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Speed limits
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Author | Message |
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Sarge Send message Joined: 25 Aug 99 Posts: 12273 Credit: 8,569,109 RAC: 79 |
Well? Capitalize on this good fortune, one word can bring you round ... changes. |
Mike Send message Joined: 17 Feb 01 Posts: 34258 Credit: 79,922,639 RAC: 80 |
Cool we in germany are driving as fast as we can. My car around 250 KPH. With each crime and every kindness we birth our future. |
Sarge Send message Joined: 25 Aug 99 Posts: 12273 Credit: 8,569,109 RAC: 79 |
That's just WRONG! You should go to JAIL! With Paris Hilton!!! (Just kidding.) Capitalize on this good fortune, one word can bring you round ... changes. |
Crunch3r Send message Joined: 15 Apr 99 Posts: 1546 Credit: 3,438,823 RAC: 0 |
No way ;) the fastest car i ever drove on german "autobahn" was a BMW M5. Early in the morning i was "only" able to get 285 km/h out of it... some stupid guy tough driving his crap car on the left side of the autobahn was the right thing to do ... well i had to step hard into breaks and quickly moved from right to left and passed him short befor impact ... Join BOINC United now! |
kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004 |
I know where you're going with this............... "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster |
John Clark Send message Joined: 29 Sep 99 Posts: 16515 Credit: 4,418,829 RAC: 0 |
The national speed limit is actually 70 mph (112 kph), but most cruise at 85 mph (136 kph) without the Fuzz pulling them. They will at 160 kph, and it's likely your license will go! It's good to be back amongst friends and colleagues |
Beethoven Send message Joined: 19 Jun 06 Posts: 15274 Credit: 8,546 RAC: 0 |
I do like the idea of an unlimited speed "Fast Lane" like they have on the Autobahn in Germany. I think that driving has become overregulated. I approve of the "General Rules of the Road" and Right of Ways. I approve of traffic lights and special "Slow" zones, like near schools or road construction sites. But the rest of it is pretty much unneccessary. I've been in this situation a few times: the traffic lights have gone out and there's still no police on the scene to direct traffic. Have I ever seen an accident in these situations? No. People just take turns, without any problems. |
Sarge Send message Joined: 25 Aug 99 Posts: 12273 Credit: 8,569,109 RAC: 79 |
I know where you're going with this............... Don't take offense, msattler. I created this thread because others were not seeing my point about the differences between
Legal and illegal Right and wrong (and, for the religious/spiritual-minded) Good and evil/sin. Capitalize on this good fortune, one word can bring you round ... changes. |
kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004 |
I know where you're going with this............... No offense taken at all, I just figured I knew what you were after. If someone is 'OK' with breaking the law by speeding, why do they take such offense at breaking other laws. Guess it's all a case of who's ox you gore. "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster |
Lester Send message Joined: 6 Jun 07 Posts: 414 Credit: 38,111 RAC: 0 |
So, I was averaging about 125 mph coming back from Las Vagas. A Viper convention. I am sorry for my sin !...... |
Lester Send message Joined: 6 Jun 07 Posts: 414 Credit: 38,111 RAC: 0 |
So, I was averaging about 125 mph coming back from Las Vagas. A Viper convention. I am sorry for my sin !...... And I got 17 mpg. Better than 6.5 mpg around town. Yeah, I know ! But I PAID the $3,000 gas guzzler tax. So, WAHOO ! |
kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004 |
So, I was averaging about 125 mph coming back from Las Vagas. A Viper convention. I am sorry for my sin !...... If the lobbyists from Detroit hadn't been so successful in the 90's, you wouldn't be driving thet humpin' Hummer. "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster |
Lester Send message Joined: 6 Jun 07 Posts: 414 Credit: 38,111 RAC: 0 |
So, I was averaging about 125 mph coming back from Las Vagas. A Viper convention. I am sorry for my sin !...... Hummer ? HUMMER !!! A Viper is the same as a Hummer ? Oh my child |
ML1 Send message Joined: 25 Nov 01 Posts: 20291 Credit: 7,508,002 RAC: 20 |
The national speed limit is actually 70 mph (112 kph), but most cruise at 85 mph (136 kph) without the Fuzz pulling them. Not quite... The "National Speed Limit" is 60 mph, as shown by the circular signs with a black diagonal line on a white background. The speed limit on UK motorways for cars and vans is currently 70 mph. Wagons are limited to 60 mph. What is a real bugger are the continental wagons speed-limiter limited to 100 kph creeping past a UK wagon doing 60 mph... You do the maths for how many miles/minutes are required at that speed difference for two long vehicles to clear each other! (Lack off) courteous lane discipline is another bugbear. Then again, a LOT of drivers suffer severe "tunnel vision" and a complete lack of situational awareness. Ofcourse, their radio/mp3/moby are all far more "important"... It's amazing we don't have more crashes! Then again on my motorway driving, I usually see at least one and often as many as 4 or more crashes or recent remains of crashes during the day... Insist on a retest and "attitude test" every 5 years? And motorbike racing screwballs should be instantly shot on sight. I don't care if they kill themselves but unfortunately they very often kill and cost others very dear. All good fun... Cheers, Martin See new freedom: Mageia Linux Take a look for yourself: Linux Format The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3) |
mikey Send message Joined: 17 Dec 99 Posts: 4215 Credit: 3,474,603 RAC: 0 |
