1970’s nostalgia: double-nickel speed limit coming back?
I love everything about my new state of Virginia so far, except for Gerry Connolly, the mosquitoes, and the absurdly molasses-like speed limits. I swear, well-maintained, limited-access four-lanes that would get a 65-mph sign in California get a 45-mph rating here. Mrs. See-Dub announced her general Virigina driving rubric: if you think you’re driving at a reasonable and prudent speed, you should immediately cut it back by 10 mph.
They make you sweat it, too. I understand that not only are the speed limits insanely low, but the penalties for exceeding them are insanely high. Someone told me a speeding ticket could run you over a thousand bucks. (I don’t know whether to believe that or not).
Meanwhile everyone complains about the traffic. You know, if they actually let people get to where they’re going at a reasonable clip, maybe the roads wouldn’t be quite so jammed up.
Where was I going with this? Oh, right. This retrograde and despised Virginia slow-down policy has picked up an advocate for taking it national once again–Virginia’s Senator John Warner, who for some reason everyone claims is a Republican:
Earlier this month, Mr. Warner suggested a return to the federal 55-mile-per-hour speed limit on America’s highways, as a way to save on national gasoline consumption. “I drive over 55 miles an hour, . . . sometimes 65,” he said on the Senate floor. “But I am willing to give up whatever advantage to me to drive at those speeds with the fervent hope that modest sacrifice on my part will help those people across this land . . . dealing with this financial crisis.”
Why, you pompous old gasbag. Sacrifice yourself, then. Drive–er, tell your driver to drive–55 and stay out of my way. If he doesn’t get you to the Senate floor in time to deliver another self-important gust of condescending green piety, the country will just be that much better off. The rest of us, however, have actual work to do. Leave us alone.
P.S. Any of you VA types know what it would take to knock the speed limits into line with the rest of the country?
_______________
{Post by See-Dubya}
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Its not so simple as everyone goes 55 and all is well. I drove from SOC to LA for decades and these are the facts I encountered. If I left at 4:30 am and did at least 75 all the way there I could make it in about and hour and a half. Contrast that with if I left at 6:00 I would roll in about 9:00. That was if I didn’t encounter an accident, which is another reason I always left at 4:30 even though I didn’t need to I rarely if ever saw an accident during the early hours. 6 to 9 you can count on an accident or three you can only hope it happens behind you or on a fwy you aren’t traveling. I got my first license in 75 the semi golden age of driving imo. You could actually get somewhere in those days for the most part and gas was cheap. I drove a motorcycle for years once you have driven a bike on the fwy you learn defensive driving real quick and it stays with you forever. Oh and the hours that I saved not sitting in traffic on the way to make money, yep I was spending it instead. Trollman you sound like you are going to get yourself killed maybe you should walk to work, I’m worried about you, really.
Wow! Now I know what road-rage looks like on a blog. And that’s the first time THIS lifelong Republican has been called “liberal”. I prefer the term, “sensible”.
I also prefer not to take my life in my hands every time I hit the highway, but that’s what it feels like these days! It’s been proven that you get better gas mileage when you take it easy; you aren’t fighting as much wind resistance. Otherwise, Formula 1 racers would get the same MPG as my Subaru.
Any of you VA types know what it would take to knock the speed limits into line with the rest of the country?
It might work…if, in fact, there weren’t so many other people on the road, going to the same place as you. I swear, I’ve never lived in a town where there’s a traffic jam for no good reason in the middle of a Saturday afternoon.
I once saw a license plate that read: “OH NO I95.” The sad reality almost killed the funny. =)
A great deal of these roads were designed in the fifties when the speed limit was at least 70. The cars had skinny bias-ply tires, lousy brakes and were more top-heavy than today. The 55 mph proposal is another way to put money in government coffers
So what? I was replying to the claim that there are no speed limits in Europe.
No, but I’m old enough to remember no speed limits….the saying was ‘the sky’s the limit/stay within it’
Ah, yes; I’m a baby boomer…
I should have said ‘in some areas in europe there are no speed limits’.
I wasn’t implying that people should be able to speed past a school or hospital. And in the city stop lights keep you from getting up to speed anyway.
The 55 mph limit would apply to areas where there shouldn’t be speed limits like the many places in BFE in America. . . such as southern Virginia where you can be hard pressed to even find a radio station.
So I guess I was wrong to claim that there were NO speed limits anywhere in Europe. I’ll clarify with there are areas in Europe that don’t have a speed limit as should be the case here. . . and in Virginia.
I was stationed in Virginia at Langley Airplane Patch in Hampton for over four years. I quickly discovered the many ways that state extracts money from its citizen- victims. Personal property tax leaps to mind, with city stickers for your car. Virginia is using traffic tickets as a major revenue generator. You escaped California, but you fled to a place with its own flavor of socialism.
txvet2 said:
That sign on the side of the road that says “70″ – that refers to the speed limit, not the speed minimum.
sambo said:
There are more than 2 people in this whole country that would be open to lower speed limits – so kindly remove my family and who knows how many more from the 299,999,998 you claim are with you on this.
The problem is, if the limit is 70, then people can’t drive 55 (without imposing extra risk). On the other side, if the limit is 55 or so, then people can’t drive 70 (without the extra risk of tickets).
