**Moved** Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

You can keep repeating that over and over again and I suppose you will get some people to believe it because they have heard it over and over again, but that doesn't make it a fact, does it?

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

We don't have the luxury of german driving here. In germany its unheard off to have a cup holders Because when they drive they drive. They do not eat, put on makeup, or fiddle with the radio.

We do so therefore we must drive slower to maintain the same safety level as them.

they are also considerate drivers, we are not.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

Sorry Darius, You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

Not necessarily.

Effects Of Raising And Lowering Speed limits
Report No. FHWA-RD-92-084 October 1992

U.S. Department of Transportation Research, Development, and Technology
Federal Highway Administration Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike

Summary of Findings

The pertinent findings of this study, conducted to examine the effects of lowing and raising posted speed limits on nonlimited access rural and urban highways, are listed below:

• Based on the free-flow speed data collected for a 24-h period at the experimental and comparison sites in 22 States, posted speed limits were set, on the average, at the 45th percentile speed or below the average speed of traffic
• Speed limits were posted, on average, between 5 and 16 mi/h (8 and 26 km/h) below the 85th percentile speed.
• Lowering speed limits by 5, 10, 15, or 20 mi/h (8, 16, 24, or 26 km/h) at the study sites had a minor effect on vehicle speeds. Posting lower speed limits does not decrease motorist's speeds.
• Raising speed limits by 5, 10, or 15 mi/h (8, 16, or 25 km/h) at the rural and urban sites had a minor effect on vehicle speeds. In other words, an increase in the posted speed limit did not create a corresponding increase in vehicle speeds.
• The average change in any of the percentile speeds at the experimental sites was less than 1.5 mi/h (2.4 m/h), regardless of whether the speed limit was raised or lowered.
• Where speed limits were lowered, an examination of speed distribution indicated the slowest drivers (1st percentile) increased their speed approximately 1 mi/h (1/6 km/h). There were no changes on the high-speed drivers (99th percentile)
• At sites where speed limits were raised, there was an increase of less than 1.5 mi/h (2.4 km/h) for drivers traveling at and below the 75th percentile speed. When the posted limits were raised by 10 and 15 mi/h (16 and 24 km/h), there was a small decrease in the 99th percentile speed.
• Raising speed limits in the region of the 85th percentile speed has an extremely beneficial effect on drivers complying with the posted speed limits.
• Lowering speed limits in the 33rd percentile speed (the average percentile that speed were posted in this study) provides a noncompliance rate of approximately 67 percent.
• After speed limits were altered at the experimental sites, less than one-half of the drivers complied with the new posed limits.
• Only minor changes in vehicles following as headways less than 2s were found at the experimental sites.
• Accidents at the 58 experimental sites where speed limits were lowered increased by 5.4 percent. The level of confidence of this estimate is 44 percent. The 95 percent confidence limits for this estimate ranges from a reduction in accidents of 11 percent to an increase of 26 percent.
• Accidents at the 41 experimental sites where speed limits were raised decreased by 6.7 percent. The level of confidence of this estimate in 59 percent. The 95 percent confidence limits for this estimate ranges from a reduction in accidents of 21 percent to an increase of 10 percent.
• Lowering speed limits more than 5 mi/h (8 km/h) below the 85th percentile speed of traffic did not reduce accidents.
• The indirect effects of speed limit changes on a sample of contiguous and adjacent roadways was found to be very small and insignificant.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

It's not unheard of to use cupholders, that is absurd as well. The fact is it is much more difficult to get a drivers permit and license. It takes more training and more instruction to get either.

If people were actually trained how to use their multi-thousand pound metal death traps, we would be much safer than having the same idiots forced to drive slowly.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

nice study, but like all studies, they have an agenda that does not tell the entire story.

a true study to examine changes in speed would be extremely difficult since you would need parallel studies that would have to nearly exactly match time, circumstance, traffic, etc. which simply would not happen unless studied over a very long time.

on the study above, the first thing that strikes me is the minimal change in the average speed as a result of the change in posted speed which tells me the actions of the drivers were mostly controlled by familiarity of the route and not by what the sign said.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

The other side also has those repeating their viewpoint until it's "fact". In general I've seen this tact on forums for years.

Check this article out > Putting The Pedal to the Metal - TIME

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

I know I'm a Newbie Here,

But and Old guy, and I remember driving the 55MPH limit also known as the Emergency Highway Engergy Conservation Act!

States like Montana did not want to Put up the signs, and when the Feds said no more federal funding for roads if you don't, they caved and put up the signs.. However the Montana State Patrol never enforced it. So you had out of staters doing 55MPH and Locals doing 85MPH (and if you drove through Montana back then the roads weren't that wide.)

The semi good thing about this "ACT" is that when you went over 55MPH you were not breaking a speed Limit law (Like a Moving Violoation now) but a Conservation Law. (So it didn't affect your Insurance as much. or it shouldn't have)

If you check Wikipedia on "National Maximum Speed Law"

"...This cap was intended to reduce gasoline consumption by 2.2% in response to the 1973 oil crises (Which we now know was a lie). However, net fuel savings were calculated by the United States Department of Transportation at 1%, and independent studies found savings as low as half of one percent.

So of course in 1995, the law was repealed, returning the power of setting speed limits to the states."

