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Automotive News & Views Should the US government bring back the 55 mph max speed limit again?
1418 messages, Last post on Dec 16, 2008 at 11:21 AM
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Take any stretch of road that's fairly heavily travelled, but still has traffic flow at 65mph. Now slow that same number of cars down to 55mph, with people entering and exitting from traffic. What happens? You increase the amount of time that everyone is on that section of road proportionately. you're basically making the road more congested, as people are on the road longer, rather then having gotten off the road. And when you reach a certain point of congestion, cars can no longer maintain distance, and traffic jams occur. So if you take traffic from 65mph to 55 mph, you will at least increase congestion by - 10/65 = 15.4%. It's simple that the slower you drive the longer you'll be on some section of road to your journey, and that's not the right way to go to keep congestion down. I think if you do that on many urban highways at many times of the day, you will create traffic jams where speeds drop to 15mph, and then you really screw things up and waste fuel.
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Replying to: euphonium (Feb 06, 2008 12:24 pm)  The non-negotiable fine for an out of control government is usually (eventually) a guillotine, a noose, or a firing squad....time is ticking away. |
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Replying to: kernick (Feb 06, 2008 1:45 pm) Five years of doing traffic studies has taught me a few things... 
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Replying to: douglasr (Feb 06, 2008 12:48 pm) Hey, logic has no place in this thread! |
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Replying to: douglasr (Feb 06, 2008 12:48 pm) That doesn't make any sense. Your car does not use the same amount of gas per unit of time at varying speeds. While you will be in your car longer if you slow down your car will burn less gas per hour too. Cars use gas in a miles per gallon rate, Presuming that rate is constant you will burn the same amount of gas no matter what speed you drive. So if your car gets 35 MPG and you drive 35 miles you will burn a gallon of gas, you will burn a gallon if you drive at 35 MPH at 45 MPH or at 85 MPH. Now the thing is that cars will start a reduction in their MPG figures above a certain speed, There are few, if any, cars out there that will get the same or better mileage ar 100 MPH than they will get at 50 MPH, So if you can get better MPG at 50 MPH than at 100 MPH driving 50 you will spend more time on the road but you will use less gas. |
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Replying to: kernick (Feb 06, 2008 1:45 pm) And when you reach a certain point of congestion, cars can no longer maintain distance, and traffic jams occur. thats just the thing, if you maintain a higher speed cars need more space between them. Slow down traffic and less room between cars is needed hence more cars can be on the road. So if you take traffic from 65mph to 55 mph, you will at least increase congestion by - 10/65 = 15.4%. In reality you reduce congestion. At 65 MPH one lane of road can safely hold 47 cars safely in any one mile stretch, any more and there will be at least one car following to close. Now at 55 MPH that same mile of one lane can hold 55 cars safely (of course if weather conditions are right and the road conditions are good). I think if you do that on many urban highways at many times of the day, you will create traffic jams where speeds drop to 15mph, and then you really screw things up and waste fuel. You are putting th cart before the horse here. In rush hour its not a lower speed that creates the congestion its the congestion that causes the lower speed. |
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Replying to: louiswei (Feb 06, 2008 8:31 am) |
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Replying to: douglasr (Feb 06, 2008 12:48 pm) 
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| Hail no. | |
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Replying to: nippononly (Feb 06, 2008 1:58 pm) Yes and if you slow people down you will have more cars on the road during any particular time. Example: If me and 20 other people in my city, drive 30 miles to your city 30 miles away and we leave at 5:00pm. And you and 100 other people in your city are getting on this same road at 5:30, then if we drive 65mph we're getting off the road before you folks get on. less congestion. If we drive  55mph the 100 of us are just getting to your city as your trying to get on, so now there's 200 cars instead of 100. It's pretty simple that if you want to get the water in your pool, you either turn up the flow (speed of the water) or use a larger diameter hose. If everyone drove 5mph, the roads would be impassable. Everyone can not get in their car and be on the road at the same time. To have traffic-flow requires you get a person on and off the road reasonably quickly.
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