Is 85MPH The Safest Speed Limit?

[Avatard]

Originally Posted by EpyonXero

Sounds like BS to me. What makes driving 85 "safer" than 55?

Also, the 55 mph speed limit was created to reduce fuel consumption. You car is more efficient at 55 then at 85.

Why not 35 then?

[tallywacker]

Originally Posted by azoomm

Color me crazy, but our F350 averaged MORE mpg when we freight-trained from Houston to San Marcos along I-10 at 80. I mean, that was the only thing we did differently on that tank of fuel and the mpg went up to 26.

Individual vehicle gearing has a lot to do with it as well.

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by tallywacker

Individual vehicle gearing has a lot to do with it as well.

Ahem

Originally Posted by Particle Man

I would argue that last part is all about gearing rather than anything else.

[tallywacker]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

Ahem

OH AWESOME YOU WROTE IT TOO

[Avatard]

I can't personally fucking believe there is a single post in this thread even questioning the raising the limit, since everyone does 85 anyway.

Some people must like paying fines.

[EpyonXero]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

And I would say a lot of that ha to do with styling more than anything. I know road friction played a big part in the past but new materials and technologies have improved that as well.

Aerodynamics make a big difference which is why most hybrids and electric cars look so much different than conventional cars. But the average car still creates a lot of drag and no mater how streamlined the vehicle is, power required increases drastically with speed.

From Wikipedia:

The power required to overcome the aerodynamic drag is given by:

Note that the power needed to push an object through a fluid increases as the cube of the velocity. A car cruising on a highway at 50 mph (80 km/h) may require only 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) to overcome air drag, but that same car at 100 mph (160 km/h) requires 80 hp (60 kW). With a doubling of speed the drag (force) quadruples per the formula. Exerting four times the force over a fixed distance produces four times as much work. At twice the speed the work (resulting in displacement over a fixed distance) is done twice as fast. Since power is the rate of doing work, four times the work done in half the time requires eight times the power.

[Kaneman]

Originally Posted by Avatard

I can't personally fucking believe there is a single post in this thread even questioning the raising the limit, since everyone does 85 anyway.

Some people must like paying fines.

Nobody around here drives that fast, unless they are crazily weaving in and out of traffic. Maybe they go faster in more open areas.

[Avatard]

Really? I live in the most densely populated state in the USA, and there's days I get on the highway, and I'm doing 70 and being passed like I'm standing still.

Typical middle lane speeds on the NJTP are about 70-75, and about 75-80 on the GSP.

Left lane on the NJTP is usually 80-90, as it is on the GSP.

The speed limits range from 55-65.

It's a fucking farce.

[Avatard]

Rt. 195 runs near my house, and is the primary highway I tend to travel.

As I don't care to pay any road taxes, I usually travel about 72 (the limit is 65).

This usually relegates me to the slow lane, where some are moving slower, but most are just steaming the fuck up my ass before passing on the left.

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by Avatard

Rt. 195 runs near my house, and is the primary highway I tend to travel.

As I don't care to pay any road taxes, I usually travel about 72 (the limit is 65).

This usually relegates me to the slow lane, where some are moving slower, but most are just steaming the fuck up my ass before passing on the left.

True story. I was on 287 on Friday doing 73 in the far right lane and almost got rear ended more times than I could count.