed below 120 km/h, meeting the speed limit requirement; if it takes less than 5 minutes to pass through the zone, it would be speeding. 2. Penalties for speeding in highway average speed zones are as follows: A warning is issued for speeding less than 10% on highways or national roads, with no points deducted or fines imposed; for speeding between 10% and 20%, 3 points are deducted and a fine of 200 yuan is imposed.

[LolaMarie]

I also pondered this during my last highway drive. The principle of average speed measurement is calculating your speed between the start and end points. If you drive at 85 km/h throughout an 80 km/h zone, it definitely counts as speeding, but the penalty depends on the excess ratio. Traffic regulations state that exceeding by less than 10% usually only warrants a warning without penalty points (below 88 km/h for an 80 km/h limit), but speeding is still speeding! Especially with some highly sensitive speed cameras, even a momentary spike to 85 km/h could be recorded. What’s worse is when your dashboard shows 85 km/h, your actual speed might only be around 82 km/h (due to instrument error), but traffic police go by the device’s measured data. I genuinely advise against pushing this limit—be extra cautious with speed fluctuations on uphill or downhill sections.

[VivianLynn]

I’ve personally seen a friend get caught by average speed cameras. He thought it was fine as long as the overall average speed didn’t exceed the limit, so he sped up to 90 in an 80 km/h tunnel to 'balance the time,' but still got a speeding ticket in the mail. Modern speed cameras have been upgraded—they don’t just calculate the average speed over the entire stretch but also capture instantaneous speeds at key points (85 km/h definitely counts as speeding). Don’t believe the online myths like '5 km/h over is fine'—traffic laws consider even 1 km/h over the limit a violation. Plus, in rainy or foggy conditions, driving 85 km/h on an 80 km/h road doubles your risk. Want to arrive on time? Just leave half an hour earlier—it’s not worth gambling with speed traps.

[DelLily]

Veteran drivers reveal a secret: when your dashboard shows 85 km/h, GPS measurements often read just over 80. But don't celebrate too soon—average speed cameras calculate based on actual distance divided by time, with smaller errors than you'd think! Exceeding the speed limit by just 1 km/h on your speedometer counts as a violation, though no points are deducted if it's under 10% (e.g., dashboard showing below 88 in an 80 zone triggers only a warning). The real kicker? When cruising at 85 km/h, downhill slopes can spike your instant speed to 90 km/h—getting you snapped by cameras! Worse, tire wear or heavy loads magnify speedometer errors. In a hurry? Remember the unwritten survival rule among mechanics: never push the throttle beyond the speed limit +5 km/h marker.

[George]

Just got a speeding ticket on the highway last week and finally figured this out. The road sign indicated an 80 km/h zone average speed, and I thought I was safe cruising at 83 km/h, only to get flashed for speeding at the endpoint! Later learned: Interval speed traps often hide spot speed cameras at the finish line. The moment you blast through at 85 km/h, the ticket is already on its way. Your speedometer reads about 5% higher than actual speed—showing 85 km/h means you're actually around 82 km/h. But even so, the law considers it a violation if any speed camera records you exceeding 80 km/h. Bloody lesson: In average speed zones, religiously maintain 80 km/h on the dash, and never exceed 83 km/h even when overtaking. Also, be extra cautious on long downhill stretches—gravity acceleration can make you unintentionally speed up.

[VanMorgan]

This is the most common pitfall for beginners. Instructors teach us to watch the dashboard needle to avoid exceeding the speed limit, but in reality, interval speed cameras calculate your travel time between two points. For example: On an 80 km/h limited 10 km stretch, you should take 7 minutes and 30 seconds to complete it. If you finish in 6 minutes and 50 seconds, your average speed would be exactly 87 km/h – that's a definite speeding violation! While momentarily doing 85 km/h on flat roads might not pull up the average, it becomes dangerous on continuous downhill sections. What's worse, many cars show 85 km/h on the dashboard when the actual speed is only around 81 km/h (as regulations allow a +5% speedometer error). So even if you think you're 'just slightly over,' the speed camera might have already recorded you as speeding. It's recommended to use mobile navigation with GPS for the most accurate real-time speed display.