Someone has to lose either way. Since there is no win-win solution, I think this is an issue worth discussing.
ThackerAgency said:
Do you do 55 in a 70? Where everyone else is doing 70-90? If you did, I am sure you would have a much different risk assessment.
ThackerAgency said:
Neither is a “right”. Driving is a privilege. As I’ve stated earlier in this post, the two are effectively incompatible. One has to give, and thus it shouldn’t be dismissed without carefully considering the issue.
Personally, I try to always stay within the speed limit, even if I think it is too low. Why? Because I believe in law. That is why I am opposed to illegal immigration. If you have no problem speeding, then how can you blame someone else who decides the law doesn’t apply to them either?
ThackerAgency said:
Not to give you a hard time, but am I the only one who gets the irony here?
We have conservatives telling us that we Americans ought to be more like Europe… on a day while Obama is saying just that.
Admit it, deep down, you are an Obamacan! ;^)
haha, no I just believe that there is WAY too much government.
If the government issues a license, then I should be allowed to go however I want. It is a privilege as long as I am granted a license and follow the rules that they provide.
Europeans also aren’t as up tight about nudity as we are here either. My standpoint comes from a ‘I’m free in a free country and the laws should reflect that’.
The speed limit laws. . . as I’ve stated before are virtually un-necessary. The technology is available to keep cars under a certain speed limit. But if they did that, there would be no more speeding ticket revenue for the government.
I believe that a free country should be free of government if you’ve met the requirements. I’ve always wanted a license for unlimited driving. When I drive fast, I generally focus more and am safer than when I’m just tooling along (bored).
Speed isn’t dangerous. If it were, government could restrict cars from going over 70 mph. They don’t.
The question is, ‘is it better to punish people for breaking the law or keep people from breaking the law’?
I say it would be better to keep people from breaking the law. . . but the way our speed limit and immigration laws are set up, we would prefer government punishing law breakers than creating a society that is safe without the need for the laws.
Well, it’s not like they have to drive to work everyday or even a couple of times a week. And I’ll bet you can even be late and you don’t get docked or written up. It’s not like you have a job , even.
Sorry, but you didn’t make that argument in your original post. You said , essentially, “55 saves lives”. Wrong.
You also claimed slower driving would promote energy independence, when 20 years of 55 did not.
We don’t care what your party affiliation is, but here at MM factual error, but –especially— intellectual dishonesty, gets pounded.
Individuals may “save” on gas by driving more slowly, but the macro effects aren’t there — while the negative impact across the entire ecomony is understood, based on history.
Sorry, but the sun does not shine out of your ar*se. Other drivers have an expectation about the speeds of those around them. Highways are designed for driving at certain maximum speeds.
Say you’re hurtling along at 85 and you see an exit you need to take. It has a 35 mph ramp speed. How do you brake safely to make that turn w/o endangering others?
Say I am behind a slow truck traveling at 55 and want to pass him. I check my rear view mirror and see only one car waaay back. so I pull into the passing lane — to be rear-ended by YOU, traveling at 90 mph.
and oh yes: please explain who decides you “meet the requirements”, BUT the government???
You haven’t even begun to think things through.
I try to do the speed limit as well. What gets me is when the freeway is two lanes on each side, the speed limit says 65, I’m in lane 2 doing the limit and the other people are doing 45! I either have to get in lane 1 and get run over by people doing 75+ or get into lane 2 and run over people doing less than 50.
If you’re going to use the freeway, do the limit, or get off! There are plenty of surface streets that have a speed limit of 45 (in CA) and they’ll get you where you’re going. I was a long haul commuter for quite a while and doing just 65 was close to asking to be shot.
The good thing about CA is that it has a basic speed law: Never drive faster than it is safe. That doesn’t mean you can exceed the maxium speed (65-70, depending) but it shows some intelligence in how to apply that limit. I took Administration of Justice classes in college and one of the instructors was a former chief of police. A motorist in his city was ticketed for doing 40 in a 25 on a dry Sunday morning at 7am. The judge laughed it out of court. On Monday, the ticket would have been upheld due to commute hours. But not on Sunday.
What Senator Warner is proposing is typical of a socialist government. Find, or more appropriately create, a crisis and then use that as a means to force unneeded rules and regulations on the people. If it’s not a real crisis as WWI, WWII, and the depression for FDR, then one is created that does not exist, as in “global warming.”
Quick! Tell the sheeple things are bad, make sure the press buys into it so when they watch “The Evening (Bad) News” all they’ll hear is how bad things are, then they will accept any type of socialist regulation the gov’t wants to pass.
Of course, the elites are protected…
It will create jobs! New 55 MPH signs need to be made! New signs need to be installed! Old signs need recycling! And if/when the crisis is over, we’ll need new 65 MPH signes, the old signs removed and the new signs installed!
Not for nothing, but once I buy the gas it’s mine and if I choose to burn it, that’s my decision.
As a driver of 70+ miles a day, I have absolutely NO expectation of the drivers around me. If I am hurling along at 85 and need to take a 35 mph exit, it is up to ME to negotiate how to make that happen safely for both myself and for you. If you get rearended by someone else, in the example you give, while it would be the speeding persons fault legally, it is really your own fault for not being fully aware of your surroundings and not negotiating your vehicle safely.
