Would You Favor A 55 MPH Speed Limit In Return For Lower Gas Prices?

and how exactly would this help......what about the fact that they have Camaros, Crown Vics, Chargers and Tahoes running up and down the road just to chase people to give them a speeding ticket....why dont we start there with taking there gas guzzlers off the road.....it sounds like another excuse to drain more money from people.....55-65mph which is what the speed limit here is in most highways I fail to see how dropping the speed limit from 65 to 55 will help gas prices it will help with more tickets though.......

Ok I am going to play Devil's advocate here...

Assume for a moment even the worst gas guzzlers save 20% by simply going 55 MPH. Both the environment and the amount of fuel consumed are reduced.

Hopefully with a 20% reduction in demand, the demand speculation should ease and the prices can go down.

20% by going 10mpg less in speed.......thats for those that will actually go 10mph less.....given that gas guzzlers like any car have their mileage ratings in highway driving for obvious reasons, and it is much easier to save fuel on the highway with cruise again what is the point.......and this is exactly why I hate posting on here sometimes because people respond to your comments without even reading them.......the gas guzzlers I was referring to and NO they dont do the speed limit are the Cops that ride up and down city/highway roads in gas guzzlers while the government is SUPPOSEDLY trying to find ways for the average citizen to use less fuel...while driving a Tahoe, Camaro, or Charger V8 up and down the road only to chase someone to give them a speeding ticket make sense to you....before you talk about wasting fuel start there first....

and than the next thing is how are you going to get people who dont drive the speed limit anyway to drive now 10mph slower than before...because reducing a sighn doesnt change a drivers habits....this isnt a perfect world...thats why they give tickets in the first place...lol drop the speed limit all problems are solved....than there is more tahoes, camaros, and chargers running up and down the road wasting tons of fuel at low epa ratings for the sheer sake to give out more tickets lol to reduce less fuel...perfect plan

I'm not arguing the enforcement aspect (it has been done successfully in the past) however there are advocates on both sides of the fence.

20% savings is still 20% savings overall. Those that drive 85 in a 75 will simply drive 65 in a 55. Those that drive 85 will end up in jail, or have a massive fine.

bmwdrvr is absolutely correct. 55 mph is a total crock as time is money and much more valuable than gas. We simply have to use smaller more efficient engines and make cars lighter by using more expensive but lighter materials like aluminum and carbon fiber. These materials would last longer by not corroding and their initial higher cost would be offset by longevity and higher fuel efficiency.

Kinda hard to put criminals away in the back seat of a PRIUS!!!

55 MPH for SUV's trucks, and vans only. Sedans and sports cars, go as fast as you like. :)

I like your thinking!

.... or have two least two people in them

@ t_bone: ily! <3

@ t_bone,

ROFL! I love and hate your idea at the same time. It's not so much the SUV's, pick-ups, and vans that are the problem -- it's the person behind the wheel. And I'm not talking about just the soccer moms because you can add the wannabe pimps and gangbangers rollin' in their Tahoes and Escalades for no reason other than to be seen.

Man, I knew I could neg you for your post. That would be absolutely rude. But I wasn't sure if I was going to give you a plus -- until now.

+1

If people need or buy an SUV I can assume they can afford the gas for it. Not like you have to help them pay for anything, unlike our welfare system!!!

there's unfortunately some validity here. For example, I just got back from a short trip in my 07 X3 (6 spd manual with 19's- should get WORSE MPG than the AT models with 17's, sticker est. 24MPG hwy). I drove 78 miles, kept the speed to no more than 72 MPH and averaged 28.3 MPG. I've previously acheived over 31 MPG in this vehicle by keeping my speed between 50-60 MPH on a rural highway for a 120 mile trip.

I'd be (reluctantly) for this effort IFF (that's "If and ONLY If") the state lowered the gasoline taxes substantially. Here in Missouri that's close to 20 cents per gallon (state- federal isn't included there).

Just let me have my track time every now and then to fuel the need for high-speed driving!

just cause you lower the speed limit doesnt mean you will save gas. most people will not go 55 in an open road that you are used to go 70mph on.

Laws are made to be changed.

Laws are made to be broken

NO.

