Poll: What should interstate speed limits be?

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
I hate 70mph speed limits. They're crap. Traffic could easily move much faster. I do 100-110 quite often, and the more I drive, the more reasonable 100 mph sounds

What do you think?

local Interstate near me are 55mph,and the morons still keep crashing.

The not so local Interstate speed is 65 in NY state.
A lot better than the 55 it was for too many years.

 

[Sheepathon]

slightly biased here...recently got a ticket for 61 in a 50...POS motorcycle cop

130+

 

[EmoHawk]

How can you judge? Each road needs to be assesed individually like the autobahns in Germany, you can go as fast as you like but all the autobahns have strick construction rules about incline caber etc. It is impossible to blanket all interstaes with 1 speed limit and it result in a fair/safe speed.

 

[PlasticJesus]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Originally posted by: Specop 007
65, no faster. The faster you drive, the more gas you consume. In the interest of the environment, 65.

If you really car about the environment, then you should drive no faster then 55 because that was the limit back when they had the oil crisis, better gas mileage.

If your interest is gas mileage, drive with your tachometer rather than your speedometer on the highway.

Ideally you would keep your engine at about 2700 rpm's. In my Nissan pickup, that put's me at about 61 miles per hour. My pickup is proof positive that a smaller vehicle doesn't necessarily mean better mileage. The engine in it is just too small.

In any case I vote for 85 mph and if I'm driving slowly, simply go around me.

 

[DainBramaged]

85 mph. Too many people couldn't handle more safely.

 

[audi]

Originally posted by: Bigsm00th

Originally posted by: notfred

You're the one that's an idiot. You've never even driven 80-90 and you're telling is it's unsafe? I've put THOUSANDS of miles on my cars at over 80 mph and nver had a high speed accident. Just because you're not in a hurry doesn't mean that 80mph is more dangerous than 70. 90 moh is not "incredibly fast". You don't even notice you're going that fast if traffic is keeping up with you (or there is no traffic).

you will find any reason to disagree with me :roll:

read my edit nimwit. i said i have, and ive definitely seen plenty of people do it. there is no way you can argue that 90 is as safe as 70. your reaction speed does not increase with your speed, so the faster you go, the more chance you have of having an accident. that is simple logic. if the flow is 75-80, fine, go 75-80, but ive never been in traffic where the norm was 90. i havent lived everywhere, but i have a hard time imagining there is even a small minority of places where normal driving is 90+. i know there is a place in atlanta like that, so im not completely naive, but im also not gullible. ill concede that people can drive faster than that if they want to, but i still dont ever see a need for it in regular circumstances. all you are doing is increasing your chances to have a fatal accident. it makes no sense.

by your logic, why do you ever go more than 20 mph? 30 isn't as safe as 20 you know!!!!

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Specop 007
65, no faster. The faster you drive, the more gas you consume. In the interest of the environment, 65.

Tell you what...I'll drive a more efficient car but still drive fast.

Hell, I never drive 65 on the freeway unless its raining. I'm usually driving 75-80mph.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: Bigsm00th

Originally posted by: notfred

You're the one that's an idiot. You've never even driven 80-90 and you're telling is it's unsafe? I've put THOUSANDS of miles on my cars at over 80 mph and nver had a high speed accident. Just because you're not in a hurry doesn't mean that 80mph is more dangerous than 70. 90 moh is not "incredibly fast". You don't even notice you're going that fast if traffic is keeping up with you (or there is no traffic).

you will find any reason to disagree with me :roll:

read my edit nimwit. i said i have, and ive definitely seen plenty of people do it. there is no way you can argue that 90 is as safe as 70. your reaction speed does not increase with your speed, so the faster you go, the more chance you have of having an accident. that is simple logic. if the flow is 75-80, fine, go 75-80, but ive never been in traffic where the norm was 90. i havent lived everywhere, but i have a hard time imagining there is even a small minority of places where normal driving is 90+. i know there is a place in atlanta like that, so im not completely naive, but im also not gullible. ill concede that people can drive faster than that if they want to, but i still dont ever see a need for it in regular circumstances. all you are doing is increasing your chances to have a fatal accident. it makes no sense.

You haven't driven on I75 or I4 in FL, have you..I've seen a Honda mini-SUV deal going ~100mph -- 80-90mph is typical.

I voted 85 -- seems to be the typical speed anyway. For long straight highways, 100+ would be fine if we didn't have the typical cell-phone/newspaper crowd hauling along in a 4500lb SUV and not paying attention to the world around them.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: seanws
add a line to your poll for "as safely as road/weather/traffic conditions permit, and i'll vote for that

My driving manual said that speed limits were under ideal weather and driving conditions, so my understanding is that "Unless conditions dictate slower speeds" is implied when a speed limit is given.

 

[Shawn]

vehicle's top speed

 

[EGGO]

Unlimited providing the roads are built better and the cars can survive a crash.