Sorry, but the speed limit laws have nothing to do with your examples, FullDroolCup.
Thanks clean guy. Full drool cup, if you can’t drive, then you shouldn’t drive. . . that’s why there are tests. If I pass the test, I should be able to drive. If I can’t see at night, I can’t drive at night per regulations. . . if I can’t drive on the highway then I’m not allowed to drive on the highway – per regulations.
If you feel a need for speed limits, then why don’t you feel a need for computer restrictions on cars and how fast they go?
All of those conditions you cite fulldroolcup have to do with depending on the other driver. I suggest you take a course in defensive driving if that’s the case. When I drive, I am responsible for the safe operation of my vehicle. If I need to stop, I stop. If I need to speed up, I speed up. I don’t depend on other drivers in other cars for my safety when I drive.
And you don’t seem to understand that most accidents are caused by speed differential and not speed. Drivers on roads where the speed limit is 70 have a reasonable expectation that other drivers will maintain a speed somewhere in that vicinity. A driver such as yourself who insists on his “right” to drive far below the limit places himself, and everybody else on the road, in jeopardy, and incidentally constitutes a major source of traffic congestion.
OMG back to Jimmy Carter days. When will the lines for food start? I ride my harley at 70 mph. Like Haggar says ” I cann’t drive 55 ”
As far as Va. roads. I feel your pain See-Dubya. I live there and worked in D.C. I use to drive from the other side of Fredricksburgh to Alexandria. After about 3 weeks of that i started to use the train. Alot less headache and no traffic. I found it was cheaper for me to buy a metro train ticket than it was to spend money on gas. I know that would be true now if they have not went up too much on the monthly passes. You get to meet alot of great people on the train.
Why do you feel the need to have Mommy Government force you to do what common sense and some idea of personal responsibility should tell you to do? I see some of the strangest things coming out of self-proclaimed conservatives. Your desire for no speed limits is to some degree understandable, but the sorry fact is that too many drivers, apparently including yourself, can’t be trusted to use any kind of judgement about what speed they travel unless a limit is established, and seemingly in your case, forced upon them.
Sen. Warner is firmly in the RINO category. He’s another reason why term limits are needed.
See-Dub: I live in Hampton Roads, VA (military spouse/temporary transplant) and I despise this state. It has high taxes (cough cough property and personal taxes) which do nothing but line the politicians pockets. They say they need more money to do any kind of road improvement.
It’s a never-ending cycle that I keep seeing here. I usually hate moving but I’m looking forward to it this time. Oh, and a FYI, never use Harrison’s Moving, the worst moving company ever. The federal government didn’t pick wisely this time for moving contractors.
Hope you like VA, see-dub, for us temporary transplants, it’s a different story.
txvet2 said:
Actually I do understand that – that is my point. When I drive 60 in a 70, I am at (a real) risk of getting rammed from behind, which is ridiculous.
txvet2 said:
I don’t consider doing 60 in a 70 far below the limit. In fact, I think 55-70 in a 70 is perfectly reasonable. Besides, I always thought you high speed limit advocates are always arguing “You can always go slower – a higher speed limit doesn’t mean you have to drive faster.”
I have to be very aware when I drive. Just a few weeks ago, if I hadn’t been on the ball and swerved onto the shoulder, a truck would have rammed into me (60 in a 70). No other cars near us, I was in the slow lane, and excellent visibility. He didn’t bother to get over into the passing lane until he was in the space I would have been occupying had I not swerved out of his way.
Obviously my fault!
Why on earth would our moderator choose to move to Fairfax Co. where the traffic is probbaly the worst, We’ll probably have a new Democratic Congressman in November, Property values assested (read raised) every year…. HOA’s that are mind-bogglingly anal ???
A sidelight, my son finished his behind the wheel portion of his driover’s ed, and was supposed to go on the interstates, but traffic is such (slow) that it made little point.
Try Chicago.
The person driving the limit is not creating the hazard here, you are, by obstructing the free flow of traffic.
If you’re not mentally and physically able to drive safely at the speed required, DON’T DRIVE.
I tend to drive well above the speed limits AND I pay the extra fees associated with that privilege. I travel all across the US but I am not a professionally paid driver. However, I have no problem contributing to whatever local taxes or quotas I need to contribute to. If you cant stand the heat dont be in the kitchen.
I find that most accidents I have witnesses are NOT caused by excessive speeds. (Not one has ever rammed into the person in front of them on the open road). What I do find is slow drivers in the left lanes of traffic causing other drivers to be inmpatient and doing stupid manuevers to go around the slow drivers. Either that or people not accelerating ONTO a freeway and subsequently casuing the people on the freeway to jam on their brakes. But then there are the idiots at any speeds also.
My basic rule: If someone is behind you (at ANY speed)….MOVE OVER AND LET THEM PASS.
