http://www.leftlanenews.com/senator-proposes-55-mph-national-limit-redux.html

Not sure where I come down on this. On the one hand, if it cuts down on the consumption of fossil fuels, it's a good thing. On the other hand, people are still free to drive 55 all they want, though I'll admit it's really hard when people are passing you like your standing still (not to mention the safety issues when that great of a speed difference). Of course, we all know that the "real" speed limit is 5-10 over whatever is posted...I see people doing 80+ when it's 70 or 75 all the time.

I'm going to come down on setting a suggested speed limit, but ultimately letting the state decide subjectively based on the road. Can't imagine going 55 across the long flat plains of _______________ (fill in state here :')

It really is hard trying to drive that slow. The only thing that has slowed me down while traveling is pulling a boat worth 1/3 of my house, so I am simply afraid someone is going to pile into it!

I'm not sure I go that slow in school zones.


Warner cites a study showing the 55 mph speed limit saved an average of 167,000 barrels of oil a day

AKA next to nothing compared to say, expanding public transport like light rail.


U.S. Motor Gasoline Consumption
9,253,000 barrels/day (388.6 million gallons/day)

http://www.eia.doe.gov/basics/quickoil.html

I tried 70 (and then 75) instead of 80, on the interstate over the weekend, to save gas. Just can't do it.

I tried just paying attention to what the posted limit was and felt like a road hazard. On I-25 south of Denver as it passes through a smaller town (Castle Rock) I slowed to 65, the posted limit, and people zipped by and looked at me as if I were crazy.

I tried 70 (and then 75) instead of 80, on the interstate over the weekend, to save gas. Just can't do it.

LOL! I feel ya :)

I try to stick to 74 ... seems like an okay number ...

I spent my drive home today from work behind a conservationist who felt it was saving the planet by driving 50 mph on a 55 posted road. Because of the winding and hilly nature of the road, lined with trees and marsh and scattered barb-wire fencing for the varied cattle herds, it does not lend itself to passing in many areas.

Normally, folks drive at least 60, tho' the road is heavily patrolled by county mounties.

I drive 60MPH to and from work. Sure, people pass me up, but I get 20MPG out of my V8 Dodge Dakota quad cab. I'd love to get a more fuel efficient vehicle, but can't ge out from under my loan at present. When gas was $1.50 a gallon, a V8 sounded like a good idea. Ah well...

I admit I am one of the slow ones on the road. I tend to drive 5 - 10 under posted limits. I just leave earlier if I need to be on time for soemthing. If I am good I only have to fill up 1 time a month. Of course it's several thousand dollars an ounce for fuel out here on the easter plains of colorado so it still hurts.

I removed my tailgate a la Mythbusters, and it removed about 30 lbs from the truck. Hopefully that will help a tad.

Sixee, you may want to put that back on. The Mythbusters episode you are referring to found that the air pocket that forms with the tailgate up helps gas mileage.

Yeah, there's a reason you stopped seeing those silly netted tailgate replacements that were so popular in the 90s.

They revisited it after that episode. In the original they just lowered the tailgate, not removing it. In the revisit, they took off the tailgate, and put the netting on. After testing various methods, they found removing the weight of the tailgate far outweighed the airpocket benefit. Riding with the tailgate up is still better than riding with it down, but removing the 30lbs of the tailgate seemed to be the best.

http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/12/episode_64_more_myths_revisite.html

Tailgate Up or Down Revisited: in addition to tailgate up/down, also tested hardcover over pickup bed, tailgate removed, and tailgate mesh. Tailgate mesh was most efficient by 5%. busted

Kewl, never saw that one. I stand corrected.

Hmmm I drive an Avalanche , so curious when I saw ya'll mentioned the bed cover. What's the result of having it on/off? It'd have to be significant because I huck my tools around with me 100% of the time ;P

It helps to read more than just the summary:

* Tailgate down: 5.2 gallons/hr @ 55mph. 1.2 gallons/hr @ 25.
* Tailgate up: 5.0 gallons/hr @ 55mph. No reading for 25mph given, but tailgate up was once again confirmed as more efficient.
* Hardcover over pickup bed: 5.0 gallons/hr @ 55mph. 1.2 gallons/hr @25mph
* Tailgate mesh: 5% more efficient
* Tailgate removed: about the same as tailgate up and hardcover

We all managed to be wrong!

Your answer is there too, Fandros.

I can't click on links at work, verrrrra dangerous!!

Thanks for the clip, hardcover stays on!

Now I just got to get the mesh for my tailgate and I'll be 5% more efficient.
Lets see that would make my truck 21 miles to the gallon, then, if my math is correct.

It's not well defined what the 5% refers to. If it's 5% more efficient than no tailgate, then you're talking about .1 extra mpg in their tests.

For that matter, the difference between tailgate up and down was only .42 mpg.

I wonder what kind of truck they were driving at 55mph to only get 11mpg out of in the best case.

It looked like a Dakota in the revisit.

On my frequent I-59 trips to and from Birmingham, AL, I tend to do around 78ish in a 70-mile zone. My only motive to slowing down though (to around 72ish) are the many state troopers well-hidden in the tree-filled median that follows the road almost the entire way.

It's not that I'm 100% anti-green or anything, it's just that my '08 Honda CRV EX (AWD) gets around 27 MPG on a good day, depending on how aggressive I am with the gas pedal and how full my tank is.