“Sheesh, is there no end to people wanting to legislate behavior…”
That is all laws do. There is a law against breaking and entering. There is a law against murder. Aren’t those behaviors worth legislating against? You may disagree with a law that slows you down, but don’t say that behavior should go unlegislated.
Yes 55 Minimum.
The lower speed limit leads to more congestion. The cars cannot get away from the Huge 18 wheelers and we donate more money to a corrupt system in traffic fines.
It is time for unlimited top speed along open stretches of the interstate and a 65 in city on the interstate. The only other way it will work is if the speed for the trucks is alowed down to 35mph. Less momentum less damage.
Another idea. You can go faster if you pass a more strict advanced level driving exam and your car gets certified every year. We cannot all slow down because ooh mommy I am driving a dinky. You should have better driving skills. I used to own an MR2 for a very long time and was always comfortable with it.
By all means if you are a white knuckled cell phone yapping driver you should be slowed down.
perfect!
I agree, some laws are necessary; this particular one isn’t.
I think that it’s time to slow down, but there is no need to reduce existing speed limits. Just enforce them. I understand that Virginia just undertook a major enforcement effort; Maryland does so on holidays. I see people going what seems like 20 MPH over the speed limit frequently during rush hour, weaving in and out of traffic. There are even more people (most, I think) that drive 10 MPH over the speed limit whether it is 55 or 65. We could have a significant impact on fuel prices if we would all just go the posted speed limit. I used to go about 10 MPH over the limit until a few years ago. Now that I’ve slowed down, I find that I have much better fuel economy (~10%) and I am much less likely to get into sticky situations that require quick - and dangerous - reactions. Yes, my 30 mile commute does take as much as 5 minutes longer, but that is a small price to pay.
“The lower speed limit leads to more congestion.”
I disagree. The congestion is always at a bottleneck. If you move faster, you just get to the blockage sooner.
“It is time for unlimited top speed along open stretches of the interstate amd a 65 in city on the interstate.”
So, you want Honda Accords to get 20 MPG or less on the open highway? How does that make sense? Doesn’t gas cost enough already?
Virginia decided to contribute to the prison economy by introducing mandatory jail sentences for over speeding. Do you wonder why we have the largest prison population in the world. How many lives will be introduced to life of crime and how much tax payer money will go to the private prison system. The victims of these new laws will be the most disadvantaged people in the society. Instead of paying attention to the sectors of the society where need to pay attention, it pains me to see how many people want to stuff the prisons full because people are speeding. How pathetic. How about spending our money on finding jobs for people who are getting out of prison, we are talking about how can we shove more people in there.
“So, you want Honda Accords to get 20 MPG or less on the open highway? How does that make sense? Doesn’t gas cost enough already?”
Of course gasoline doesn’t cost enough, that’s why we are all willing to drive at 80 mph without regard to cost (that includes me). If gasoline wasn’t dirt cheap I might actually think twice about how much my speed is affecting my cost per mile, as it is the cost difference is negligible (I can still drive about 30 miles for the cost of my morning coffee).
I agree, the only people who will actually go to jail are those who are too stupid or too poor to defend themselves adequately (just like the current drug laws).
So, you want Honda Accords to get 20 MPG or less on the open highway? How does that make sense? Doesn’t gas cost enough already?
You can always drive in the right lane at 55 you dont have to go hell for the leather. It is all about choice. You can have MPG and go slow in the right lane or you can spend your money and go a little faster.
Price of gas is more complicated than just driving fast. Remember it used to be 33 dollars per gallon before liberation of iraq. And they were still charging $2.5 per gallon.
