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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
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: kernick (Dec 11, 2007 5:15 am)  ). Lowering the speed limit could lower fuel consumption. Higher gas prices probably have way more effect on fuel consumption than speed limits though. Most people were going 80 on the I-80 north of Reno last week (speed limit was 75). On the 2 lane (Highway 95), many were going the speed limit, which was 55 in Oregon and 70 in NV and ID. The rest of us were going 65 in OR and 75 in NV/ID between towns. It's high desert country - tundra like (no trees). Long straight sections of road, and light traffic. No signs of deer or other road kill. When you hit the Oregon section of that road, it about kills you to burn off 10 or 15 mph of speed to stay legal. 
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Replying to: steve_ (Dec 11, 2007 7:06 am) |
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Replying to: nippononly (Dec 11, 2007 6:56 am) Not quite. I grew up in PA - a fairly crowded state, and you can drive Rt. 84, 81 and 80, 2 lane 65 mph highways for long stretches at 85-100mph with little problem, except if someone in the right lane going 65mph cuts over. Most stretches of interstate are not that crowded. And I wasn't advocating unlimited speeds, but definitely higher than 65mph. people are driving 75mph on average already, so there is no massive carnage going on. The law just needs to acknowledge what people want, and make it legal. Update the law to match the updated technology. This is not that unreasonable as speed limits were like 15mph back in the early 1900's, and they were updated over the years.
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We all agree we drive high performance vehicles that deserve a high performance speed limit, but given the fact the majority of the drivers are for one reason or another really low performance drivers, 55 saves not only fuel, but us as well. You didn't graduate Magna Cum Laude, if you did graduate. You have a list of violations on your license record, if you have a license so what enables you to think you are a high performance driver? Cockyness goes before the crash. 
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Replying to: steve_ (Dec 11, 2007 7:06 am) I really wouldn't care whether someone gets 20mpg or 30mpg by changing their speed, or what their choice of vehicle is (SUV or Subaru). That's your personal choice as to how much fuel you can afford. I put those things into the same category as "not my business". I also would not question whether you really needed to make the trip in the first place, and burn any fuel. You had the money for the fuel, and were willing to burn it, and that's your right. That's the idea behind freedom and you having $. The rest of us were going 65 in OR and 75 in NV/ID between towns. And if you had a high performance sedan or sports car, you would have been able to drive faster with the same safety level right? Or at least with the light to medium traffic you wouldn't increase your probability of hurting others. When you hit the Oregon section of that road, it about kills you to burn off 10 or 15 mph of speed to stay legal. That's exactly what I'm talking about. Inherently you know the speed limit is too low, maybe being set for a U-Haul truck on a windy/rainy day. Or it's set so that a cop can write as many tickets as he wishes? And every driver then feels like some sort of scofflaw; especially when you get pulled over for doing a reasonable speed. There's a few towns together here in new Hampshire where the police chiefs have stated in the paper, that they oppose raisning the speed limits. Why? Because the natural flow of traffic puts everyone as speeding. And the police policy in these towns is to intercept criminal types while entering the towns. So the low speed limits give the police a reason to pull over anyone they don't like the looks of - old car, bunch of kids, loud, skinhead, ... They really aren't interested in writing a speeding ticket, as much as looking in the car for drugs or weapons, getting the driver's ID, running the plates ... My wife and I were pulled over several times, and as soon as they see you aren't a criminal type and live local, they just say "okay, you live down the road, just take it easy", and wave. And then we all know of towns that use speed limits for revenue.
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Replying to: euphonium (Dec 11, 2007 10:01 am)  , I have never had so much as a parking ticket not to mention a moving violation, and my car is impeccably maintained and capable of cruising 24/7 at felonious speeds... Yet I'd be happy to just take a trip at a constant 80 mph and not deal with irresponsible self-appointed speed deputies and LLCs, without having to fly 10 hours to find a road to do so... If 55 is about saving gas and fuel, 50 is even better, and 45 is better than that. Why not 45? |
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Replying to: kernick (Dec 11, 2007 10:02 am) Re Oregon and their "too-low" speed limits, maybe this is another reason they are thinking of experimenting with a per mile charge on motor vehicles. Their gas tax doesn't generate enough revenue since all their citizens are driving conservatively and saving so much gas.
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Replying to: kernick (Dec 11, 2007 9:44 am) But would 100 mph still be a safe and prudent speed in the rain? What about in the snow? The fog? At night? Those are the "good judgment" calls I was referring to. If you could count on people to slow down in adverse conditions, you wouldn't need speed limits at all in many places.
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Replying to: nippononly (Dec 11, 2007 11:35 am) The speed limits currently aren't absolute, depending on conditions. If it's snowy I know for sure the speed limits are officially reduced, no matter what the sign says. And believe in the fog and rain, yes the driver is responsible for adjusting to conditions, and can be ticketed regardless of the speed limit sign. I don't see many people driving 65 mph in a blizzard! I don't think you give people much credit for being moderately intelligent. So I think you were inferring that the speed limit is there to guide all us ignorant drivers as to how to drive when the weather is bad; but that is simply not the case. And we shouldn't be in the paradigm that a metal sign in the ground is the only way to post a speed limit. You make a good point that the speed limit should adjust based on conditions. This is the 21st century and it would be rather easy in many areas of the country for a "digital speed limit" to be posted or broadcast. I don't see why a local police unit could not broadcast a signal to the digital-signs, or our cars, that would change the speed limit based on conditions or time of day. I'd even pay an extra $0.01/gal tax to come up with a modern system.
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Dec 11, 2007 6:42 am) The faster you drive, the less time you'll be on the road. If I'm making a 6 hour trip (  65mph) but could make it 5 hr instead ( 75-80mph); that 6th hour would probably be my worst and most dangerous. So by removing an hour, I remove the most dangerous hour (from being tired).
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