I didn't know this until I just checked but if you look in Wikipedia Speed limits in the United States (I can't post URL's yet)

Some counties of texas can go 80MPH

I don't think 55MPH is an answer, because it's only 1%.

To be honest I don't like 55MPH anyway for some reason my Brain like 65MPH because then when it's 60Miles away, I can handle getting there in less than 1 hour. If I'm driving 55MPH and it's 60Miles away I think (OH #$### more than 1hr)

I know that's a Mental thing, but If I don't feel like Im' at least going 1mile a min on the interstate, I feel really slow in my head!

Or is that just me?

So I don't want to Imagine 55MPH I've been there, and it sucked....

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

From NYT in 1997: Repeal of U.S. Speed Limit Is Found to Raise Highway Deaths

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

?

I haven't repeated it. I'm on the side that doesn't want to drive 55, remember?

I've always heard that an increase in fatalities was the reason the 55mph limit was reinstated around here. If I'm mistaken, then all the better.

I personally don't care what the posted speed limit is. Just like most everyone else, I drive at a reasonable speed for the conditions, and the cops leave us alone. I've done 70 right in front of a state trooper for miles, with no consequences.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

welcome Russ hope you enjoy your new and the information here. there is a lot of it.

as far as how much gas is saved by reducing speed to 55 mph. you missing a digit. the savings in fuel from 70 mph to 55 is much greater than 10%

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

You might want to look at all the facts before you look at a quick flawed study.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa346.pdf

Texas did raise some speed limits that it shouldn't have and corrected. Overall unlike the prediction highway fatalities, highway injuries, and highway accidents per passenger mile decreased on average in states that raised the limit. There is no reason that needs to kill. Other factors over ride. The smug support of special interests that repeatedly predicted disaster were wrong.

Anyone that has driven the autobahn should have an understanding that high speed can be safe if people are responsible and follow the rules. And yes I had a cup holder in my rental car, and drank coffee while driving a stick. The autobahn with no speed limit have fewer accidents per passenger mile than those with strictly enforced speed limits in the USA.

I'm not saying speed limits need to be raised, but a national law was a complete failure unless you measure success as creating an atmosphere where people believe traffic laws are all fake so they don't need to follow them and cops are there to make money instead of make safe driving conditions, or if you like that the NTHSA got bloated promoting the 55 mph speed limit and didn't look into real safety issues.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

I won't agree with you that was a flawed study, but will acknowledge some complexities affecting the findings, such as safer cars and stricter enforcement of the seat belt laws.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

Dave on the prius it is around 15%, but you need to average in the miles not going 70.

The figure the government gave was indeed 1%. This is because of both the percentage of miles and of non compliance. This is from the heritage foundation in 1986

Imagine if they started driving hybrids instead of lowering the speed limit.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

They cherry picked only 3 months, and only a small subset of the roads with increased speed limits. How could you expect to get statistical significant results from that. All longer periods of time, and even that summer if all roads in the states were included do not show the increase. If you read the cato report you will also notice that the big drop in accidents with the new speed limit showed regression to the mean over a longer period of time. There was a false peak, then a relative trough. The Wall Street Journal wrote about the fake predictions before the speed limits were raised. The safer cars and safer highways, not the lower speed limits was the source of the big drop during the 55 mph speed limit.

I was just a kid when they raised it, my parents remember it as a giant government intrusion.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

Assertions of too small (or convoluted) a sample can go the other way.

Studies stating traffic deaths have going down after the 55 mph speed limit often overlook effects of stricter enforcement of seatbelt laws, stricter DUI laws, safety features in cars including airbags, ABS, and crumple zones.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

Agreed - German cars and drivers are held to a substantially higher level of accountability than American cars/drivers.

There are diminishing returns in passive auto safety. It's time to hold drivers accountable when driving distracted, reckless or DUI.

Back to the point at hand - it's going to be hard to find a study comparing the mortality of speed without contamination of the factors I previously mentioned.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

Sure absolutely, but we do have the missing data,. Its been collected and does not support those 3 months. My argument is, that if Montana had been able to enforce drunk driving laws on Saturday night instead of speeding laws on Sunday morning (that was their complaint about the national law) then net traffic fatalities might have decreased further. The laws warped law enforcement to a less efficient mode, and projected over 70% non compliance.

The cato report I cited gave the full years changes in the period of the time report you sited. It also examines possible explanations. Using all the data from 1986 to 2009, the most pessimistic studies show an increase of 3% above base line. Much less than those 3 months of data show but still troubling. If you adjust for passenger miles I can't see a statistically significant increase. This is if you account for the shifts from other slower rural roads to higher mile per hour safer roads, the 3% increase is more than made up for by the fewer passenger miles driven on the more dangerous roads. IMHO, if not distracted by this national law, more safety improvements would have been made and fewer fatalities would have occurred. I base this on what happened after the law was rescinded.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

I agree there. I am not saying raising the speed limit made the roads safer, only that the data is very noisy. It certainly did not cause the big spike in fatalities predicted. Those other factors are much more likely to continue to drive down fatalities than a national speed limit. Each state setting the proper speed limit on its roads is much more likely to provide consistant driving speeds.

 

Re: Imagine a 55 mph Speed Limit

No, this has to be read with the posted maximum limits. Infact the norm is that on slower city roads it is always the case that the car in front sets the pace - everyone follows. As a resident of WA state, that has been my observation.