Right. 55 mph might be the ideal number for cars in 1970s, but not in 2008. Going slow doesn't mean better fuel efficiency since different cars have different speed of maximum fuel efficiency.

More miles are logged in city driving and in rush hour traffic jams. Congressmen and politicians are not ordinary people, they do not understand what goes on day to day. Also if they would review all the data before opening their mouth, they would know that the American people have decreased their driving miles and improved their driving habits. These politicians are idiots and simply want people to think that they care. And they do care, about getting reelected but not about the average American. Work on technology, do not go back in time for a dinosaur resolution to this problem.

Agreed, work on technology so that we can go faster, safer, and cleaner.

Hell yeah.

So the entire trucking industry logs more mile in city than abroad? I would be interesting to find out

Would you agree more fuel is needlessly burned at a series of stoplights than a 10 mile stretch of Interstate highway?

Gas prices are not up becuase of driving habbits of the american people. Gas prices are up because demand is higher then supply. 20 years ago china and india werent using oil to grow their economy now they are. As of now american demand for oil is at its lowest and the price is going higher. This is just a ploy to give out more tickets to raise money for states. You want lower oil prices start drilling. They are drilling 60 miles off the coast of florida right now but our congress wont let us do it. so let the chinese and the russians drill for the new oil and we will buy it from them now that is what makes sense. way to go liberal dems and environmentalist. You all complain but you dont want drilling, diesel, coal, or nuclear power give me a break. Hopefully obama gets in then the country can hit rock bottom on socialism our security will be down to a minimum and maybe the people as a majority will make a decision not the 10% of the lobiest. What ever happened to majority rules?

You might want to do a little research before clamoring for drilling, here are a couple of tidbits;

1. According to the Department of Engergy, off-shore oil, if started today, would be 20 years out. Cost per gallon od gas savings $0.02 a gallon.

2. Drilling in ANWR 10 years out, saving cost $0.02 a gallon. Again from the DOE.

3 President Bush has signed off on oil company drilling on public lands at an almost record rate. The price of gas is at a record high.

4.Oil company carry leases of over 68 million acres of public land, why arn't they drilling their. and once again gas is at a record high.

5.China and India, yes are coming online, China is just starting to ramp up and India is more than a few years off. this is something to worry and plan for in the future, but now is a red herring.

6.The United States uses more oil then the sevem other G8 nations combind. We are the most guilty party at the table.

Recongize the oil companies screams for more drilling as what they are; just another crappy land grab to line their pockets.

Lower the speed limit to 55? o_O

Hell, raise it to 75 :-/

I know when I drive I'm going 80 most of the time ;->

No. I got my car, that normally does 16mpg, for the opposite reason. I wanted to go faster, even if it would cost me more at the pump. I am sure I am not the only one here...

Speed limit in my state is 55 most of the places I live, up north more its 65. But people dont follow it anyways.

the issue is not the speed limit, it is enforcement of it. Roll out a hardcore campaign for it and loads of tickets go out, then people slow down. I know when I get to Virginia on a trip I slow down to the speed limit cause Fairfax County cops are d***s

Nope, I say equip fast cars with wind mills so they can generate power the faster they go.

Forget GM and ford hybrids huh? Toyota had a large part in their development, and the escape hybrid \technology is borrowed from Toyota. MT you are truly an idiot.

where I live it is 70 outside any big city. I think it should be raised to 75 and have them drive in the middle and left lane (to pass) and the 55mph'rs drive in the right lane. See then everyone wins.

I would rather give up driving than drive across Texas at 55mph again. That would probably make me fly more to go to other cities, seriously. Don't dare lower my speed limits!

No, I favor this government to get it's act together and take the necessary steps needed to insure this country gets the cheap gas it needs to run. We're all getting scammed big time.

Insurance companies would love that. First the speed limit drops from 65 mph to 55. Then you get a ticket for doing 65 in a 55 zone. Next the insurance co. hits you with higher premiums because you are a risk. People aren't going to slow down, where I live nobody drives the speed limit right now, let alone if the limit goes down.

Who is that in that photo?

