There is already talk about Congress restoring the double nickle. What are your thoughts?

Back in the '70s it seemed like this came down to a East vs West battle. Easterners were Ok with it, Westerners truly HATED it. Still, it took the Easterners in control years to relinquish.

western Kelly

is that a nickel with jefferson on both sides? if it's the speed limit you're talking about, the max has been 55 here since i started driving almost 30 years ago. i'm still amazed when i go out of state (or up state) and see anything higher.

I could possibly see a split speed limit. SUVs and trucks get the 55 and everyone else gets whatever is currently the standard. There are obviously problems with that as well, but with the big push of SUV=BAD, I could see support.

Please, please, please give the states SOME say!!! Cook up some penalty for the states that don't play along if necessary. But driving out west is very different from New York.

Kelly

Alright, Kelly. You guys can drive 65, but with no A/C. If you use your A/C, you have to drop to 55.

This is a problem with the Fedgov making onesizefitsall rules. They fit everyone, but are tailored for no one.

Anyone who would be an advocate of a return to the double nickel can not possibly have any experience driving in the rural midwest.

No freaking kidding. There is no way in hell 55mph speedlimit will come back. Anyone who supports it obviously has NOT driven across Kansas any of the plains or western states.

And to the three who voted for Obama! No No NO! It's not happening. Period.

I'd be more infavor of a zero tolerance policy. Anything over 75mph is an automatic ticket, even on 70/75mph interstates.

55mph is excessive. Any faster than 75mph isn't necessary. So, I say go zero tolerance. If folks push the envelope (I would) and get caught (hope I wouldnt), it's time to financially help support the state...

Why is the west and midwest different than everywhere else?

Not going to Happen? No way in hell?

Er.... pssssst.

It already happened once before. What makes you think for an instant that it could never happen again?

You can maintain that it defies logic in many area of the country all you want.

I challenge your logic for thinking that logic has much to do with anything when it comes to a Politician's proclivity to knee-jerk lame brained acts.

Way back before the first time the Fed laid down this foolishness, the Governor of MD made his state the laughing stock of... er... make that the first State in the nation to impose a statewide 55 mph speed limit. The MD side of the Beltway around DC was 70 mph at the time.

Do you think anyone paid the new limit any mind? So the infinitely brilliant Governor ordered the State Troopers to line up 3 abreast (was only three lanes back then) on the beltway and enforce the speed limit by creating a kind of a rolling roadblock.

The speed limit has remained 55 on the beltway ever since. If anyone can show me a recent speeding ticket from the MD 495 Beltway around Wash. DC for a speed above 55, but below 75, I'll buy you dinner.

WM...Wide open places and everyone there just deserves special attention j/k folks.

I think we've hashed through this before and problem is, IIRC, some cars are built/geared to get better mileage at higher speeds. I think even my truck does better around 60 or 65mph than 55mph. 70/75mph and up kills fuel mileage though.

have you ever driven in rural areas?
It's different out here, people who drive drunk and drown women go to jail, in Mass you guys reelect them to the senate.
Not being mean, just sayin'

[/quote]have you ever driven in rural areas?
It's different out here, people who drive drunk and drown women go to jail, in Mass you guys reelect them to the senate.
Not being mean, just sayin' [/quote]

Ouch

Speed limits have little effect on urban traffic flow patterns.

Speed limits DOMINATE rural flow patterns. Speeding tickets make up a large portion of rural state highway safety budgets. There are PLENTY of officers around to hand out PLENTY of tickets. Hell, if you drive 78mph on an interstate here (70mph speedlimit) you're in grave danger of getting tickets. We see speed traps on a daily bases. Again, it's all about revenue. Fuel prices hurting the budget? no problem. Just pull more people over.

Here in the middle of nowhere, you drive hundreds of miles before you ever reach a urbanized area. Kansas has like the 4th most miles of highway roads in the NATION. Texas is the largest.

Slowing the speed limit down 10-15mph will slow everything down. Your package delivery (USPS, UPS, Fedex) will take longer, it will take longer for farmers to get their harvest to the elevators, etc.

It's not funny talking business around here.

It's 140 miles from here to Independence, my home town. 2 hour and 10 minutes of travel time, all of which is 2 lane undivided highway. Before the speed limits were boosted, it used to take almost 3 hours. 140 miles in this part is considered a SHORT drive. Typical would be in the 200-300 mile range. It quickly impacts travel time. And the efficiency gains are NOT there.

As mentioned, a better option is to be more aggressive on limiting those who drive too fast.

PH is about to make a trip to Colorado. Last time I was there was Spring 2007. Driving across Western Kansas, eastern Colorado, we had the cruise set on 85mph. Often times, we would speed up to 90mph for a little while if a couple of cars passed us. Why not keep up with them right? Over 170 miles between a couple of areas, I calculated we averaged 86mph. Yea! It didn't take 2 hours to go 170 miles. We had 3 vehicles in our convoy. That's excessive. We should have stayed down closer to 75/80mph. However, I can't imagine driving through there at 65 or 70mph (pushing the 55 limit). I know most trucks cannot exceed 65mph, maybe 70mph now thanks to governors. However, what if these trucks slowed to 60mph? Ouch!!