I’ve been on the road too many years not to expect to encounter people doing the unexpected, so I’m constantly on the watch for them – helps keep me awake. I note you upped your claimed speed to 60 instead of 55 to try to make your point. The fact that you find yourself in (apparently) constant danger of being tail-ended doesn’t seem to have impressed upon you that you are driving dangerously for road and traffic conditions, and makes the point that driving is a cooperative venture between you and everybody else on the road. You have to depend on them to drive in a safe and reasonable manner, and they have the right to expect the same from you. Driving well below the posted speed isn’t illegal unless you are below a posted minimum, but as you’ve noted in your examples, it can be dangerous both to you and others. It is simply fact that slow drivers cause many accidents. The pity is, they are seldom held to be at fault, because as you’ve noted, generally they end up getting hit from behind, or causing an accident where they are not physically involved. You can always make the argument that everyone else should be watching out for your aberrant behavior, and in that you are correct. On the other hand, you may sooner or later find yourself dead right – but still dead. Do yourself and everybody else on the road a favor. Either get up near the speed limit and stop causing traffic jams, or get off the expressways and take the secondary roads where the speed limits are more to your liking.
You have me confused with someone else – I don’t recall advocating higher speed limits on this thread, although in some cases I think they would be appropriate – the NY State Thruway comes to mind. Nor have I advocated driving above the posted speed limit, although I frequently do drive 5-10 mph over. On the other hand, sometimes I drive well below the posted speed. It depends on a lot of things, including weather, road conditions, and traffic. My personal philosophy is that I try to do nothing to interfere with the smooth flow of traffic, either by going faster or slower than the traffic in my lane. Obviously you disagree, but then that’s your right. Once again, I hope you don’t end up being dead right. Personally, I think the roads are plenty dangerous already without doing anything to add to the risk.
BTW – Ive never been involved in a freeway accident – or any other accident that I have never been able to pay cash for. So dont blame me for YOUR insurance rates.
Also, I would rather the world entirely run out of oil, than play some game of “conserving” gas. I could care less if my future childrens children can experience the ‘joys’ of open road driving. Just as my grandparents could care less if I do..
I lived in No. Va. for 40 years, until I moved down to the Tidewater area, last May. I am a very experienced I-95 and I-495 driver, along with I-66. You can’t do 55 there and expect to live long. If you don’t get run over, someone will do you in on road rage. The one thing I noticed, right away, after I moved, is how a lot of people follow the speed limits here. Maybe there was a city effort to conserve gas…I don’t know. Of course, there are the usual speeders and aggressive drivers, as everywhere, but less here than Fairfax County. Quite a change of pace. Traffic isn’t as bad as Fairfax, though the tunnels can drive you crazy.
**sigh** obviously I cannot spell today…
please forgive
This example has nothing to do with speed. Obviously either the driver slows down safely or that person shouldnt take that exit. But lets change up the example…..
Say you’re poking along at 20 mph in the left lane and you see an exit you need to take. It has a 35 mph ramp speed. How do you speed up and cross four lanes of traffic safely to make that turn w/o endangering others?
Why do YOU think that truck is driving too SLOW? SO who gave YOU the right to decide that? If Im driving 90 then I would absolutely be watching YOU and not the truck driver because I always know that it is YOU that is going to pull out in front of ME. If you know this situation is going to occur, then you are not being a safe driver – especially if you already think that you could be about to be rear-ended.
BTW…. just how many times have you actually been rear-ended any way? If more than once, then why havent you learned your lesson yet?
RabbidSquirrel #127, Will you please move to Los Angeles and teach these folks how to drive like you do?
Ack! Please, no! I am driving from Trenton to Denver next week, and I am counting on speed limits between 65 and 75 to get me there in two days. My one hotel reservation just west of St. Louis is non-refundable, and I’d happily send Sen. Warner the bill for that hotel room plus the others if I have to stay in Terre Haute and another day in Topeka. We’ll see if he thinks we’re saving money then.
My car does beautifully at 65. I recently got 38.5 MPG on a trip, and there was some city driving mixed in. I bet I get between 40 and 42 MPG on my trip next week.
I don’t believe that many people would follow the limit if it were imposed. That concern for futility of this effort holds unless the federal government went even more nanny-state and added a $2500+ surcharge to any speeding ticket on any federal road.
What is my proof? The speed limit on miles 100 to 80 of the Garden State Parkway just dropped a few months ago from 65 to 55. I recently attempted to drive 55 on that stretch of road, and I was nearly rear-ended twice in 20 miles. Someone trying to avoid me nearly hit someone else, too. My passage on the 65 portion, through which I held 65, was much more comfortable and sane. The flow of traffic was probably 75 to 80 MPH in both speed limits, and people had more time to prepare to pass me with the lower resulting speed differential in the 65 zone.
At the risk of asking for a firestorm, There is I think, a safety arugment that can be made for a lower speed limit. There is probably less energy for a vehicle’s structure to absorb/disapate (and thus protect the driver and occupants) at 55 that ther is at 65 mph for say a 3,000 lb vehicle. Any math types wanna take a stab at doing the math?
The fascist Senator from Virginia can pound sand if he dares to impose his will on those of us in the wide open spaces of the Western United States. The Democrats can’t offer any original solutions to their engineered oil crisis other than to continue to infringe upon our freedoms and the once free market in this country.
ex-expat 136, from my past experience in the insurance/liabilty claims department, I found that the people who cause the accidents hardly ever get hurt, but the claimant is almost always hurt. No matter the size of the impact. (Not talking the serious accidents of course. Those get ugly)
What exactly, is the required speed? The speed limit signs you see posted are the maximum legal speeds allowed, not the exact speed that you must drive. There is absolutely nothing wrong with driving 60 on a freeway with a posted maximum of 70. Of course you should stay in the right lane. You can do it for better mileage, because you aren’t in a hurry, or just because you want to.
