Congress, and others are reconsidering the 55 mph limit here in the US. What do you think?

I lived through the last time, and while it probably did what it was intended to do, it outlasted it's usefulness.

 

I think I'd fall asleep from boredom driving at 55mph on the highway. It'd take so much longer to get anywhere. There are surface streets here with 55mph speed limits.

 

oh no looks like i'll have tickets piling up!!

 

65 is already good

 

55? That's like 90Km/h! On a freeway?

My god, are they nuts?

I complain about the speed limits on our roads - Freeways being 100Km/h [60Mi/h] and highways maxing out at 110Km/h [65Mi/h]. Most of these roads are the ones that well built and maintained ... yet in true bureaucrat style, the few roads that are marked as 130Km/h [75Mi/h] can't be taken at that speed because of the road condition or the risk of wildlife!

Bl**dy Bureaucrats!

 

the first 55MPH speed limit did nothing regarding fuel efficiency, that only came as a result of new technology being plowed into automobiles. The only thing the 55MPH speed limit did was to turn our highways into another layer of tax collection.

 

The sweet MPG spot in most of the cars we've had is around 60-65 mph anyway too.

 

Great, I usually drive 5mph higher than the posted speed limit (freeways). So 60 should boost my mpg

 

+1

 

It will make no difference here on LI all of the major parkways, highways and expressways are 55 now. Not that anyone follows it.

 

And this is related to the W204 because...???

 

Ahh...once again Congress hard at work to accomplish nothing.

 

If its really 55 I will trade my benz in to take Toyota Corrolla...

 

There's also been talk, in the trade press, that with the current gas prices, the changes in cars we drive will include more small cars that are "fully loaded". Cool. But wait! Aren't we (on this forum) already driving a small car that's fully loaded? (Okay, the Europeans get more than we do, but ...)

Maybe this current "crisis" will be what it takes to shake us out of that notion that small = entry level, midsize = family, and fullsize = life at the top of the heap. Me? I like small, any car over 188" or so long won't fit in my garage, by design!

Gee, the W204 fits just fine.

 

this 55MPH thing is the least of our problems. There is serious talk at both the federal level, and in many states, of raising the gasoline tax because consumption is down - so revenue from the tax is less.

What happens when plug in hybrids come along, and I can drive 40 miles per day with zero gasoline, and if that 40 mile range is enough to take me where I need to go before returning home to recharge, I effectively don't need to buy ANY gasoline anymore except for long trips.

 

It is funny that in Germany, where people are often free to drive as quickly as they like, average per person / per car fuel consumption is far less than half of that in the US. Therefore, the problem in the US is obviously the already low speed limit. The logic is so clear.

 

Gives them something to do.

+1 Germans also get into fewer auto accidents, if I remember correctly. It all makes sense, if you try really hard.

 

Very true, but I think that is due (in order) to :

1. Extremely vigorous driver education
2. Very well built roads
3. Driving manners being treated as seriously as road rules

But if we're going to talk about green vs speed, let's also look at Germany . It's interesting to note that Germany also has one of the strongest green programmes (from a national point of view) and was actually considering placing a 130Km/h (75Mi/h) speed limit on the Autobahns - to reduce carbon emissions by 20-30%.

The German auto industry actually came to the fore at that point stating they will provide those savings by engineering their vehicles to reduce emissions instead.

If you look at the combined set of vehicles from Mercedes, BMW, AUDI, Volkswagen (and the others), you will notice that they have all been slowly but surely making small percentile changes in consumption and emission ratings of all of their engines each year.

The theory is a 1-2% change over 1000 vehicles will make a bigger change than a 30% change in 100 vehicles.

Common sense really, now isn't that nice?

 

Point 1, Germany does have a very strong green program, but it is because the market is designed to figure environmental costs into things such as fuel. I believe your point of the 130 km/hr speed limit was slightly overstated, the Green Party did intoduce such a bill, but it was destroyed in parliment, I do not know how seriously it was "considered". A couple things also available in Europe but not in the US, Shell V-Power diesel, an extremely clean burning diesel fuel made from natural gas that actually produces more power, better fuel economy, better and cleaner engine operation vs regular diesel, another example of a market-based solution. Coupled with the BlueEfficiency C-Class that gets nearly 60 mpg, you have a real solution that does not involve limiting choices, in fact, expanding them.

Another interesting static I have heard about the US auto population: If the entire population would properly inflate their tires and bring their cars up to date on service, including switching to synthetic oil (saving an extra couple of % in fuel economy), the nation's fuel consumption would drop by over 30%. I will try to find the source, but I remember hearing this quite a while ago.

 

In my last post, I should've said "fewer auto accidents," not "less auto accidents." Post has been edited. Just a pet peeve. Don't mind me.

I think the 1% change in many vs. 10% change in few argument makes much sense.

 

+1

 

I say jack up the price of fuel to $10.00 per gallon. That way less people will be on the road and I can drive faster and use more gas.

 

Kinda makes sense in a crazy way. The thing is, exactly that just might happen in the near future.

 

Except it isn't happening. The runup in fuel prices to $4+ a gallon, has decreased consumption only 3.3% in the US.

Individual transportation is the key to the american lifestyle, outside the metropolitan areas where use of some mass transit makes sense. Otherwise, the car is it. There are alot more things US consumers will give up, before they give up their cars.

 

I agree whole-heartedly. We here in America just do not have the infrastructure available to let people even consider giving up their cars. Sad.

Whatever the discussion, I just know that decreasing the max speed limit is not the answer--to any question.