National Speed Limit: No Thanks

phoenixx · #1 07-05-2008, 02:10 PM

There is now a push for a National Speed Limit to “help save gas”. Here’s an idea, folks. Spend...

brian_igo · #2 07-07-2008, 01:15 AM

Leslie, I'm not even sure what you were trying for with that post. What time and money will be spent on lowering the speed limit that could be used for finding alternate fuels? Road signs aren't that expensive and we're stuck paying the politicians anyway.

The speed limits are probably going to come down in the next couple of years. If what I see happening is right, they'll need to come down as a matter of safety. Fuel costs are straight up killing the trucking industry. You're probably going to see the larger fleets governor their trucks to 55mph before the end of this year because it will save them a fortune on fuel. The aerodynamic drag on a vehicle nearly doubles between 55mph and 75mph. On a large commercial truck its the difference of an extra thousand pounds of wind resistance. Hell, just lowering speed from 75mph to 65mph increases fuel economy by 27%. That is going to be the difference between staying in business and going bankrupt for a lot of trucking companies.

Speed by itself does not kill. When you have vehicles moving at substantially different speeds in the same space, that's when you greatly increase the risk of a crash. If you have cars moving 75mph or more with as 80,000 pound trucks moving at 55 or 60, the number of crashes will go up. Thanks to the speed and weights of the vehicles involved they will be disproportionately serious crashes. Pardon my crassness, but when a few families get wiped out next summer on the way to Wally World, the state legislatures will start tripping over themselves to fix the problem. And it will be the right thing to do.

Lowering the speed you drive at won't fix the oil problem, but short of parking your car it is the absolute best thing you can do to lower your gasoline costs. Maybe the government shouldn't be legislating this common sense as long as it isn't a safety issue, but that doesn't change the fact that reducing consumption is still the only feasible solution individuals have for triple-digit oil.

**mtomm**[$] · #3 07-09-2008, 01:51 PM

This isn't possible here because it would never meet safety regulations but I found it quite intriguing. And, of course, it can't pull anything or wear over-sized tires so I'll never see one as long as I stayed married to DH.

I must agree with Brian. I've already gone to 55 on the 65 highway I regularly drive. I find that I'm not alone as much anymore.

**jgibson2**[$] · #4 07-09-2008, 11:03 PM

I will drive 55 when traffic isn't too heavy. Around here, if you try that in heavy traffic, someone will kill you. Most likely the driver of a big truck. OTOH, most of the highways around here have a 55mph speed limit, so if the big truck fleets governor their vehicles, the rest of us can slow down along with them.

I'd love to see enforcement of the actual speed limits rather than changing them. I've been to traffic court. the state police apparently don't pull over anyone going less than 90mph on the 55mph highways -- at least not the day I was in court with my son. If they'd drop that to 80, it would be a huge improvement. 70 for the 55mph roads would be even better.

**mjfrombuffalo**[$] · #5 07-10-2008, 08:43 AM

I mentioned this thread to Hubby. We shared a good laugh. (We were on the parkway going 70 in a 55mph zone and had passenger trucks trying to muscle us out of the way so they could go 80.)

**mtomm**[$] · #6 07-10-2008, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Around here, if you try that in heavy traffic, someone will kill you.

Luckily, I live in an area where heavy traffic isn't an issue. I'm appalled to read that 90 mph is acceptable!

phoenixx · #7 07-10-2008, 11:40 AM

Without enforcing the other rules of the road, a national speed limit would create death traps. First make people signal, use the correct lane for their needs, merge correctly, etc. THEN handle speed.

**jgibson2**[$] · #8 07-10-2008, 04:58 PM

One thing the police do around here is enforce some of the other rules -- they call it aggressive driver enforcement. Speed, not so much.

magenta321 · #9 07-10-2008, 09:01 PM

Today I tried to drive the speed limit (55) on a highway without bumper to bumper traffic. The speed of traffic is usually about 70-80. It was PAINFUL to drive so slow and I felt like people behind me were going to kill me as they rushed to get out of my lane and into the left lane. If the person behind me was angry and someone was already in the left lane, it became a jockying for position type of thing that was even scarier.

I like the thought of driving the speed limit to save gas, but I don't think it's worth dying over.

brian_igo · #10 07-10-2008, 10:19 PM

Quote:

phoenixx said

Without enforcing the other rules of the road, a national speed limit would create death traps. First make people signal, use the correct lane for their needs, merge correctly, etc. THEN handle speed.

I'd like to see that, too, but monkeys will fly out of my butt first. We bend over backwards to make driving legal and relatively safe for the lowest common denominator.