Some freeways have posted minimum speeds, usually around 45 mph. I wouldn’t recommend driving 45, but 60 is no problem.
Where I live the problem is more with those who insist on driving 90 in a 70 mph zone, and there is virtually no enforcement of the speed limit.
And that is the kicker. The speed limit signs are the maximum LEGAL speeds… you pay your ‘debt to society’ through tickets, taxes and insurance premiums.
Just as you are free to rob banks or burn down buildings as often as you like…. as long as you pay your debt to society. (and yes I am severly simplifying the argument)
Most everyone has missed a point though. Why is a 55, 60, 65, 70 mph speed limit considered the most safe/efficient? Why not a 63.5 mph limit? Blah blah blah the speedometers are are in increments of 5…. We have digital speedometers now! And other than cost, there is no reason that speed limit signs cannot be digitally manipulated for the current local driving condition
HeatherRadish said:
Wow. I mean… just wow. I do 60 in a 70 in the slow lane, on a highway with no-to-light traffic and this is the response I get? You might want to work on that temper.
txvet2 said:
Uh, no. Earlier I posted that I drive 60. I said I would like to drive 55, but that would be too dangerous. But because I don’t treat the speed limit as the speed minimum, it is obviously my fault you didn’t read that part and jumped to your faulty conclusion.
txvet2 said:
One more time, speed limit does not really mean speed minimum. If 60 in a 70 in the slow lane with no-to-light traffic = too slow, then you are driving too fast and you are the danger. I’m not talking about driving in the city, or in heavy traffic – there I drive with whatever the flow of traffic is. I should be able to drive 60 in a 70 in the slow lane in the middle of no where without the constant fear of getting rear-ended.
txvet2 said:
Uh, it was a country highway. He was the only other vehicle in sight (on our side of the road) at the time. Slow down and read before you embarrass yourself further. I hope you drive better than you read.
txvet2 said:
Yes we disagree. I don’t believe 1 truck = traffic. The passing lane was wide open, so how was I slowing the flow of traffic? And as I’ve said, I go with the flow of traffic in heavy traffic.
In the 30 plus years I have been driving I’ve had two tickets, one in 77 that I deserved, another last year that I didn’t. I got cited for excessive speed on the way to San Diego and through no particular effort on my own part I wasn’t even speeding at the time. I was angry and was prepared to fight it but when I showed up on my court date the cop didn’t! It’s always been my experience that when there are few enough cars on the road to do 55, 65, 75 people tend to drive in speed pockets. One group will be doing 65 another 75, pick one and fall in. Also, since I usually pick the faster group when I come upon a group doing the limit I automatically start looking for the highway patrol car that must be nearby. Trollman, over the years I have had to on many occasions drive in unfamiliar areas and search for a street name or exit and a lot of times by the time I see it its too late to make it safely. If you see your exit and you have any doubt about safely navigating it take the next one and back track if I didn’t do that I probably wouldn’t be here in good health today. Of course I don’t barrel down an unfamiliar road while I’m looking for my exit from the fast lane either. I’m sure you have heard the recording, the right lane is for loading and unloading only, in other words merging on, exiting off, and making an interchange. In any case you might want to take a refresher course for your driving and maybe some biofeedback to help you lose your fear of the interstate highway system. If you really want to drive slow and safe find a slow truck and get in behind it, it’ll probably be in the second lane though, the old on off interchange thing.
But back when I was a boy, we never drove our Flivver over 35…and we liked it that way dadgummit!
Well if both cars had identical engines…
Grew up when 70 meant 75 and gas was 25 cents a gallon. That was fun. You poor “young” people! And no, I don’t feel guilty using up all that oil. Your “opportunity” is to turn arugula into ethanol.
And wind power like in the really really olden days.
tgusa said:
It is almost as if people don’t bother to read before posting…
I wasn’t lost, I wasn’t looking for an exit, I don’t stop up traffic in the city. I am talking about driving down a country highway with very, very few onramps/exits, and light traffic at the most.
I don’t drive slow for safety, I drive slow now that the price of gas is $4+ a gallon, I’d prefer to save money, send less money to my buddies in Saudi Arabia, and I’m not in some urgent hurry.
tgusa said:
The right lane is the slow lane, the left lane is the passing lane. When there is an incline, there is a third lane for the large trucks that grind to a halt. There aren’t enough onramps/exits/traffic to warrant a loading lane. But if you like, I can get out of the right lane and into the left lane…
And yes, after reading many of the posts on this thread, I do have a (justified) fear from other drivers who appear to have few qualms with ramming anyone daring to go below the speed
limit“minimum”.And I pass no one, not even the large trucks – after all, I’m doing 60mph in a 70mph speed minimum zone.
The original law in the 70s said that at least 50% of the drivers had to be doing the 55mph limit for the states to receive their federal highway kickbacks…er, “funds.” Can you imagine if the income tax was like that? Only 50% of the people have to comply with the tax law for the states to get their bribery payments…er, “funds.”
