55

[Airbag]

 
Look Out!!

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They're going to do it to you again, guys.

Politicians, led by Sen. John Warner (VA), are talking about reintroducing a national 55 mph speed limit. Remember the last one, and how it was sneaked in by Congress in 1974 as a "temporary" fuel-saving measure? Temporary as in 20 years.

[jjrbus]

Actually I think the 55 is a good thing!!!  I'm on the highway with a 75MPH limit doing 80 and people are blowing by me, talking on cell phones, smoking, doing thier nails, eating lunch, looking at maps, playing with thier laptops. But these people will tell you in all sincerity that they are better drivers than 95% of the people on the highway.  Whats the hurry? Are they delivering hearts for transplants? Maybe vaccines for some exotic disease, that is going to wipe out the human race?
Of course I am 60, I am retired, I am not in a hurry, I dont care if I ever get there. I may get half way there and not remember where it was I was going anyway!!!
Optimal speed on my bus seems to a tad over 55, it seems to like (can a bus really like) about 57/58 mph. Maybe it is not the bus, maybe I am more comfortable at that speed?
Can it go faster? Well a little bit, it is a 6V71 auto, top speed 71 MPH. That is downhill with a tailwind of course.  Jim

[TomC]

In the trucking industry, the rule of thumb is for every mph over 55 through 65 you loose .1 mpg.  For every mph over 65 through 75 you loose .15 mpg.  So the difference between 55 and 75 mph can be as much as 2.5 mpg!  Personally, I think that 55 or 60mph would be a good thing. 

I recently took a trip driving a Chev 2500 with a 454 and 4 spd automatic pulling a 11,000lb fifth wheel to Nashville and back for the men's barbershop chorus I'm in- The Masters of Harmony- for the international competition.  I cruised at 62- 64mph most of the time, and even in the 75mph states, was NOT passed that much.  People are just naturally slowing down. Good Luck, TomC

PS- The Masters of Harmony won the gold medal first place in the competition.  If you want to see our performance go to youtube.com and type in Masters of Harmony 2008.  I'm on the top row on the left, fifth man in.  Thanks!

[Charles Seaton]

Wow.  55 mph would put a serious crimp in my three-day trips to North Carolina from New York. Not so much concerned about travel by coach but in the car.  Having to trim my speed back from the 65 to 70 mph limit to 55 would make a long trip even longer.

No to 55.  There is no shortage of oil, so no need to drop the speed limit.

[Ncbob]

IMHO Senator John Warner is an idiot who needs to retire along with 30 or 40 other 'has been's' in the Senate. I call him an idiot mostly because anyone who would have married Liz Taylor (the Old Trampoline) certainly isn't wired right!

Let's take a look at the economics of lowering the National Speed limit to 55. Certainly those old 55 MPH road side signs weren't put into storage at the end of the Carter years. So new signs will have to be manufactured. Good news if you happens to be in the sign business!

Now try and figure how many millions of gallons of fuel (both Gas and Diesel) will be expended at Taxpayer cost to remove the existing signs and replace them with the new 55 MPH signs? And consider too the number of man hours spent, at Taxpayer expense, it will take to install these same signs. Or will the Federal Guvmint place  that lowly task in the hands of Contractors who will find it necessary to hire immigrant labor?

Oh yes my friends...another wonderful idea by the Democrats in Congress which will prolong the tenure of the 12-20 million illegals already here and who are, at this point considering leaving because there isn't any work in the Construction trades.  Yep...a GREAT idea!

There's been ample opinion expressed on these Boards about US slowing down to conserve fuel. Are we so stupid as to believe that the majority of Americans aren't doing the same thing?

Just my $0.02.

NCbob

[kyle4501]

Tis a slippery slope when the gubbermint regulates our choices.

(The 55 speed limit was very effective in that it created more law-breakers. )

What's next? Outlawing old cars? old buses? old farts?


I'd much rather see more education for drivers & periodic tests for renewal. I say this because I don't see 80 mph as a problem. Not when compared to the real issues of bad driving habbits I have observed.
Things like:
- applyling makeup
- looking up phone #'s
- sending text messages
- reading the paper
- reading a book
- watching a movie
- having sex! Yep, I saw enough to confirm that when he passed me!

But then, that is just my opinion.

[kysteve]

My whole take on this is a little different.  I believe in the 70s we were in a gas shortage, you know where we couldn't get the gas.  I remember the long lines at the gas stations and the gas rationing.  I think we are in a totally different scenario now.  Now we are just dealing with high gas prices.  I personally think that the decision to slow down and save a buck or two should be left up to the individual.  Why do I need the government to tell me how much to spend to get from point a to point b.  If we were in a gas shortage I would be one of the first to slow down or even walk for that matter, but I dont need to be told I am spending too much for fuel to be flooring it.  Its MY decision and only MINE.   I feel the same way about seat belts.  While I agree seatbelts are a good thing, I dont think it should be a law to make me wear one if I am the driver.  Yes the passengers should be because they are not in control of the vehicle they are riding in.  Anybody ever seen a seatbelt on a motorcycle .....lol.....see what I mean........