Example, the autobahn's roads are built touch, and so are the cars, a car even flipped over and skidded for who knows how far and the guy just walks out. If there's any of that easily crushable asian-cars driving, they'd die easily. I'd also enforce stricter, "Drive right pass left" and tailgating laws.

 

[Eli]

LOL, you'd hate the 55 and 65mph speed zones here in Oregon then.

I say do away with speed limits all together. lol

 

[yhelothar]

The right lane should be 65mph.
Then the one left to that should be 80mph
and the left lanes should be 100
Then the carpool lane should have no limit

 

[Rockhound]

Originally posted by: Specop 007
65, no faster. The faster you drive, the more gas you consume. In the interest of the environment, 65.

Tell that to the environmentalist wackos in Europe like the Germans and their Kyoto protocol crap. Ever hear of the Autobahn?

 

[DanDrop]

I agree 100%

Originally posted by: 95SS
80-90, with the passing lane strictly enforced. Cruising in the passing lane would be a greater violation than speeding.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: DanDrop
I agree 100%

Originally posted by: 95SS
80-90, with the passing lane strictly enforced. Cruising in the passing lane would be a greater violation than speeding.

Seconded.

 

[DanDrop]

I experienced the same thing when i went to Germany. Not only is it more couteous to stay in the right lane, but it is against the law to 'camp out' in the passing lane. Also, you can not pass on the right lane. These rules are strictly enforced and you wont see idiots going slow on the left passing lane. You may only use the leftmost lane to pass. You will be severely fined if you camped out on the left lane or passed on the right lane.

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

I was kind of surprised when I went to Germany and drove on the autobahns there. I expected it to be totally different where people cruised so fast, but it was nothing like that. It flowed about the same as it did here. Most people still went around 80-85 like they do on the highways in PA, but they were more courteous and stayed to the right.

 

[lizardboy]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: DanDrop
I agree 100%

Originally posted by: 95SS
80-90, with the passing lane strictly enforced. Cruising in the passing lane would be a greater violation than speeding.

Seconded.

Thirded
http://driverightpassleft.com/

 

[vi edit]

75MPH is a pretty reasonable clip. People almost always do 5-10 over any way, and without much repercussion so the effective speed limit would be 80-85. Many SUV's and Minivans are pretty floaty at those speeds and are really being pushed up to and beyond safe braking speeds and the speed ratings of their tires.

75 really seem like a good speed to me. Any more than that and things really happen way too fast. In the states with high deer populations this is especially true.

There's just way too many poor drivers out there that don't have an inkling of sense when it comes to driving and how to handle their vehicles and control themselves in emergency situations. Raising the speed limits just compounds those issues.

At the current state all you'll see is reduced state revenue from tickets, more violent accidents, and no real gains in driving times because the people that want to speed will do it anyway regardless of speed limits.

 

[Chadder007]

Depends on the car and driver really. Considering the varying amounts of drivers and cars, 65 seems to be about right for the average.

 

[BurnItDwn]

mach .99

We don't need any sonic booms on the expressway, however, anything less then the speed of sound should be fine.

 

[Kalvin00]

I say 65, just because i'm a new driver and I'm sure being forced to go 75 or 80 in traffic would make me very uncomfortable.

 

[Evadman]

The way licences are given out now to anyone with a pulse? 65. If tougher laws were enacted to deny idiots driver's licences, then 120. Anything over 120 should require special licence and special equipment, Like a CDL. 160 in a Porche with a good driver is safer than 50 in an Escort with an idiot driver.

 

[cbuchach]

I am very in favor of much faster speed limits. For example, the Autobahn has far fewer fatalities/mortalities than the US interstate system. DO you know why? Because, when traffic is going 100+ drivers actually have to pay attention to driving. With the slow/pathetic speed limits in the US, people/myself fall asleep at the wheel. If you are travelling 120 mph, let me tell you, your hands are glued to the wheel and you are very aware of the traffic around you.
I live in the midwest and have travelled mostly through MI, WI, and IA which have 65 mph speed limits which were WAY TOO SLOW. I am now thankful that I live in MI that has a 70mph speed limit. We do need to stricly enforce the passing lane rule (which they do on the autobahn) and increase speed limits by 15+mph. It truly is one of the things I am passionate about and intend to change.

 

[aeroguy]

Originally posted by: Specop 007

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Originally posted by: Specop 007
65, no faster. The faster you drive, the more gas you consume. In the interest of the environment, 65.

If you really car about the environment, then you should drive no faster then 55 because that was the limit back when they had the oil crisis, better gas mileage.

Except our cars get better gas milage now, so I feel 65 is appropriate.

Depending on the shape of your car, its drag coefficient, and the amount of extras running (air, headlights, etc.) the optimum speed is 40 to 60 mph.