Will speeding ever have consequences?

At most of the stations there seems to be a speed limit of 100.

As soon as I approach the station (I think as soon as I'm in the No fire zone) I get a speeding warning on my HUD whenever I'm faster then 100.

However, no security officer has ever stopped me or even fined me for speeding.

Does speeding have any actual consequences? What stops me from approaching and entering stations at 200? (Except for the higher chance of collisions.)

2 Answers

Ramming at speed and causing damage to another ship in the no fire zone is a criminal offense. Causing hull damage is a fine, destroying another ship is a bounty subject to lethal response by system authority. However, there are no direct consequences to speeding.

This was changed in Elite Dangerous 1.3 to reduce incidents of CMDRs flying heavy ships intentionally causing collisions with and destroying new CMDRs in lighter ships.

4

This is more or less my usual process for launching from inside a space station. (I let the computer handle landing, most of the time.):

1. Move directly "up" from the landing pad, until "vertically" centered within the station.
2. Roll until aligned with exit port.
3. Retract landing gear.
4. Full forward throttle & boost until clear of Mass Lock.
   • Note: Be mindful of other ships in the area. Maneuver as appropriate to avoid collisions.
5. Align with hyper-jump target if needed.
6. Engage FSD.

Never once been fined or bountied for this. Not even the few odd times that I've collided with the station internals, or the borders of the exit port itself. (After which I'll usually run out and come immediately back for repairs.) But of course I've never actually hit another ship either.

Essentially, in Elite: Dangerous, speeding is not punishable unless someone other than the speeder is getting hurt.

One thing I've also noticed recently is that the traffic controller will occasionally complain (harmlessly - all bark, no bite) about my speed even while I'm using auto-dock. Sometimes, they seem to gripe even when I'm below the limit (e.g.: at 99 m/s) but I've also noticed a few times where the auto-dock will actually go up to at least 101 m/s.

I've also had some times recently (particularly when coming in from odd angles and/or at high starting speed) where the auto-dock has actually driven me into the side of a space station. Lesson learned: Be mindful of your speed and surroundings even when using auto-dock. Otherwise, it's possible the auto-dock could get you in trouble - e.g.: if it drives you into another ship while speeding.