You love your MPG slow down,
other than disagreeing with you that Mom Government should be stepping in and becoming a highway nanny, a number of your reasons for why this should be done are incorrect.
slower speeds do not necarrily mean better fuel economy. my lincoln gets 2-3 mpg better at 75 than 55 and with gas 3-4 bucks a gallon my objective is to spend as little as possible.
causes less road damage? point me to something that can explain how 55 creates less damage than 75.
cars last longer? ditto; explsin how 200k miles of 55 driving causes less wear than 200k of 75 driving.
fewer fatalities with a slower speed limit? not in OK. many groups who think gov. should be the babysitter were screaming to the heavens that deaths would increase when the 55 limit was abolished.
guess what? they did not increase.
the same thing occurred when speed limits were raised in the turnpikes and when the state inspection program was eliminated. much whining about fatalities increasing but it never happened.
what you would see under your scenario would be a highway full of fits, yari, and foci (plural here 
) all going 75 mph.
imagine what the fatality rate is going to do when there’s a 14 foci pile-up.
You make some interesting any funny points. It’s too bad that the National Trafic Highway Safety Committee disagrees with most of them.
Not that I want to relive the days of competing for air and space at 55mph with my SAAB two stroke and the truckers on the Jersey State Parkway, but safety has never been an argueable point. Nor has car longevity.
I guess we can lower our property taxes with the increase in revenue from speed traps contributed by testosterone driven Lincolns. I’ll take that trade…save on oil and pay for education.
What or who is the “National Traffic Highway Safety Committee”?
BTW, NJ does not allow big trucks on parkways.
Oh I see what is it all about. I want your money in my pocket. So I will legislate my way inside your pocket, your life and your freedon.
Thank you for explaining this so eloquently.
And for the footnote, all advances humanity has ever made can be contributed to the people who take risks. Like climbing down from the tree and hunting for food, pioneers who explored the globe and risk takers who fought to tame the skies. Is Testosterone a major part of it yes of course so my good friend Testosterone is not a bad thing. Do risk takers usually have better reflexes yes.
I have been saying that all along, if choose, you can take an advanced driving test and get to go 10-20 MPH over.
Why stop at a 55 mph speed limit? If 55 is safe wouldn’t 25 be even safer? No need to own anything bigger than a 200 mpg moped at that speed. Cars could have single cylinder engines and even though they are essentially large go-karts, the fatality rate would be low at that speed, especially with government mandated 5 point racing style restraints, Nomex suits, and full face helmets.
But wait! Is this trip really necessary? All trips will have to be reviewed by a government agent and if they are satisfied that the trip is necessary, will give you the 6 digit pass-code you will need to start your car today.
Examples of “necessary” trips would include commuting from your apartment/work collective camp to some official need somewhere else and of course everyone will be allowed to attend that celebration sometime during May when we can all delight at hearing military bands perform patriotic songs and review our “liberators” march by in a solemn goosestep as tanks and guided missile launchers go by.
“Virginia decided to contribute to the prison economy by introducing mandatory jail sentences for over speeding.”
What do you think we should do with criminals? If you go 20 MPH or more over the speed limit, you are a criminal. If we let you go, what other offenses should go unpunished? If you like my car a little to much and steal it, should you be set free just because you don’t want to go to jail?
“What do you think we should do with criminals? If you go 20 MPH or more over the speed limit, you are a criminal. If we let you go, what other offenses should go unpunished? If you like my car a little to much and steal it, should you be set free just because you don’t want to go to jail?”
Based on that criterion, I don’t know anyone over the age of 12 who would be out of jail.
Well guys, this is fun but we might as well be arguing about repealing gravity (which is only slightly less likely to actually happen).
Dramatic decrease in deaths - BAH !
Highway deaths have been decreasing steadily since the end of WWii without regard to speed limits ! The population overall has been getting better at driving in spite of occasional idiots !
"Oh I see what is it all about. I want your money in my pocket. So I will legislate my way inside your pocket, your life and your freedon.
Thank you for explaining this so eloquently.
And for the footnote, all advances humanity has ever made can be contributed to the people who take risks. Like climbing down from the tree and hunting for food, pioneers who explored the globe and risk takers who fought to tame the skies. Is Testosterone a major part of it yes of course so my good friend Testosterone is not a bad thing. Do risk takers usually have better reflexes yes.
I have been saying that all along, if choose, you can take an advanced driving test and get to go 10-20 MPH over."
What?