Better Fill up today

[frawin]

I have been writing letters to US Congressman and US Senators about lowering the National speed limit. Below is the second response I have received, it is from Oklahoma US Senator Jim Inhofe.

Dear Mr. Winn:



Thank you for your comments regarding the need to re-impose a national maximum speed limit of 55 mph. As your voice in Washington, I appreciate knowing your views.



As you may know, the 55 mph national maximum speed limit was established with the enactment of the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act of 1973. The law withheld federal highway funds from states that did not adopt the 55 mph maximum speed limit. Although it was intended to be a temporary solution to the gas shortage created by the OPEC oil embargo, the national maximum speed limit remained until 1995, when President Clinton signed into law the National Highway System and National Speed Limit Act. This act returned to the states their right to set speed limits based on their local road and traffic conditions.



Given the various commuting conditions in each state, I believe setting speed limits should remain with the states. As of July 2008, a majority of states have a maximum speed limit of 65 mph or less on the urban interstates and 70 mph or less on rural interstates.



           Again, thank you for your comments. Please do not hesitate to contact me again.

           

[dnalexander]

Following my Uncle Frank's suggestion that we talk to our Congressman about this;  I too sent letters to several state and federal government officials. One of the findings that surprised|made me mad  was the U.S. Congress has rules that say that if a person is not your constituent you must refer the person to their home US Rep. and US Senator. Also, Frank's  Rep. statement about it being a state issue makes sense. The quickest way to by pass this would be for "we the people" to take the issue away from them and do it ourselves. We can all continue to increase our conservation without the need for our government to do it for us. I grew up hearing stories how during WWII the people of the US pitched in and saved\conserved everything for the war effort. They became known as the "greatest generation". It is time for us to follow their example.

David

Note: the rules of Congressional Courtesy require that individuals residing outside of the 8th Congressional District be referred to the Member of Congress who represents them. To verify your congressional district, search the Member of Congress directory by zip code or visit www.house.gov.

[frawin]

Following my Uncle Frank's suggestion that we talk to our Congressman about this;  I too sent letters to several state and federal government officials. One of the findings that surprised|made me mad  was the U.S. Congress has rules that say that if a person is not your constituent you must refer the person to their home US Rep. and US Senator. Also, Frank's  Rep. statement about it being a state issue makes sense. The quickest way to by pass this would be for "we the people" to take the issue away from them and do it ourselves. We can all continue to increase our conservation without the need for our government to do it for us. I grew up hearing stories how during WWII the people of the US pitched in and saved\conserved everything for the war effort. They became known as the "greatest generation". It is time for us to follow their example.
Thanks David, good response, I still think in the interest of the nation, we should again mandate a 55 MPH speed limit. I think the time will come when we have another embargo and the next one will make the 73 embargo look like a piece of cake. For one thing OPEC has a much broader market for their oil now than they did in 1973, and we have less allies in OPEC than we did in 1973, in 73 our biggest ally was Iran and this time they are one of our biggest enemies.
David

[dnalexander]

I just felt a bit of the old governmental run around. I actually talked to Rep.Jackie Speir(D) who I am not a constituent of and later got an e-mail announcing she was introducing legislation for a reduced speed limit.

David

HR 6458
Establishing a National 60 mph Speed Limit
July 30, 2008
The skyrocketing price of gasoline is the number one issue facing the American public today. That is why I introduced HR 6458, the "Gasoline Savings and Speed Limit Reduction Act" which sets a national 60 miles per hour speed limit in urban areas and 65 mph elsewhere.
In the 1970s, the implementation of a national speed limit resulted in a 2-3% reduction in fuel consumption and saved American drivers $2 billion a year in fuel costs. At today's oil prices, a 2 percent drop in fuel consumption would net $28 billion in savings to American drivers. An added benefit is the estimated 2,000-4,000 lives per year saved while the old law was in effect.
There is a direct and undeniable correlation between speed and fuel efficiency. The Environmental Protection Agency website (www.fueleconomy.gov) says: "While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at different speeds... gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds over 60 mph. You can assume that each 5mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional 30 cents per gallon for gas."
Businesses concerned about their bottom lines have already recognized this. Companies such as Staples, with fleets of large trucks, have voluntarily adopted a company-wide speed limit of 60 mph. The United States Postal service is redrawing routes for its trucks so they make fewer left turns, since idling at traffic signals is another big gas-waster. Asking Americans to reduce their speed by just five miles an hour is an easy, painless and patriotic way of not only saving money for themselves, but reducing our county's reliance on foreign oil, limiting our addiction to fossil fuels and cutting back on noxious fumes and dangerous greenhouse gases that lead to global warming.
HR 6458 has received backing from a wide array of organizations, including the American Trucking Associations, the Union of Concerned Scientists and Friends of the Earth.
Since the oil companies are unlikely to lower gas prices themselves, it is time for Congress and the American people to take matters into our own hands. We can all pay less at the pump by simply easing up on the accelerator and reducing their consumption of gasoline.