Oh, it's President Peanut standing next to his great accomplishment!

lol

Lower it to 25, if it's gonna make gas cheaper. Won't affect me any, I'll still be speeding.

this doesn't solve anything. it'll create more traffic and more pollution and slow drivers as well. politicians can shove it.

Ok, lets talk reality here. Who on this board has done 65 on the highway/freeway, where 65 is the imposed speed limit. The only way to do that is if the speedometer limits you to only 55. Generally speaking, people drive 75-85, in some cases, even faster. Where the limit is 25-35 people generally drive 55-65.
Make more fuel efficient vehicles is more likely the answer. People that are still buying "souped" up vehicles like the C-AMG, M3, IS-F, could really careless about the price per gallon. Saying goes, "can't afford the gas, don't buy it".
In light of that, I say no to dropping the speed limit.

Lower the weight of cars would do wonders. It takes 300hp just to get 0-60 in under 7 second now days, back in the days the 190hp maxima coulds get 0-60 in under 7 seconds. these cars no days have so much more power yet get better mileage than older cars. keep the weight low like the cars from the early 90's and watch the fuel economy soar. Remember the civic SI of the 90's. it only had a 1.6l 160hp engine with no torque and could still rip 0-60 in under 7 seconds. now these cars with big 2.4l 175+ hp engines are still taking 8-9 seconds to get o-60 despite having more hp and loads more torque.

I think the only plausible way to reduce demand in the U.S. is to increase the price. I'm not saying I want to pay more for gas, but if people can't afford gas they'll have to drive less; simple as that. That means the only people on the road will be those with fuel effcient cars and those who have money - seems fair to me.

Here's a better solution that doesn't require any legal intervention: If you want to lower your fuel costs, drive less & drive slower. Brilliant huh? I thought it up all by myself but I want to share with everyone. Enjoy!

Umm..Hell NO

This makes no sense.

Its been proven time and again that people drive a speed they feel comfortable with no matter what the posted limit says. I routinely drive in excess of posted limits (except in neighborhoods for fear of hitting a child) during the day, and the same stretch of road at night sees my speed drop substantially due to my desire not to hit deer, which are prominent in my neck of the woods.

Lowering the speed limit in the 70's did not slow traffic down, instead it created an opportunity to tax us further through speed enforcement campaigns which did nothing to increase safety, rather fattening the coffers of local government.

Being honest, would you really slow down on a stretch of road previously 70 MPH that has been switched to 55 MPH? Most of us if we were honest know for a fact we wouldn't slow down. Nashville lowered the speed limit on a stretch of road a year ago to reduce the noise, I drive the stretch quite a bit and have no noticed any change in traffic flow even though new signs are posted. People drive at a speed they feel comfortable at.

Government has their hands in too much of our lives already, it is time we take back OUR country and start electing people who actually represent us, instead of people who can be bought by big corporations and PAC's, or who are only in it for their own self preservation.

-00J

@ Agent00J,

I agree with what you are saying about electing someone that actually represents the people, but unfortunately I believe it's the people that are the problem in this equation because some only focus on one or two reasons to vote for a politician that only suits their desires and personal agenda, as opposed to sacrificing that desire or agenda and looking at the big picture and vote for a politician that has everyone's best interest in mind.
IMHO, one example would be voting for a politician bent on ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment that has been on the books of Congress since 1923 but never enacted. The assumption of the people to this day is that it is law and part of the Constitution but in reality, it is not. A second example would be an individual who has voted in the last 2 presidential elections that MAY HAVE voted for a candidate because of their stance on anyone who isn't a hetrosexual and/or the "War" (easy term to remember despite what we've been taught in history class) in Iraq, yet some Americans are being treated like women, minorities, immigrates, and natives have been in the past 200+ years of our country and despite the best intentions of our troops, they have been led by poor leadership, to say the least.

But I digress. (WHOA! Maybe I digressed too much!? Sorry about that.)

Getting back to Agent00J's point, I believe he makes a strong case for thoughtful and more importantly, courteous driving at all times. Too many Americans will unfortunately vote solely on the price of oil and how it affects them, instead of us all. Those individuals aren't even scratching the surface of the issue and are only going on "judging the book by its cover". A more thoughtful approach to the situation could start with something as simple as calculating the cost per mile driven in the vehicle(s) they own. It would be beneficial to them to know and if they make a change by either altering their driving behavior and/or acquiring a more efficient vehicle, beneficial to us all. Overall, it's a more fruitful idea than voting for or allowing political propaganda to become law.