I have no problems with posted speed limits. It really is a safety issue. A 1 ton vehicle moving at 65 has a lot of kinetic energy and takes a while to stop. At 55, it’s less, so, for safety, it makes sense. However, if everyone around you is doing 65-70, and you insist on doing 55 or less, then safety proscribes you either exit the freeway or stay as far to the right as possible. Also, stay as aware as possible, knowing that you are the cause of any problems that arise. I have seen (and been passed by) drivers doing 100+ MPH. These people are fools. At 100, you are not driving; you are aiming for a point on the road that you hope no one else enters by the time you get there. 65-75 is a safe speed for any freeway in this country.
So, to me, going too slow is just as bad as going too fast. Both drivers should be held responsible for the accidents they cause.
In the late 70s, I read an editorial in an automobile association magazine. The editor was to give a speech in Los Angeles and as a test, he drove from Phoenix to L.A. and did 55 the entire way. He passed a grand total of 4 vehicles. Everyone else passed him like he was standing still, not to mention the horn honking, shaking fists, and raised fingers.
50% of the people obeying the 55mph speed limit? Puh-leeze! I may have been born at night but I wasn’t born last night!
The fact that there were two (at least) lanes in your direction sort of implied an expressway. You certainly didn’t specify or imply a “country highway”, whatever that means.
True. I was working from memory rather than go back and reread that insipid tripe.
One could infer from the last two quotes that this is a continuing problem with you, hence my comment.
I don’t care how fast or slow you go, but please stay out of Texas so I don’t get caught up in the traffic jam when they’re scraping up what’s left of you from the highway.
Does Virginia ban radar detectors too? It would make sense to go along with the abnormally low speed limits and very high speeding fines.
Perhaps I could have written that differently I understood that you were not lost it was just some driving advise. Two lanes? That isn’t a freeway, in Ca that would be the Coast Hi-way and you would be right that’s a totally different situation. Out here we started the freeway system and since then we have revamped them several times. A real freeway has at least four lanes, ours also have a carpool lane in addition and some have more than six lanes in areas. A 55 limit on hi-ways maybe but freeways, no way. So we can see one more point showing that, the guys an idiot. How do you save money if you are going so slow does your time have that little value?
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sorry – can’t get the link button to work.
finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111
Just say no to 55! My car get much better milage at 75 than it gets at 55 because of its gearing(21 mpg v 28+ mpg).
Forgot to address that last one to you Trollman. One last thing, In addition to the four or more lanes going in each direction there’s a little tiny area off the carpool lane that if you had to you could leave your car there, but its pretty hairy I would not recommend it. The right side has plenty of room to pull off as you can see occasionally demonstrated by illegal’s pulling off and using the bushes to relieve themselves. Nowadays we have street lights at every on ramp no more barreling on. I love em, it has developed a new term in my vocabulary the strategic on ramp. Try to get on the wrong one and you end up in massive gridlock and you’re not even on the freeway yet, so much for slowing people down.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is not a case of saving gas, but rather of revenue enforcement.
Remember: Doing 15mph over the limit in VA (and if you are a VA license holder) gets you not only a speeding fine but MUCH MUCH more.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/18/1818.asp
“”The purpose of the civil remedial fees imposed in this section is to generate revenue,” the new law states. (Virginia Code 46.2-206.1)”
- Up to a $2500 fine.
- Up to 1 year in jail
- Mandatory $1050 tax penalty
- Up to an additional $700/year (depending on merit point standing) in additional fines.
- The conviction remains on your record for ELEVEN years.
They can take 55 and jam it straight up their azz. That is way too slow. I’m at 70-75 in the highway, and I am safer than at 55.
txvet2 said:
Yeah, your faulty assumption is my fault. Sorry ’bout that.
txvet2 said:
This is a continuing problem.
txvet2 said:
Thank you for your concern. However, I group up in Texas – in a large, congested city, learned to drive in Texas, etc. I have 0 driving tickets, caused 0 accidents, but I appreciate that you think I have no idea how to drive. So if you want to compare driving records, let’s.
tgusa said:
I’m in no hurry. Do you make sure every minute of your day is used in an entirely efficient manner? I actually enjoy driving to and from work (apart from all the time I spend having to keep my eyes closely on the rearview mirror).
I have a toddler, so the time spent driving is relaxing. I live in a beautiful area, and I enjoy the scenery. The time I spend driving is one of the few moments of peace I get. All this and I save a few bucks, get to stick it to the Saudis (even if in a small way), and put less wear and tear on my car.
More narcissism. What if they have expectations of you? After all, the law does. Everyone know the term “defensive driving”, but good luck trying to argue in court that the other guy should have been on the look-out for YOUR unsafe driving!!
Idiocy. What if the laws of physics dictate that you CANNOT slow down in time to exit on that ramp (which is DESIGNED with expectations regarding the car speeds on the main road, ditto the signs leading up to it)? So you swerve, hit another car, cross into the oncoming traffic, etc. It was “up to you”, but you effed up and killed/hurt others. What then?
You’re really kinda…stupid, you know? If legally it’s YOUR fault, then how can it “really” be mine? It’s up to ME to stare at my rear view to make sure that car waaaay back there isn’t going 90 mph?
Yer a farkin’ idiot. Give me your name and address so I can have your license lifted. You’re obviously too immature and self-centered to drive.