The 55mph speed limit in the US was because of all the deaths that occured, statistly speaking, at higher speeds. Was it MADD, it was some lobby group, that convinced Congress to make the Federal Hiway Admin people make States lower it to 55mph, hiway monies are MILLLIONS of dollars each year. Prior to that it was a State by State thing. Now the States have lobbied on their own behalf and it is higher in alot of places. BUT within a 50 mile radius of a Major City, I think population of 1 million, the speed limit still drops back to 55mph! To answer the next question...Why is the US drinking age 21? Same reason lobbists convinved Congress to withold hiway monies for States that did not raise it 21! |
The Simonator Send message Joined: 18 Nov 04 Posts: 5700 Credit: 3,855,702 RAC: 50 |
So, taking the USA as a whole, is the highest speed limit anywhere 55mph? I think i would actually die of boredom at that speed on the motorway. Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge. |
Labbie Send message Joined: 19 Jun 06 Posts: 4083 Credit: 5,930,102 RAC: 0 |
The 55mph speed limit in the US was because of all the deaths that occured, statistly speaking, at higher speeds. The National Maximum Speed Law (in the United States) is a provision of the 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act that capped all speed limits at 55 mph (90 km/h). This cap was intended to conserve gasoline in response to the 1973 oil crisis. The law was modified in the late 1980s to allow 65 mph (100 km/h) limits. In 1995 it was repealed, returning the power of setting speed limits to the states. {complete article) Calm Chaos Forum...Join Calm Chaos Now |
Sarge Send message Joined: 25 Aug 99 Posts: 12273 Credit: 8,569,109 RAC: 79 |
In 1995 it was repealed, returning the power of setting speed limits to the states.Labbie is correct. The point of the thread was to compare to other threads, where laws are being equated with "right and wrong." Capitalize on this good fortune, one word can bring you round ... changes. |
The Simonator Send message Joined: 18 Nov 04 Posts: 5700 Credit: 3,855,702 RAC: 50 |
Thanks labbie. Surely a better idea to conserve fuel would be to ban cars with huge inefficient engines, and instead sell cars with smaller, far more efficient engines. I've always been surprised how American engines manage to get such a small amount of horsepower out of huge engines. Take, for instance, the HEMI V8, if you gave 5.7 litres to a European engineer theyd get far more out of it than 330 bhp. Also, on a side note, my car has a 1.1 litre engine, would this sell at all in the US? Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge. |
KWSN - MajorKong Send message Joined: 5 Jan 00 Posts: 2892 Credit: 1,499,890 RAC: 0 |
The 55mph speed limit in the US was because of all the deaths that occured, statistly speaking, at higher speeds. Was it MADD, it was some lobby group, that convinced Congress to make the Federal Hiway Admin people make States lower it to 55mph, hiway monies are MILLLIONS of dollars each year. Prior to that it was a State by State thing. Now the States have lobbied on their own behalf and it is higher in alot of places. BUT within a 50 mile radius of a Major City, I think population of 1 million, the speed limit still drops back to 55mph! Uhh... Mikey, I do believe you are mistaken on a few things. The 55 mph 'national' speed limit was put into place in 1974 for purposes of fuel economy. Vehicles are usually more fuel efficient at 55mph than at 70mph or more. This was in response to the 1973 oil crisis. While the 55pmh likely improved highway safety at first, by 1978, the death rate had climbed to the point that all the gains in safety due to the 55mph limit had been erased. However, for the time being, the 55mph limit continued because of the misplaced perceptions of improvement in safety. However, all of that aside, the safety considerations were not mentioned until after the first year of the 55mph limit. The 55mph limit had its genesis as purely a fuel saving measure. Federal funds for highways are in the Billions, not the Millions. In 1987, the federal speed limits were relaxed for rural Interstate highways, with relaxation on non-Interstate rural highways built to Interstate standards following in 1988. In 1995, all federal restrictions on speed limits were repealed with total control of speed limits reverting to the states. If the limit near major cities is 55 in your area, that is because of your state and/or locality. Here in the D/FW area of Texas, the limit is 60mph to 65mph on many interstates. There are NO federal restrictions anymore. However, I will give you credit on identifying the weapon the federal government used to force the states to adopt 55mph back in 1974, and have used several times since then (as you mentioned, the age 21 drinking age, and more recently the 0.08 BAC standard for DUI). The states collect taxes on fuel sold inside their borders, part of which belongs to the states from state-levied taxes, and part of which is Federal tax which is then sent on to Washington. Washington then sends this money back to the states in roughly the same proportion as federal highway funds to defray the costs of construction and maintenance of federal highways in that state. States that refused to 'play ball' and adopt the federally mandated laws risked that the federal government would withhold part or even all of these funds. In addition to the 55mph limit's initial imposition, the Federal Govt. also used highway funds to blackmail the states into enforcement of that limit as well. In addition to withholding all the funds if the state did not enact the 55mph limit, the feds also decided that they would withhold a portion of those funds matching the portion of that states drivers that disregarded that limit. That is, if 10% of the drivers in, say, Texas didn't obey the 55mph limit, then Texas would not recieve 10% of their federal highway funds due. |
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