[emersonbiggins]

Reposted from this thread.
... Apparently, the 55 mph limit had little effect on fuel consumption, because of lax enforcement - note the lack of large gains until 2-3 years after limits were imposed.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Stuart Staniford (The Oil Drum)', 'O')ne thing that struck me as very surprising is the lack of impact of the 55mph speed limit. This was adopted in 1973, and one might have expected it to make an abrupt and significant contribution to the solution. However, fuel economy increases between 1974 and 1977 were only very slightly higher than those of earlier years and it is rather hard to discern a major effect (eg a big spike up in the fuel economy growth rate in 1974 is not evident at all - there is not even a modest response until 1975). Nor is there any sign of a decline in fuel economy when the policy ended in 1995. Overall, I find very little evidence that the 55mph speed limit had much effect at all - presumably compliance was too poor for the theoretical benefits to emerge in practice.

[diemos]

meh.
I value my time more than the cost of the gas saved by driving 55.
When prices get high enough I'll move closer to work before I'll slow down.

[nocar]

Diemos, have you made any calculations of the time saved? Or experiments?

20 miles at 55 miles/hour takes 21.8 minutes; 20 miles at 70 m/h takes 17.1 minutes, at perfectly constant speeds. If you do any slowing down or stopping for red lights, the time saving is greatly reduced, while the fuel saving is increased.

nocar

[joeltrout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nocar', 'D')iemos, have you made any calculations of the time saved?

[mommy22]

I think the value of people's time is one that could be explored further. It takes that extra 4 minutes to go 20 miles. What about public transport? I have a friend who, because her daughter would be on the school bus nearly 30 minutes every morning and afternoon, she chauffered her to school and back, saying that she could use the extra sleep, time to do homework, etc... Then I pointed out to her that that (school bus) is the only public transport available in our area, and she really should use it. She agreed and the girl now goes to school on the bus.
My point is that we are now so conditioned to "just in time" personal transportation, that anything that adds even a few minutes, like public transport, is seen as a great sacrifice. This will be a big transition in all of our lives, if we don't pre-acclimate ourselves, and our families, to what is coming.

[SolarDave]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joeltrout', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nocar', 'D')iemos, have you made any calculations of the time saved?

[grampybone]

It's a personal choice to make wether or not to drive 55.

I drive 55-60. It does save on gas. It does take a little longer than driving 65+ which I used to drive. But I am saving money and that's all I care about. I saw this coming a year ago and moved close to my job and got a 4 cylinder car. Yeah me!

[ColossalContrarian]

I’ve started to notice traffic being slower in general on many highways I travel. There are some who choose to go 55-65 and many of them are big trucks or suburbans. I notice this during off traffic hours when the flow of traffic was closer to 75-80mph even though the posted limit is 65. It does take longer to get across town.

I do giggle every time I see a huge monster SUV/truck barreling down the highway though. Seeing the driver cruse up on someone’s bumper, then slam on the brakes (losing a bunch of momentum) then flooring it when the road in front of them is somewhat clear, then slamming on the breaks again. Some people just don’t get it… or maybe they don’t have a problem blowing their money out their tail pipe. As mentioned before, it a personal decision.

[Roy]

Anyone who's waiting for the gov to "do something" is waiting in vain.
America used to be a country of individuals who got going when the going got tough. In this case, one way to 'get going' is to drive less, drive slower, maintain your car for optimum efficiency, or find alternate methods of transportation.
For every person who slows down, there will be a guy driving a gas hog telling us how important his time is and how he needs a 10mpg road barge. And by God, he will be 100% correct whether I like it or not.

Personal choices are an American right. I choose to drive cheap.
What are we? A bunch of rubes waiting around for a solution imposed from above. I say Bullsiht to that. That is the mentality of a slave or a subject. Not a free man.
If you want to save gas, drive slower. It will save you money. If you make big money, slam that go-pedal to the floor on your SUV and get where you need to go. That's your right as an American, just as it is my right to drive the minimum legal speed if I so choose.

Jeavon says it won't make a damn bit of difference in the big picture whether I drive 100 or I drive 50. But, it will make a difference to my budget.
I don't make a huge salary and inflation is eating up the discretionary income I once had. So I drive my motorcycle or I drive my car slowly. I've got more time than money, so it's a win-win.
Waiting around for the government to do something is folly. If you want change, be the change.

[Gerben]

Note that refuelling also takes time. In Germany there are roads with no speed limits. If you go 100 mph then going faster doesn't save you any time because you have to fill up more frequently.

[BaBaBlackSheep]

A big thumbs up to everything Roy had to say.
Your right to drive fast and/or drive a guzzler if you want to.
Just don't lay on the horn or give me the finger when you blow by me. You might either be just ahead of me when we get to a stop light...or you are pulled into a gas station filling up as I putt by...or you will already be home spending quality (or maybe not) time on your favorite endeavors.

[SolarDave]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ColossalContrarian', 'I')’ve started to notice traffic being slower in general on many highways I travel. There are some who choose to go 55-65 and many of them are big trucks or suburbans. I notice this during off traffic hours when the flow of traffic was closer to 75-80mph even though the posted limit is 65. It does take longer to get across town.
I do giggle every time I see a huge monster SUV/truck barreling down the highway though. Seeing the driver cruse up on someone’s bumper, then slam on the brakes (losing a bunch of momentum) then flooring it when the road in front of them is somewhat clear, then slamming on the breaks again. Some people just don’t get it… or maybe they don’t have a problem blowing their money out their tail pipe. As mentioned before, it a personal decision.

