What IF.....55MPH was the speed limit

^^^...how about that road sign on I-10 as you enter east TX, IIRC it says: El Paso 800 miles

 

I just checked google maps and border to border via I-10 is 880 miles. 880/55mph=16hrs with no stops!

 

That is why 55 mph in texas is not a good idea and is not enforceable.

 

Imagine if the US was one region without state borders. Then we would have AG demanding a 300 mph limit, based on a 3000 mile border to border crossing.

 

Been there, drove that!
The 4Runner loved 82 mph, it just seemed to settle in there. Needless to say, I drove the # 2 and #1 lanes.
Now with the Prius, I have a big hill to climb to get home, it's lane 3 or 4 for me, 68mph. It takes 5 minutes more to get to and from work.
I prefer 48mpg vs 18mpg @ $4.22 a gal!
I will be doing the speed limit!

On a side note, the traffic is considerably less here in L.A., now that regular is again above $4 bucks a gal!

 

If 911 and 22 years, 50,000 casualties and $14T in oil war debt along with global warming have not convinced them, nothing will. It is one of those fatal mistakes countries make that when in decline and fall.

 

Amen! We are following in the footsteps of Romans, and following the script very closely.

 

shifting cars seemed to save you a lot of gas, then going the speed limit saved more

I Let my gf borrow my prius for her last drive to el paso to visit family. It would have taken over 10 hours at 55mph. It seems safer to drive fewer hours on a long road trip.

 

Safer and faster to fly.

As for the actual mph average for the trip. 55 mph on highway would not have affected the trips actual average mph by much. One of the interesting things (and why Toyota displays it) of the "Average Trip MPH" display on the Prius.

 

There are over 450 miles of I10 between where I live and el paso. You best believe doing 80mph instead of 55 on those long stretches saves hours. That is why the speed limit was raised. You can still do 55 in the right lane, traffic will go around you.

I10 is very safe. When she gets there she has a car, and can get away from her dad and sister You also can't easily take a big dog on a plane. No reason in this world to go 80mph in a 55, or to lower the speed limit back down in west texas.

Then you haven't been listening. That isn't really different for you though. hmm. One of the big problems with the idiots in washington that passed those laws, is most never experienced the wide open spaces of this country. They have no idea what speed is safe on I10 or I35. Not that the state DOT does a great job, but I35 is properely 55 through downtown austin, and I10 is properely much faster in the bfe - west texas. It doesn't make much sense that the speed limit is the same. I guess you want to relect nixon's corpse cause people in the 70s did things right. I can't believe you can't read the fatality statistics that I posted, well.... What do they say?

Some roads are just safe with higher speed limits. Some are not. There are a great deal of speeders in Arazona, from that traffic camera data.

 

But it doesn't save hours or fuel because of time spent off the highway, bio breaks and all the other realities of road travel. That's why Toyota puts the "Avg. MPH" display up to remind people that even their "highway trips" end up with average speeds around 45 mph.

Airline travel is safer and safety was one of the justifications.

Bottom line is US should be back to 55 mph, saving fuel, saving lives, saving time, saving environment, saving US economy, supporting our troops.

 

What about a 55 mph or 60 mph max limit for semi's? Just think of all the fuel saved due to the lower speed, let alone the lives saved. Normally not a fan of reducing speed limits but when we reduced our trucks to a max of 60 mph on motorways and 50 mph on roads about 20 years ago, accidents fell and much less fuel is used too.

The only down side is you have trucks that are mechanically limited to 60 mph hogging the slow lane of motorways, which means you have really got to floor it to merge the next lane at 80/85 mph. Still, at least you don't have a truck tailgating you at 80 mph like they used to.

 

Trucks usually have lower speed limit than cars. Stretch I drive is 65 cars/55 trucks.

 

I don't disagree that driving faster out west is very appealing given the vast distances involved. I do think its worth asking why we think we're entitled to drive as much as we want as fast as we want, while ignoring the real costs (financial, public safety, national security, environmental, etc) associated.

 

There are 50 States.
Some are itty-bitty county sized ones with dense populations, and others are the great big square states out in fly-over country. Some are Red. Some are Blue. Some are Graple.
ALL of the 50 states have one thing in common:
State Governments.

Here's a thought.
Why not let the states decide?
After all...wouldn't you think that THEY are more familiar with the driving conditions on THEIR roads?
Why do we need a bunch of control freaks in DC (which really isn't even a state!) to set a "National Speed Limit"?
The only reason that some states knuckle under to the NSL to begin with is that Washington shakes down the populace for tax dollars, and then dolls out those same dollars (after taking their cut) to the individual states "if they follow federal guidelines."
State Speed Limit = National Speed Limit??? You get part of your money back.
Otherwise? We give it to the other states.

Why do we even bother with State Governments if they're not even entrusted with the ability to maintain speed limits on their own roads???

There's a reason that my CinC isn't pushing for a lowered NSL, and it's the same reason that the others eschewed this policy......My President wants to get re-elected!

 

i would drive 54 mph or less

 

Because the resulting trade deficits, global warming, economic decline, oil wars, deficits and debt are paid for by the nation as a whole so the policy has to be national.

 

Two people have chimed in with 'states rights' arguments, so here is a rejoinder:

If they take national money, they can expect national interests to want their say;
State's rights are limited when they interfere with rights of other states.

This is a basic philosophical tenet tea baggers and republicans in general fail to grasp: one person's rights is someone else(s) obligation.

 

To put some numbers to that....San Bernadino County at 20,105 sq miles is bigger than the 4 smallest states combined and could also also accommodate about 20 of the smallest countries along with the 4 smallest states.

 

pay a realistic price for the gasoline consumed. that will slow down a few people. US gas tax has not been raised since 1992. its was past time. add a buck to the mix.

on a 500 mile trip, you got the option. drive 75 and pay an extra $16-18 if gas is $5 or drive 60 and not pay that extra money. ya, as far as workers go, it would not account for their hourly pay, but i kinda find that NO ONE pays me for my time and that time does include driving around to get to work so i find it strange that people justifying those two hours and use their salary as a guideline