I still place bets on the speed limits not dropping to 55. Worse case scenario is I can see a 65mph speed limit imposed, meaning states with 70 or 75mph speed limits would have to reduce them. Just cannot see making everything 55 again.

First of all, it was just a question, wasn't insinuating anything with it. Several people made the statement of driving in the west/midwest doesn't pertain to a 55 mph limit. Just wondering why the rest of us are different.

Grew up in Western PA, lived on a dirt road that is still a dirt road as far as I hear. Only buildings you could see from my house were two barns, my front yard was 3 acres, and that is only what was on this side of the road. My first pet was a Holstein, my lawn tractor was a 70hp diesel, true John Deere, not a glorified lawn mower.
Few weeks ago, I drove from Kennedy Land to Kentucky then over to SC and back to the liberal theme park, 2500 miles in a week, mostly through rural. So yeah, I think I've driven in rural areas.
Given that, I would tend to feel more comfortable driving 115mph around here than on the PA highways I have been blessed with traversing.
And not all of us vote for Teddy, A-rop.

I knew a guy who went by "the President said the national speed limit is 55 so I drive 55 - everywhere" He got more then a few tickets.

Please no. It might start a C.W. McCall revival!

"...and a refer haulin' hogs..."

Sorry.

I believe the improvements in vehicle and tire technology that have occurred since the mid-70's would mean such a reduced speed limit would have less savings impact than it did the last time.

I don't think that logic will cut any ice in the minds of politicians who feel pressured to "do something" and will only do something meaningless and/or harmful as a result.

Does anyone know what the total cost was to make two updates to every highway speed limit sign in the U.S.?

Quick, without looking it up - who can tell me the name of the music group that was formed from the people who played on "Convoy?" Some might be surprised.

Mannheim Steamroller. and yes my wife was surprised.

While I agree that it would get short shrift west of the Mississippi, the average interstate speed in Oklahoma was usually around 65-70 during those dark days. And the worse part was that the ones doing the speed limit were almost causing wrecks.

We took a trip to visit my sister in Lexington, KY one time. The average speed on the interstates was 75-85. We had to do 80 mph to not be a hazard, and this was heavy traffic. That was a shock, since I had heard how bad we were about violating the speed laws in the western states.

To be honest, I do not know one way or the other about this. I think it would be political suicide for Congress to do this, but no one has ever accused them of being smart. I can also forsee a move towards more trains to deliver bulk items faster, therefore taking trucks out of the need for fast delivery. What needs to be remember is that bad laws have repercussions. The 55 speed limit was a knee jerk reaction to fuel shortages, which then followed by fuel surpluses that brought oil to its lowest relative price ever. If something happens within a few years to return fuel to a low concern for the public, how long will it be before we get everything reversed again?

I thought that Mannheim Steamroller was formed by some bread commercials that Chip Davis did in the '70s, and American Gramophone was the result of that.

The C.W. McCall label was also American Gramophone, with some support from Chip Davis, but I always thought that the two (C.W. McCall and Mannheim Steamroller) were parallel ventures from the bread commmercials, rather than one begetting another.

I really don't know for sure, but I am certain it all came from bread.

One of my favorite C.W. McCall tunes was "Roy". We had a boss the was named Roy, and was not liked very well. C.W. McCall's Roy was a short jingle, and it ended up on the annunciator for the real Roy's (the boss), voice mail. I didn't have anything to do with it, and I deny everything.



I had an old cat named Roy.
He was a good ol' boy.
He used to go a-huntin', down by the lake,
Catch him a nice, fresh garter snake.
Bring him on back and then set in the grass,
Lookin' like he had him a green mustache.

Yeah, Roy was a good ol' boy....

'Til the dogs got him.

Looks like oil has dropped a few bucks today just from seadog posting this thread

And, forget C.W. McCall (although I did like Convoy song), I'm leaning more toward a revival of Sammy Hagar!!!

Al pretty much got it. The guy who was/is "C.W. McCall" is a friend of Chip Davis and had been doing commercials for the Old Home Bread company. At the time, they wanted to do this album to capitalize on the CB craze (today's taken-for-granted electronics make it hard to imagine just how big a deal it was then, even though CB had been around for nearly 20 years when the craze started). The studio musicians who ended up playing went on to become Mannheim Steamroller and Christmas hasn't been the same since . I was a big fan of the Freshe Aire series long before the Christmas stuff got such a foothold. For all the jokes, they *are* immensely talented musicians.



"I Can't Drive 55" - did he do anything else?

I love the Fresh Aire series, and I have all 8 of the disks. I do love to stress test my stereo with it.

My favorites are Escape from the Atmosphere (FA 5), Toccata (FA 3), and G Major Toccata (FA 4).

That last one can blow a speaker!