[VMarcHart]

I have mixed feelings about speed limit.
Whereas I enjoy my occasional speed fixes, here in Chicago, there are few places and times you can drive above 55 anyway. But say someone invent a human-powered vehicle that travels at 80 mph, why would be limit that one?

As for saving lifes, what kills is driver negligence, whether behind the wheel or not caring for the vehicle properly. Many deaths occur at slow speeds.
Other fuel savings methods are not tail-gating, not switching lanes, driving with the flow, removing junkers from the road, etc.

[nocar]

VMarcHart, despite the perception of many drivers, the vast body of traffic research show the connection between speed and accidents. The higher the speed, the more likely an accident is to occur, and the more serious the consequences.

Obviously it is not the speed itself that kills, but speed in combination with something else. All experince show that if drivers are free to chose their own speed, more people die than if there are speed limits that some drivers find ridiculously low.

nocar

[VMarcHart]

Hi, nocar.
A driver choosing a higher speed when it shoudn't, is driver's negligence.

For instance, many stretches of road are already set at 55 mph. When it rains, many drivers continue to drive at 55, and then cause accidents and fatalities. Again, driving at 55, but negligently.
Please don't take me wrong. If limiting all vehicles to 55 is part of the solution, I vote for it any day.

[mommy22]

While we were driving our daughter to camp today, we noticed that all trucks were driving ion the 55 lane.
It dawned on me that perhaps if someone gave a patriotic name to that lane, such as "The Patriot Lane" or "Freedom Lane" that people would favorably comply with the new (old) speed limit. Or just call the slow lane one of these names.
I imagine that patriotic 'mericans would jump at the chance to do something to support the cause, just like they changed the name of french fries a few years ago!

[Ferretlover]

National speed limit pushed as gas saver
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An influential Republican senator suggested Thursday that Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit to save gasoline and possibly ease fuel prices. …
Warner cited studies that showed the 55 mph speed limit saved 167,000 barrels of oil a day, or 2 percent of the country's highway fuel consumption, while avoiding up to 4,000 traffic deaths a year. …
Energy Department spokeswoman Angela Hill said the department will review Warner's letter but added, "If Congress is serious about addressing gasoline prices, they must take action on expanding domestic oil and natural gas production." …
Link

[phaster]

wow have not been back in this section of the board in a long time, anyway just thought I'd point out that I don't think many americans at least in my neck of the woods (which happens to be car crazed souther california), that the car life style is not an entitlement and its surprising how lazy and unimaginative many drivers are here in my neck of the woods.

For example, back in the '80's when I first went to switzerland, I remember being surprised at drivers over there actually shutting off their car engines at a stop light, but after thinking about it for a while that did make economic sense (consdering the price of petrol back then in switzeralnd was just about the price I'm paying now here in the states).

In general I think we in america have not even begun to scratch the surface at how to use gas more efficiently. For example at many drive in places, there are slight elevation drops going from the road toward the bank teller window, the local jack in the box, etc. and basically I'm just like many other people who live in SoCal, I'm somewhat car addicted and when there is a drive up window I'll use it. But the difference is when there is a drive up window, and I have to wait in line and there is a downward sloping ramp, I turn off my engine and coast in as far as possible.

I guess I do have an advantage in looking at using gas in a car as efficently as possible, cause I've been luck enough to see many other parts of the world (like switzerland for example), where I was exposed long ago to gas saving measures while driving. And it kinda helps that when I was at university I flew gliders on weekends for fun and to get away from school work. Basically when ya fly a glider its all a matter of managing or trading off potential and kinetic energy, the better ya are at managing energy the longer ya get to stay up.

I drive all my cars in a similar fashion, for example I have a few so called gas guzzlers, like a land cruiser and a BMW 540. But in both cases with wise energy management practices, I've been able to year after year been able to exceed the EPA gas mileage estimates for both those vehicles. It may not sound like much averaging just over 15 MPG in my land cruiser and 20 MPG in my BMW, but it does take restraint and self discipline not to always use the full potential power of the engine and accelerate full throttle from every stop light, and use full throttle then brake suddenly at every stop light or stop sign.

FYI I don't drive these cars every day, or in the case of my land cruiser use it to just go to the mall or pick up a cup of coffee at star buck, actually my land cruiser has managed to see lots of back dirt roads and off road action. For example I've used my old cruiser to traverse thousands of miles of dirt roads in baja, and even managed to cross several states like utah and arizona using dirt and back roads 90% of the way and still manage to beat EPA gas mileage estimates.

[SILENTTODD]

Do your own experiments. But don't lie to yourself! I own a 1987 Nissan pickup. I have NEVER got the same mileage running at 70mph than I did at 55 mph (I have done this experiment over a 240 mile trips). 19 mpg vs. 27 1/2 mpg, need I say more?

I find it hard to believe any claim that you use the same amount energy pushing aside a greater amount of air for a given time. As the Robot on "Lost in Space" use say, "It does not compute!”