SgtGrant

For Ca. folks, this is the definition:

23109. (a) A person shall not engage in a motor vehicle speed
contest on a highway. As used in this section, a motor vehicle speed
contest includes a motor vehicle race against another vehicle, a
clock, or other timing device. For purposes of this section, an
event in which the time to cover a prescribed route of more than 20
miles is measured, but where the vehicle does not exceed the speed
limits, is not a speed contest.
(b) A person shall not aid or abet in any motor vehicle speed
contest on any highway.
(c) A person shall not engage in any motor vehicle exhibition of
speed on a highway, and no person shall aid or abet in a motor
vehicle exhibition of speed on any highway.
(d) A person shall not for the purpose of facilitating or aiding
or as an incident to any motor vehicle speed contest or exhibition
upon a highway in any manner obstruct or place a barricade or
obstruction or assist or participate in placing a barricade or
obstruction upon any highway.

For other states, you are going to have to look it up in your vehicle codes or state statutes. You will notice that in the Ca. law, in (c) it does not say that you actually have to be racing. It simply states "A person shall not engage in any motor vehicle exhibition of speed on a highway". This is a little vague, but generally once you go beyond simply exceeding 10 mph or so over the speed limit, this could possibly apply. If your speed is in conjunction with other cars also speeding, and there is any possibility that it was an informal race, then it would certainly apply. The bottom line on any type of speeding is the old adage, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. You play, you pay. Sooner or later everyone takes a hit. I always have to chuckle when I see someone whining about getting a ticket when the reality is they probably got away with far worse a thousand times more than they got caught. If you are going to speed, the odds are that you will be caught sooner or later. I have a million stories of people I have caught, either at the time, or later, but that would take pages and pages abeit entertaining. There have been a very few that over the years we have not caught at some point. Usually those that are reckless enough to drive or ride like a maniac end up stacking it up somewhere along the line and we show up to document their downfall.