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

[SanHolden]

Speeding. Here is the relevant information: 1. Average speed enforcement: This refers to the method of detecting the average speed of a motor vehicle passing through a section of road (speed enforcement zone) between two adjacent speed monitoring points. For example, if a highway section has a speed enforcement zone distance of 10 kilometers with a speed limit of 120 km/h, a vehicle that takes 5 minutes or more to complete this section would have an average speed below 120 km/h, thus complying with the speed limit; if it takes less than 5 minutes to pass through this zone, it would be speeding. 2. Penalties for speeding in highway average speed enforcement zones are as follows: Speeding by less than 10% on highways or national roads results in a warning without points deduction or fine; exceeding 10% to 20% will incur 3 points deduction and a 200 yuan fine.

[VanAnnie]

Last time I encountered an 80 km/h average speed check zone on the highway and got a ticket for driving at 85. The traffic police explained very clearly: Average speed cameras calculate your speed over the entire section - even 1 km/h over counts as speeding! Although the dashboard showed 85, the actual speed might have been around 82, but the system records the average speed exceeding 80 as a violation. An experienced veteran driver told me it's best to use cruise control at around 78 km/h in average speed check zones, leaving some margin for instrument error. After all, many speed cameras nowadays also have instant snapshot functions, so don't think you can get away with overtaking and then slowing down midway.

[VonSpencer]

My relative who works in the traffic management department said the algorithm for average speed detection is extremely strict. For example, if a road section is 10 kilometers long with a speed limit of 80 km/h, the system calculates the time required to pass the entire distance. If you finish it in 7 minutes (when it should take 7 minutes and 30 seconds), you'll be flagged for speeding. Even exceeding the limit by just 5 km/h would result in arriving nearly half a minute early, and the system automatically records a 20% speeding violation, leading to penalty points and fines. Nowadays, high-definition cameras are connected to databases, capturing even the model and color of the vehicle with crystal clarity.

[RicardoLynn]

When I first started driving, I also made this mistake, thinking that the average speed check was based on instantaneous speed. Later, when I checked the violation record on the 12123 app, I realized: an average speed of 85km/h over the entire stretch meant exceeding the limit by 6.25%, which met the penalty criteria. My instructor taught me to look for the start and end signs of the speed check zone, glance at the dashboard clock when entering, and calculate that completing it in 7.5 minutes would be safe (for a 10km stretch). Actually, maintaining around 78km/h is the safest—no worries about speed checks and it saves fuel too. Tested and proven effective!

[Paul]

I once hitched a ride and heard an experienced driver do the math: driving at 85 km/h in an 80 km/h zone may seem only 5 km/h faster, but it actually exceeds the speed limit by over 6%. The key point is that the penalty brackets for speeding are strictly enforced - exceeding by less than 20% means 3 demerit points and a 200 yuan fine. Under the new traffic regulations, handling of speeding within 10% varies by region - some provinces issue warnings for first offenses, but here we get penalized immediately if caught. Special reminder to new energy vehicle owners: electric cars accelerate quickly and can easily exceed speed limits unnoticed, so it's best to turn on the speed limit reminder function.

[DeElias]

Our fleet has received specialized training on this. Unlike fixed-point speed cameras, average speed check zones calculate your speed by dividing the time taken between two surveillance points by the distance. If you drive at 85km/h, you'll be 6 minutes and 15 seconds faster per 100km than the speed limit - the system will definitely flag you for speeding without hesitation. Once when a friend drove from Hangzhou to Ningbo relying on his radar detector, he got three average speed zone tickets that maxed out his 12-point deduction. Now we all use our phone navigation's average speed zone alerts, and remind each other to tap the brakes before entering monitored sections.