with gas at $3+ a gallon...how much would lowering the national speed limit to 55mpg help with the c

I agree with Tony. We know it would save us gas, but the enforcement isn't even there or most of the speed limits now. Can't imagine the police all of the sudden making everyone drive 55 on the highway instead of 70-75. There just wouldn't be enough of a presence or fear to really enforce it.

 

I agree. I went through that before, and it was a failure in my opinion, as there are lots of interstates where 55 mph is nothing but an annoyance, and a revenue generator for the police. But, MAKE them start inforcing the speed limits we already have! :angry: I'm sick and tired of people driving 70-80 mph in a 55 zone, or 80+ in a 65 zone. :angry:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bagwell @ Apr 24 2006, 08:43 AM) [snapback]244199[/snapback]</div>

I am not sure what your graph represents - it looks nice though. Is it all vehicles on US roads? Hybrids? Diesel powered cars? Large trucks? SUV's? If you want to decease gas useage by limiting speed I would posit that the speed limit should vary by age of car, type of engine, weight of car, aerodynamics of said vehicle - one speed for ALL vehicles would be wrong if your goal is to save gas.

Second - get rid of all TOLLS - what a waste of gas -- stopping, waiting, starting up again.

Third - let the marketplace work WITHOUT interference (let MTBE back in, build refinaries, start drilling offshore, start drilling ANWAR; imagine if we tried to build the Alaskan pipeline today... right, we couldn't... thankfully we got that bad boy up and running b4 the environmental nuts took over) get politcs out of it.

And the next time we go to war for oil - for gosh sake - take the oil and don't let them sell it at market prices. Imagine the price of gas if we were shipping an extra 2million barrels of sweet Iraqi crude home for free? Oops - it would not do anything to the price of gas because we couldn't refine it :-(

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(keydiver @ Apr 24 2006, 10:40 AM) [snapback]244234[/snapback]</div>

:lol:

Sorry, couldn't help it...




I doubt it would even matter. You'd probably negate the savings by having more cops driving around, clogging up courts even further, and so on and so fourth... I don't think the answer lies in stuff like this, but rather auto manufacturers building more fuel efficient vehicles... Maybe even applying the "gas guzzler" tax to more vehicles...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bagwell @ Apr 24 2006, 11:27 AM) [snapback]244252[/snapback]</div>

I am not a physicist - but i have seen my prius get excellent milage at different speeds - I have done excellently at 73mph as I have at 45 mph - 55 does not seem to be the most superior speed.

Also, are you going to change the speed limit based on wind conditions, road conditions, the type of gasoline being produced (winter vs. summer, ethanol vs high test)?

And I don't think it is all drag coefficient. My LS430 has a drag coefficient very close to my Prius's and it does not get close to the same milage :-(

And with drag coefficient, is that measured with the license plate on the car - because if not, maybe if you change the plate construction or placement - x tens of millions of cars - you could save a lot of gas that way too.

If you are going to legislate speed - why not drag coefficient if it the end all and be all?

Just playing here....

I think that you are already legislating speed limits today - as the price of gas goes up, people are much more likely to drive in ways that provide them with the best milage - leave it to the marketplace and peoples pocketbooks - not to a bunch of people in a wood-lined rooms or in robes to decide for us. There is nothing more powerful than the almightly $

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Apr 24 2006, 11:50 AM) [snapback]244262[/snapback]</div>

Arguably there is... A well known female body part that starts with a "V"...

h34r:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ Apr 24 2006, 11:56 AM) [snapback]244266[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(keydiver @ Apr 24 2006, 10:40 AM) [snapback]244234[/snapback]</div>

:blink: :huh: :mellow: :lol: <_<

Just stick to the right lane and drive as the Blue hairs do....

Thats funny. :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Apr 24 2006, 11:59 AM) [snapback]244268[/snapback]</div>

Love the Brit's, but... That taxation thing again - no thanks....and we have enough big brother here - why cameras - why not hook up your car to the net hand have it call Scotland Yard when you speed - do away with the cameras and the people in that system.

And enough with the taxation as an attempt to legislate agendas that more appropriately belong to the individual citizen to decide. The marketplace works - keep the government out as much as possible and keep it as open and as competative as possible. Imagine that the barriers to enter the "auto" industry have never been lower - the first company with a true hybrid or alternative fuel solution can be a winner - it does not have to be GM or MB or BMW or even Toyota.

 

IMO, none. But if you raised the Federal gas tax by $3.00/gallon it might do some good as long as the extra revenue was targeted for mass/public transportation.

 

IF it were possible to make most drivers reduce their speed it would have a significant and immediate reduction to what we pay at the pump. Not only would we have to buy less gas, but the price of what we do buy would be less due to the reduced demand.

When the 55 MPH limit was imposed in the 70s it was a good idea, primarilly because the effects were immediate. For those of you who don't remember, there was an OPEC oil embargo on and there was gas rationing and long lines at the pumps. It was an emergency.

Unfortunately, I don't believe that it is possible to reduce most drivers' speed because so many people don't want to take responsibility for their actions. They want to keep driving how they want to and blame the oil companies, OPEC, or the government for the price of gas. But it's actually their own faults.

I advocate raising the price of gas. If $1 had been added to the price a few decades ago I bet we'd be paying less for gas than we are now because we'd be using a lot less. There would be many other benefits to using less besides financial ones too of course.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Apr 24 2006, 10:06 AM) [snapback]244245[/snapback]</div>

Florida did it right when they built the Florida Turnpike. You stopped to get a ticket getting on the turnpike and then stopped to return the ticket and pay the toll based on where you got on when you exited. Alas that is no more!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mehrenst @ Apr 24 2006, 09:40 AM) [snapback]244291[/snapback]</div>

UCS Catalyst Apr 06:
"Fuel economy drops about 10% between 55mph and 65mph, and 17% between 55mph and 70mph."

 

Yeah, but transponders have the other wicked invasion-of-privacy
issue, or at least the perception of one. How long are the pix
taken of every car that goes through the tollbooths retained, with
digital storage so cheap?
.
_H*