Quote:
Originally Posted by trikkonceptz
Speed limit, the term is harsh and absolute. We as a society are to dumb to figure out what a comfortable hwy cruising speed is. The signs should read;
Hwy speed = 55
Speed Limit = 65
That way people realize that 65mph is not the steady target, but the fastest you can travel on this road. If hypermiling has taught me anything it has taught me self discipline and that I am in "control" of my vehicle, the signs around me do not control me.
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Around New England, there is a speed limit of 65 with a minimum speed limit of 45 on many highways. In an ideal world, that would tell drivers that they had to stay somewhere between those two speeds and going slower or faster would result in a ticket. In that world, I would be pretty safe from being mowed over while I was doing 55. Other traffic by doing an actual maximum of 65, as opposed to 80, would lower the demand and therefore the price of gasoline (even if it is only by 10% or whatever). In the real world, everybody just does 75 to 80 and gets away with it.
So I guess the key is brutal enforcement, which may be in the works. The route I take to work is just a long back road with speed limits between 30 and 55. In the past couple of months, speed limit enforcement has been pumped up incredibly. In each direction, I can expect to see at least 3 or 4 cars pulled over and there are plenty more speed traps waiting for the next victim. I know that I've learned to love the speed limit on this road because going that speed keeps me out of trouble. I feel bad for the poor schmucks that don't seem to get it. Oh well, maybe at least the town budgets are being met (somebody has to pay for all the snow removal last winter).
So my vote is to have a range that encourages travel at 55 rather than a limit of 55 on the highways. I even support raising the speed limit on back roads to a range between 30 and 40 instead of a limit of 35. Strict enforcement should abound, be it photo cops, pursuit cops or (dare I say it) mandatory governors on all vehicles. Maybe each car should have an emergency mode which would allow you to break the speed limit in times of... well... emergency. But if you don't file legitimate emergency paperwork afterward, you get a ticket.
Speed definitely isn't the only way to decrease demand, dependence, consumption and price of fuel. Sure, there may be many other, more effective ways, but any hypermiler will know that better economy is achieved by improving it with lots of little changes. That's why we often combine strategies to get the mileage we get. Reducing speed is just one of many things we need to do as a nation in order to get back to and maintain cheap gas. As said before, it's a low hanging fruit, ripe and easy to pick.