Just me rambling on...........Kentucky Steve..........

[jjrbus]

Bob, if the National speed limit is 55, why do we need signs? Are we that stupid?  Does senator Warners, uncles, aunts, cousin own a controling interest in a sign company? 
As long as you insist on insulting "we the people" by insinuating we are too stupid to remember the speed limit is 55 by putting up signs. I would think the signs should also be in KPH, we do not want to be sued for discrimination ! They are just as stupid as we are!!!
Helmets and seat belt laws should not be enforced, in nature it is called natural selection I always wear a seat belt when driving the bus, but never a helmet.

[JohnEd]

Speaking of safe drivers:

I am 66 and a diabetic.  I have double vision.  A friend that learned this asked me if I drove when impared with double vision?  My answer....why helk yes I do!  I told him I was a better driver in that condition than he himself and it was just a matter of logic.  To his puzzled expression, I went on.  "See, if you and I drive down the same stretch of road .....going in the same direction.....I am missing twice as many cars as you are".  HUMMMMM!

Sleep well America,

John the vigelent

[boogiethecat]

kysteve, interesting that that "gas crisis" back then most likely wasn't really a shortage of fuel.  What it was all about is the alaska pipeline, they (major oil companies) had everything ordered to build it and people were hired, equipment staged and ready to go.... but they didn't have the land leases from the feds needed to build it.  So they held us all hostage by parking tanker ship after tanker ship in the alaska harbor, FULL OF OIL, and let it all sit, created the "crisis" and when they finally got the land leases, they let the fuel flow.  I have a buddy who worked up there and reported it all to me on a weekly basis.
So much for shortages.

As for 55... get a brain people... slow everything down to 55 again and trucking gets more expensive (time=money) then prices all go up and the mess starts all over again.  NO 55... it's absurd and does NOT address the problem, if any, in the slightest way.
I'm not sure there is a problem.  High gas prices keep people off the road and traffic around here at least, has been much nicer lately.  And we STILL pay one hellofa lot less for our gas than do Europeans and Aussies.... So what's the big deal?

[Airbag]

I don't know about you fellas but I'd rather start my gut wrenching hill climbs at 80mph rather than at the bottom of the power curve at 55mph. And any trucker will tell ya the same.

In the 70's so called shortage of push water I lived in the Bay Area around the refineries. They use collapsible oil tanks for storage, Tank Tall = full Tank Short = empty guess where the tanks were, that's right always full. This shortage is BS as was the last one. They think we are idiots. It is all designed to line the pockets of the oil Tycoons.

The new generation of autos are built to cruise at 70 to 80 being their peak efficient speed and anyone that says different is full of beans. The rear end ratios are geared to cruise at these speeds not 55.

[Lin]

It seems that several have posted that they like driving at 55mph.  That's fine, but why do you want to impose your preference on others?  This is just another tax in the guise of public interest.  Let's see what else we can come up with for the federal government to get involved in.  What about a national age limit for drivers?  "Codgers are Killers" would be a good slogan.  There are more accidents caused by people playing with their radios than cell phones.  Possibly we should make car radios illegal too.  I think that young kids are a terrible distraction to the driver.  Isn't there something we can legislate about the kids?  Pretty women are also a problem.  Can't we make laws that they should have to ugly up a bit?  Or maybe just require them to wear big black trash bags as they do in some countries?  I never considered the wisdom of that before.  We should probably be learning from the Amish.  They don't use much fuel and never get in car accidents.  How about putting tolls on all roads?  That will slow people down, and help those that can pay to have less traffic.  If we can get people to stop driving, just think of all the money that would be saved in road repairs!  I never realized it before, but I think with ideas like these, I should run for Congress.

[Airbag]

For those who like to drive 55 you still can, the law says right lane 55, middle lane 65, left lane 75. Thats the law. Two lane freeways right lane 55 to 65. I was taught this in my school bus training.

[Sam 4106]

Hi Kyle,
You saw a guy, and presumably girl, having sex in a car going 80 mph. Do you concider that to be unsafe sex or unsafe driving? Just wondering!
Sam4106

[Lin]

I guess it would be safer at 55.  Maybe the law could be no sex while driving over 55 mph.  That would slow lots of people down.  Also, if sex were allowed while driving, people would not be in such a hurry to get where they are going and would naturally driver slower.