Moron. Highway design presumes certain safe speed limits.
Speed limits create expectations among other drivers.
Drivers operating lawfully do not assume any obligations with regard to those who don’t.
The score thus far:
Me: Infinity
You: DICK
Incredibly unlikely, Wind resistance is why it takes so much more power, and gas at high speeds. If you get better mileage at 75 than 55 you must be driving at 55 in the wrong gear.
If you do an actual controlled test you will get better mileage at 55 than at 75, unless your car is some sort of one-of-a-kind special that defies the laws of physics.
No, your inability to write coherently is your fault.
I can only speak for my 2004 Honda Accord, but I do get better gas mileage at 65-75 mph. Modern cars are aerodynamically designed to minimize wind resistance. Other significant factors would be each engine’s most efficient RPM range, which I believe is generally around 2500-3500 RPM, and the type of transmission. I drive a standard shift, which in general gets better mileage than those gas hog automatics most people drive. At any rate, I averaged just over 35 MPG over a 4000 mile trip at varying speeds up to 80 MPH, which as I recall is better than Honda’s estimated MPG for that car. I’d have done better except for the construction in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tennessee causing delays and wasted gas due to stop and go traffic. I have noted an MPG falloff at speeds exceeding 80 MPH, but I only get up to that range when I’m out in W. Texas, which isn’t often.
This is very much dated. Yes, there was such a law here, but the hue and cry within the state was such that the legislature repealed the law, Governor Kaine signedit, and I think those cited and fined under the law were to get their money back.
Contrary to a lot of people who drive the highways, I usually use the time to relax. I have even come to enjoy classical music on the radio, rather than news or rock which tends to increase the stress level. I leave for work early enough, in case there are tie-ups, so I usually get to work 10-15 minutes early. Great for finishing the cup of coffee in the car. I don’t need to break speed records to get home. Putting my life and health at risk to get home 5 minutes early, isn’t practical. Racing down the highway at 70, in a 55 zone, is a losing proposition. You can be the “best driver” around, but an idiot can ruin everything. I know; I’ve had 3 accidents in my 40 years, all caused by people losing control of their cars, and with me, stuck and no place to go. My last ticket was 1984. Crossing a solid white line (Virginia). I see that all the time. There is also a law in Virginia that states that you must move over 1 lane, if practical, if a police car has its lights on, on the shoulder. Many Virginians don’t know that law, until they get the ticket. Anyway, following the speed limit does save gas and at today’s prices that is good. However, it’s always good that one should keep up with traffic. Don’t go 50 when people are going 60. You never know when some nut, grooving to to lastest hip-hop, or yakking on the cell phone, slams into you. Lying in a hospital bed, or being buried, isn’t justification for it. I like my car, but being permanently mated with it, isn’t something I want. Just use common sense out there and always be aware of those around you.
Well in the parts of my life that require efficiency I do, like work, I’m no liberal ya know. My times valuable a lot more valuable than a tiny bit of gas mileage savings. Lets see I have to spend an hour extra at lower speeds to save a few dollars on gas, meanwhile in that hour I could have make enough to put a substantial amount of gas in my tank, sounds like a deal. The law has expectations of us, well isn’t that sweet, I used to have expectations of them too. I don’t really want to hear nor do I freaking care what law enforcement thinks I should do, our sheriff here is right now on trial for being a corrupt scumbag. Combine that with the ruining of my neighborhood by illegal’s (the police whine constantly that it’s the politicians fault they cant do their jobs, way to pass the buck) and you end up with a citizen that really doesn’t give a rats arse what they say or do I try my best to avoid contact with them period. We all know how these cities are making up for the illegal alien shortfall by ticketing the rest of us, that’s a no brainer, but keep up those expectations they may someday pan out.
If you say so. What I believe is that if you took a precise measurement of the fuel consumption of your Accord at 75 mph and again at 55 mph, with no other variables except speed, the mileage would be greater at 55. How much greater is going to depend on the vehicle. There is absolutely no doubt that fuel would be saved if everyone drove 55 rather than 75. There are plenty of other logical arguments one can make against driving 55, but that it won’t save gas over driving 75 is not one of them, even if there are a couple of magical vehicles out there that really do get better mileage at 75, as opposed to 55. Many of todays cars have instantaneous gas mileage readouts. For those people, on a flat, level road, drive a steady 55 for a while, (cruise would be good). Then drive a steady 75 and compare the two. A dollar to a doughnut says the mileage will be significantly better at 55.
That may be true in a testing laboratory, but in real life driving, things are much messier, traffic patterns/congestion varies -i.e., drivin speed, load may vary, peole getting in and then out of a vehicle, etc., Tose real-time fuel economy read outs if you note, also vary from moment to moment. Crusie control, when it can be used does boost fuel efficency.
If you think traffics bad now, just wait until McCain/Obama get their hundred million new Americans. Congestion from sea to polluted sea.
That’s a fact, most of the illegals around here have a Walmart basket full of anchor babies who are already legal. When the anchor babies start popping out kids at the max possible rate we’ll be approaching China as the most populated nation in a relatively short time. Our only hope is for things to get so bad here people stop coming, and maybe a few even go back home.
txvet2 said:
All of your mistakes are my fault. You sound like a wonderful driver.