What a stupid concept. If people can't afford the gas they need to drive to conserve fuel or better yet, consider car pooling, public trasportation options, or even biking/walking. Why do our politicians seem to think they need to regulate personal choice and responsibility?

This is another proof that we should be VERY afraid of our future, because our leaders are two things, idiots and traitors. Idiots for the stupid solutions they come up with, and traitors cause they don't pay a shit about us they just want to make more money.

Regardless of how much I hate for the government to lower the speed limit, I must say, looking at the 'bigger' picture, which is to save fuel consumption, there are a group of 'folks', if you will, that will abide by the road rules. We all know who they are and if the government lower the speed limit these same folks will abide by it. Just because we won't change the way we drive it doesn't mean that nobody will. In conclusion, it will in a way help the fuel consumption. Think about it. It does make sense. Don't get me wrong, I would hate for the government to lower the speed limit, I mean, that just means more speeding tickets for me.

It is not going to lower gas prices it did not before it kept on going up even after it was imposed most of the newer cars get about the same gas mileage at 55 as they do at 70.

WOW! I can not believe how many people, especially how many people are supposed to know a lot about cars do not know the real facts and figures of this high gas price issue. I work in the transportation industry and I know a lot of people and facts about how we get our fuel and how it is used. What I am going to tell you will probably piss off some of you and a lot of you will think I am full of shit. You can turn a blind eye all you want so you do not have to actually think about it but this is the truth. You can choose to believe it or not.
Fact- It would not take 20 years to set up an off shore oil rig. It would take eight years if you ordered one from scratch and found a place to put it in the Gulf of Mexico and get the first drop of oil out. But right now you could get one ordered drop it in place and start pumping oil in less than five. Why? Because they have already have at least one hundred of these being built. It’s like an assembly line production right now and they already know exactly where to drop off a rig to start drilling plus all the rigs plumb lines go into on major hub. Drilling in ANWR would take five years because they have already have everything mapped out and the engineering plans done. They even already have many of the drilling assemblies done they are just waiting for the go. But we do not need any of those anyways. There are already several hundred places in Texas, Nebraska, Louisiana and even New Mexico that have oil sitting there. They know where the oil is and exactly how to extract it and do you know how long would it take? Three years. Yes three years from the word go to the first barrels getting sent to the refinery.
There is not major problem with getting the oil anyways. It’s not like we have a short supply of it. OPEC is charging as much as they are because they can. The US oil companies are charging as much as they are because they can and we are buying it for the expensive price because we need it and because we are still buying it. What do you think would happen if everybody just stopped buying gas? Yea it’s not going to happen but if we did what would happen? You know exactly what would happen. The oil companies would end up getting a huge surplus, they end turn would stop buying oil from OPEC. The oil company’s with there huge supply would have to reduce the price to get rid of it and OPEC would reduce there price to sell it because you can not make money if you are not selling anything. If there is anyone to blame in all this it’s us. Even if none of us cut back on gas we are still just bitching about it and not contacting the oil industry, the government and we are not holding demonstrations to make the government hear us. The American people are just bitching about it but not doing anything about it. Are you really trying to save gas? Have you written you're congressman? President? Have you sent a letter or e-mail or even phoned the oil company’s to complain about there high gas prices? Has anyone t

i agree. and its not bush's fault that prices are high; its the liberal congress who wont let bush sign the "go" for US drilling. btw, congress's approval rating is at an all time historical low....a whopping 9%!!

and, prices (which fell like $6/barrel a few days ago) will drop immediately if the drilling in ANWR, offshore, etc. is going to take place, because prices are anticipated by future demand. btw, drilling in ANWR will have NO negative effects on the environment-oil wont leak out to surrounding areas, etc. (al gore wont say that though ;) )

meanwhile, we should research new ways of powering cars while we're drilling. ethanol isnt one of them either, i dont know why bush wanted ethanol....

NO