[srkruzich]

Yall,
I'm sorry but i must disagree with this idea completely!  I lived through the 55mph era and it accomplished very little but
cause more problems with getting somewhere.  It added hours upon hours to travel times increased fatigue in drivers.
The Government doesn't need to saddle us with another law in which it would do absolutely no good, and fill the state coffers
with fine money.  The state gets enough of our money as it is. 
I don't need the Government to intervene with a law to save me money. I can do that on my own and its my choice.  IF i wish
to run 75mph which is the speed limit in many states on interstate, then thats my choice to spend the extra money to get there in fuel
loss.  In fact to me it is worth the less mpg to drive lets say from here to Atlanta in 13 1/2 hours as opposed to 22 hours.  Give me the 9 hours savings over the 30 dollar cost. 

Locally i drive maybe 15 miles a day as it is.  I use only 22 gallons a month.  If i decide to go on a trip, i want at least to be able to get there in my lifetime.

I used to drive a truck for a living.  I know that if you decrease the speed to 60 mph, you will increase prices on products, and you will increase accidents on drivers.  They will require them to slow down but set unrealistic delivery times based on the higher speeds which will require the drivers to drive illegally and drive without rest.  Been there done that. 

[Lookatmeknow!!]

I don't know if I agree about 55 miles per hour being unsafe.  I just hate to go on 400 and have idiots that pass me and drive out of control.  I do drive about 65-70 but when a big truck rides my tale, especially if I have my kids with me, it just upsets me terrible.      I have a brother who is a truck driver and some friends that drive trucks, too.  But it's not just them.  I call how I drive, defensive driving!!! 

[Wilma]

I am awfully dense tonight.  Explain to me how you can drive to Atlanta at a higher speed in 61% of the time it takes at a lower speed.  That is almost 1/2 the time.  How fast is the slow speed and how fast is the faster speed?

[srkruzich]

I am awfully dense tonight.  Explain to me how you can drive to Atlanta at a higher speed in 61% of the time it takes at a lower speed.  That is almost 1/2 the time.  How fast is the slow speed and how fast is the faster speed?

Atlanta is 1000 miles approximately.    IF you could go 55 mph steady speed all the way, no flucutation in speed, it would take you
18 1/2 hours to drive it. But since thats not possible you have to average 55mph by going 65 mph.  IF you go 65 mph you will average 55 mph thus taking 18 1/2 hours.  But if you drop the speed limit to 55mph, then you can't possibly average 55mph. SO that drops it down to a 45mph average and that gives you 22.22 hours drive time. 

Currently the speed limit is 75mph in all the states on interstate between here and Atlanta.  So that means you can drive it in 13.33 hours if you average 75 mph.  Since you can't maintain 75mph then the average speed you can maintain is 68 mph since you are going a higher speed and that leaves you with a average drive time of 14.70 hours.

Trucks get better average times at higher speeds due to the inertia of the weight they are carrying pushing them up hills.  Cars do the same but its not as pronounced as a truck is. 

[srkruzich]

I don't know if I agree about 55 miles per hour being unsafe.  I just hate to go on 400 and have idiots that pass me and drive out of control.  I do drive about 65-70 but when a big truck rides my tale, especially if I have my kids with me, it just upsets me terrible.      I have a brother who is a truck driver and some friends that drive trucks, too.  But it's not just them.  I call how I drive, defensive driving!!! 

I was a OTR driver and i ran anywhere from 70mph - 85 mph in a truck but only on open roads.  Never in a city.  I have over 2million miles over the road with zero accidents.  So you can drive safely at higher speeds.  I agree there are some real ass's out there behind the wheels of a truck.  Unfortunately they can kill you just as fast at 55mph as they can at 70mph and quite frankly more deaths occur at 45mph or less than higher speeds. 

The best thing you can do when you get a jerk like that pressing down on you is to pull off and let them pass.  I  have known people stupid enough to think their going to slow someone down by driving slower in front of them, and they end up getting run off the road or something.  Don't put it past these wannabe truck drivers to not do it.  You don't even know if their legal these days anymore with them coming in over the border now.

[srkruzich]

Only doing the math no comment since I understand Steve's points.

Per Google Maps. Howard, KS to Atlanta, Ga is 903 miles. Using The
13.33  hours time that is an avg speed of just under 68mph. At 55mph the trip would take 16.42 hours..

David

David you can't get a 68mph avg speed unless you drive 75 mph. and 55mph avg speed requires a speed of 65mph.

So if you cap the speed at 55mph your avg speed is 45mph.

And atlanta is over 903 miles.  It was 948 miles to Blairsville where my property is from here and thats in north georgia near chattanooga.

you could go back roads across alabama and ms from memphis but that will increase your drive time by 4 hours.