Looks like your source regarding speeding tickets was pretty much right on. That’s absolutely insane.
But if it saves just one child’s life, wasn’t it worth it?
WilliamRyan said:
$1K is a crazy high speeding ticket, but if it is reserved for people going 20+mph over the limit, I am fine with that.
Sadly, we have no speed traps where I live. What that means is, my life is in danger doing 60 in a 70, in the slow lane, on a road with light traffic at best.
WilliamRyan said:
The life of my child is very precious to me, which is why I take this matter very seriously.
#168 – Bob
You’re ignoring one really big factor – the gears. I have a 6 speed and my car revs much fewer RPMs at 80 (which is typically where it shifts into 6th on a flat road) then at 55 – which it does typically in 4th gear.
This is probably the case with many cars, particularly higher performance ones. Lower output cars will probably be in top gear at 55 or 75 – in which case I’d concede your point is applicable and correct. But think about it this way using my car as an example – I can do 80 in 6th on a flat road by doing roughly 1800 RPM (meaning I’m barely giving it any gas at all). At 55, the car will shift inot 3rd usually and stabilize in 4th – in 3rd it’s going about 5000 RPMS and in 4th it’s usually around 3300 RPMS. The engine is doing much *less* work at 80. Wind resistance offsets it to some extent (less resistance going slower) but it’s marginal. And it’s validated by the fact that my car shows me my gas mileage.
Admittedly the majority of the commuting public doesn’t drive high performance sports cars or high output sedans but there is definitely a sizable portion out there that do. It’d be really hard to know the net effect (the increase in consumption for all of these cars at 55mph vs the savings of all the others from going down) but on the whole I’d probably guess that 55mph does in fact save gas in the aggregate. Individually though it’s a much different issue.
i’ve just filled my pedantry car geek quota for the day so I’ll stop now
Hmmm…..I did live through the ’70’s gas crisis and even had my driver’s license during that time. Most people ignored the 55 mph speed limit and drove at the best speed for the existing conditions. Even law enforcement passed on ticketing unless they encountered some fool barreling along at 80+ in the rain. The point is that senator Warner can squawk about federalizing a national speed limit all he wants. Most people will…as they did back then….ignore it.
You know what would be really safe? If we just banned cars all together and everybody just walked to work. We could put our laptops and our notebooks and our sack lunches in our Jansports and have a nice leisurely stroll up the garden state parkway in the mornings. That would be perfect…until some jerk-off decides he wants to JOG instead of stroll, and ruins it for EVERYBODY that is.
Great op-ed in the WSJ yesterday about this. Lower speed limit has no benefit when you factor in that (1) most people ignore it and (2) the cost in terms of lost time because of the slower speed.
Most people ignore whatever the speed limit is, Ignoring the 55 mph speed limit would result is slower speeds that ignoring a 70 mph speed limit….and, like it or not, save gas.
The objective is to save gas, not time.
A few lives saved could be thrown in for good measure.
But, relax, it ain’t gonna happen.
Ignoring the speed limit and going faster reminds me of the attempts around the D.C. area, not too long ago, to raise the speed limits…with the hope that since everyone went 65-70, it would be legal then. When they don’t take into account is that, once you raise the speed limit to 65, those people who used to go 65-70, will go 75-80. People will always push the envelope. I have come to the conclusion that, in reality, the majority of drivers are right-wing anyway. The Left is always preaching about “not offending others” and having “feelings” for people. Obviously, they are not on our highways.
That was fun!!! Lets all get together and chat again real soon!
But lets recap:
) Stay out of the left lane
) Do not *pretend* in your head that you are the police officer for the exact piece of road that YOU are driving on at that moment
) Be safe – and safe does not necessarily mean slow (seriously.. those of us who have had to pull bodies out of wrecks are not really excited about doing it all the time)
) Do not pull into the left lane to block someone going faster than you are
) Do not speed up and slow down in order to drive side-by-side to the car next to you so that you can arbitrarily slow down traffic behind you.
) Continuing to slow down in the left lane for no reason does not teach everyone behind you any lesson other than that you are an idiot.
) Do not give the real idiots any reason to prove they are the real idiots on the road
) Police Officers making a traffic stop on THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY are not going to notice that you are 1 mph over the speed limit. STOP SLOWING DOWN AND BLOCKING TRAFFIC OVER HERE!!!!!!
Bob, sorry, my vehicle does better at 65 than 55. No speculation, so supposition. Fact. Of course, my vehicle is 75 feet long, weighs up to 80,000 pounds, and under a full load takes from now till October to get up to speed.
But then again, trucks are designed different than cars. Hey I do good to break 7.0 mpg.
Regarding the topic however, if they drop the speed limit to 55, be prepared for costs to increase in pretty much every retail outlet you walk into.
And thanks for reminding me of that point too
) And truckers are your friend – dont go ticking them off, because there’s more of them than there is of you.
Richmond is corrupt. The only good thing they’ve done recently is 98-0 against Tim Kaine’s gas tax hike.
So would my veggie car be exempt from speed limits since I’m not consuming foreign oil?…
My 2008 Honda Civic (NOT a hybrid) gets 40 mpg at 72 mpg. Not going to slow down to 55. Stupid idea. Averaged 37 mpg on a 2500 mile trip including local driving.