I’ve always been kind of fascinated by people who turn their cars into rolling platforms to proclaim one specific pet belief of theirs. It’s such an all-encompassing commitment; wherever you go, you’re broadcasting this one belief of yours, and cars are such extensions of our own self-image and personalities, it’s easy for everyone to assume that whatever it is your car is shouting about must be the biggest thing in your life. At least, that’s the impression I get when I see cars like these. And I’m definitely getting the impression that whoever drives the car in that picture up there won’t ever shut up about how important they think speed limits are.
I remember when I was a kid in the ’80s seeing this black Ford Escort GT absolutely slathered with stickers and a custom license plate, all of them crusading against the idea of anal intercourse. I wrote about that years ago at the Old Site, even. This car is giving me very similar vibes, a related sort of wild-eyed single-mindedness to a cause, only this time it’s the much more socially acceptable subject of speeding, even though, as the stickers tell me, one mile per hour over the limit.
Where does one even get so many bumper stickers that crusade against speeding? Are they custom made? Or is this a sub-genre of automotive scold culture I haven’t been so aware of, one large enough to support an ecosystem of bumper sticker options? Maybe? Anyway, I saw this first in this tweet, so, here, you may as well see for yourself:
I wonder how this person feels about speed limits. pic.twitter.com/0nVztc8Cu3
— CEO of Antifa (@CrazyWeeMonkey) May 8, 2025
I have so many questions. How did this person get like this? I mean, there absolutely could be a tragic backstory, where someone they love could have been hurt or killed by a speeding driver, and if that’s the case, then I suppose I’ll feel terrible. Because on some level, they’re not wrong; there is a reason we have speed limits, and, generally, we should probably abide by them.
That said, calling out one mile over? That’s ridiculous. Most speedometers aren’t even really accurate to a single mile anyway. Within five or so is fine. And there absolutely are times when someone going slower than the overall flow of traffic can cause plenty of dangerous situations; speed isn’t always the bad guy, here. Like anything on Earth, you can’t really expect everything to be so clear-cut.
And isn’t having a car covered in smallish text something of a hazard unto itself? This level of bumperstickery begs people to read it, and if they’re reading it, they’re getting close and not paying as much attention to the road, all of which feels a lot more dangerous than going, say, 41 in a 35 or something.
Also, let’s talk about the choice of car, a Chevy Bolt EUV. Most EVs are inherently pretty quick, and the Bolt is no exception. It’ll go from parked to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds, and its top speed is electronically limited to 93 mph, enough to get nailed for speeding anywhere in America. Why isn’t this person driving something with a lot less power? That Bolt makes about 200 hp; my daily driver makes 52 hp, and there’s plenty of places I simply can’t speed, though it sure is fun to try.
Do they use cruise control all the time, just to be certain? Like, are they setting the cruise at 35, then resetting it to 25 the second they see the school zone signs, then back to 35 and up to 45 or whatever, in a constant flow of setting and resetting? Or do they just have an incredibly well-trained foot and an eagle eye on that speedo?
Then there’s all of the non-driving related associations this display evokes. Does anyone think whoever drives this car is someone they want to spend any time with? And I don’t just mean you asked them to drive you to the airport and you’re running a little late sort of time – I mean, does anyone get the impression that this person might be a tad unbearable to be around?
That could be wildly unfair of me, but I’m thinking it, and I swore a solemn oath on a freshly-made corned beef reuben to share my thoughts with all of you. And I want to know what you think – does this besticker’d car make any of you sort of uncomfortable, too? Is it just me?
Let’s discuss.
It’s in my state so here’s hoping I get to scare them by going 38 in a 35 zone, like a complete madman!
It’s possible I already have seen this person in a different car decades ago with similar stickers that I also mocked back then. As I recall, they were incredibly s l o w.
I cannot find a picture of the sing he used to have on his roof, but this dude got a ticket for speeding and then decided to turn himself into a rolling traffic block
https://danielrubinphl.wordpress.com/2019/05/25/sticking-to-the-letter-of-the-law-on-lincoln-drive-25-m-p-h/
How does this ripping dork reconcile a state raising the speed limit? Not that I want to know so badly that I would engage in a conversation with a guy like this (I know that’s an assumption of gender, but this has to be a guy). Picture the life he must lead as indicated by this car and imagine having to wake up everyday and be him. Sure, you could argue it’s a choice, but I would counter that this guy very likely has severe mental issues that make being any other way extraordinarily difficult, like he’s practically an automaton programmed and steered by dysfunction. I feel bad for him, but admittedly only because I haven’t encountered him.
As others have stated, just having that many stickers about anything is a warning akin to nature’s use of bright patterns on animals alerting predators that they may (or may not) contain venom, poison, stingers, etc., and this applies even to the bumper-sticker cars whose owners think they’re being funny.
It’s not just you, it’s the near clinical level of anxiety that is implied by someone making this much effort to broadcast zero tolerance of a what may be a very minor infraction… <shudder>
The older I get, and the more of my driving is in urbanized areas littered with speed cameras, the slower I’m driving. This has done nothing to shake my belief that anyone with stickers about getting tailgated is a terrible driver.
Also, given the overlap between sanctimonious anti-speeding people and sanctimonious anti-car people, they’ve probably bemoaned the whole 80% of the new car market being SUVs thing, conveniently forgetting what they drive.
Was here any more info on the Nondabut guy?
I’m intrigued
We’ve checked every crack and cranny, looking for someone with one brown eye, and didn’t turn up so much as a single barking spider.
I have been driving since 1978, averaging 15-20,000 miles per year. I have never been pulled over for speeding. Last week I drove from Detroit to Seattle in 60 hours and never exceeded the speed limit (which at times was 80) by more than 3.
Everyone has somewhere to be and their own pace. I stay out of the way and avoid interfering.
The lack of acknowledgement of degrees of badness has always irked me. Like… Drunk driving is bad, no question. However the signs like “buzzed driving IS DRUNK DRIVING” seem to indicate that even one drink puts you in the same category as someone driving blackout drunk. Therefore, if you have a glass of wine while out to dinner or whatever and intend, you’ve already committed the maximum offense… So why stop there? Why not have another, and another, and another? Any rational person can recognize the difference, but to that PSA you’re already fucking up the maximum amount, so it eliminates the additional shame of the worse offense. (Don’t drink and drive though. You might hurt your car!)
A glass of wine is not getting you buzzed, “buzzed” means not legally drunk, but still feeling some sort of effect
The only time I ever put a sticker on one of my cars was after lending my 92 Mustang GT convertible to a friend, and he had backed up to a parking block, lifted one of the exhaust pipes behind the rear skirt, and didn’t notice till it melted a hole. Pulled it back down, one of those oval OB stickers, it’s fine.
I found this guys natural habitat this week. I flew into Augusta, GA and had to drive to Athens and back (Go Dawgs!). 70ish miles of rural, cross-county, mostly 50-55mph back roads once off I-20. And EVERYBODY wanted to do the speed limit or less. Not nearly enough passing zones, and I was stuck with a Nissan Rogue.
Good roads and no cops – I don’t get it. Just no particular place to be, I guess.
Ugh, the WORST. I got lucky last week on SR19 between Palatka and Ocala driving the long way home from a Wilco concert in St. Augustine. Lovely 2-lane road through Ocala National Forest, just me and a Mustang GT ahead of me and both of us doing a healthy 75 or so. North Florida gets all the decent roads in the state.
No doubt about that – some great roads up there! And not nearly as many cryptkeepers cluttering them up. Where I am in SW FL, not-so-much.