Speed Limits Rise to 70 Effective July 1 (Warren, Elmwood Place: how much, income, taxes)

[Dayton Sux]

I think this pretty much follows what has been happening more or less anyway. The state troopers seem to let you go about 4 MPH over the speed limit, so effectively you are doing around 70 anyway.

For me, on my Chicago roadtrips, that long bland stretch btw Dayton and the Indiana Line will go by quicker (or I can rest easier since I try to take that stretch at around 70 anyway).

[SorryIMovedBack]

Guernsey County I-77 is going to lose a whole lot of fines revenue. They might even have to lay off troopers there?

(Whooping with laughter! That county was always the WORST speed trap between Akron and Marietta! They'd use two or three troopers working together to chase down speeders.)

[flashes1]

Not a big fan of the increase for a number of reasons: 1) more gas burned at higher speeds thus sending more money to people who want to throw acid in girls' faces because they want to read, 2) more gas means more air pollution, and 3) higher speeds means more fatalities which means my insurance costs increase.

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by flashes1

Not a big fan of the increase for a number of reasons: 1) more gas burned at higher speeds thus sending more money to people who want to throw acid in girls' faces because they want to read, 2) more gas means more air pollution, and 3) higher speeds means more fatalities which means my insurance costs increase.

Hi flashes1--

That's incorrect on all three counts, because (1) this country is enjoying an increase in energy production right now; (2) most of our imports come from Canada anyway; (3) we have ever-tighter emissions controls since the 1970's and cars burn FAR cleaner than before, as emissions of NOx and other unpleasant fumes are miniscule compared to then; and (4) fatalities have continued to drop year over year, despite more cars on the road and ever-higher speeds.

Speed is right, speed is good, speed works.

Put the hammer down, and I'll get to my destination sometime today.

I'm not stopping you from going slow in the slow lane though. Sometimes I drive slow too, because I don't have a schedule to keep on some days, and I like saving gas. But what does rile me is the minivan doing 60 out in the left lane.

[flashes1]

Originally Posted by hensleya1

Hi flashes1--

That's incorrect on all three counts, because (1) this country is enjoying an increase in energy production right now; (2) most of our imports come from Canada anyway; (3) we have ever-tighter emissions controls since the 1970's and cars burn FAR cleaner than before, as emissions of NOx and other unpleasant fumes are miniscule compared to then; and (4) fatalities have continued to drop year over year, despite more cars on the road and ever-higher speeds.

Speed is right, speed is good, speed works.

Put the hammer down, and I'll get to my destination sometime today.

I'm not stopping you from going slow in the slow lane though. Sometimes I drive slow too, because I don't have a schedule to keep on some days, and I like saving gas. But what does rile me is the minivan doing 60 out in the left lane.

Hensley:

That's incorrect on all counts, because (1) Saudia Arabia remains on of the top exporters of oil to the U.S. and their citizenry sponsor many of the world's worst terrorist groups, (2) tighter emissions since the 1970's is beside the point, the fact is more gas and emissions are released by cars traveling at higher speeds, and (3) the decrease in fatalities would be bigger if cars were traveling at lower speeds.

If you're consistently running late for appointments, I recommend leaving earlier. Don't jeopardize my life and the lives of my family because you need to get to Kroger faster.

[natininja]

1) It doesn't matter where we get our oil from. More oil consumed means more oil off the global market means more money for anyone selling it.

2) Higher average speeds means more emissions than lower speeds; a past where vehicles polluted more has no bearing on this fact.

3) Higher average speeds means more danger than lower speeds; a past where vehicles were less capable of handling high impacts (and with more drunk drivers, etc.) does not change this fact.

[ohio_peasant]

We're not going to solve here the debate on "higher speed limits result in more waste and danger", vs. "higher speeds are a common-sense measure opposed only in interests of state revenue generation".

But personally I welcome the higher speed limit.

Back when international travel was more reachable, I'd frequently drive German highways in rental cars. My favorite straight-line segment is between Frankfurt and Darmstadt... something like 5 lanes each way, level, straight and wide. If I'm not mistaken, the all-time public highway speed record was set there... around 270 mph, back in 1938. My personal best is almost exactly half as much... 135 mph, in an Opel Vectra GTS (basically that car's top speed). It felt completely calm, normal, relaxed... nothing nail-biting or adventurous, and perfectly legal. This is sustained cruising - not a throttle-blip.

Maybe something that could eventually be adopted in America?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by ohio_peasant

We're not going to solve here the debate on "higher speed limits result in more waste and danger", vs. "higher speeds are a common-sense measure opposed only in interests of state revenue generation".

But personally I welcome the higher speed limit.

Back when international travel was more reachable, I'd frequently drive German highways in rental cars. My favorite straight-line segment is between Frankfurt and Darmstadt... something like 5 lanes each way, level, straight and wide. If I'm not mistaken, the all-time public highway speed record was set there... around 270 mph, back in 1938. My personal best is almost exactly half as much... 135 mph, in an Opel Vectra GTS (basically that car's top speed). It felt completely calm, normal, relaxed... nothing nail-biting or adventurous, and perfectly legal. This is sustained cruising - not a throttle-blip.

Maybe something that could eventually be adopted in America?

As long as we treat driving as far more of a right than a responsibility, it's not going to happen. Personal mobility in our country is so car-dependent that requiring anything more than a rudimentary ability to operate a car is seen as an infringement on our freedom of movement. And no-speed-limit driving requires far more driver training and mandatory vehicle maintenance than we're willing to require, and far better highway construction quality and maintenance than we're willing to pay for.

[natininja]

Originally Posted by ohio_peasant

We're not going to solve here the debate on "higher speed limits result in more waste and danger", vs. "higher speeds are a common-sense measure opposed only in interests of state revenue generation".

This is such a silly debate, because the first could be acknowledged, but accompanied by an argument for why increasing the speed limit is still worthwhile. Instead, proponents here are denying there are any negatives whatsoever and claiming it's all a conspiracy for revenue generation. Which is empirically absurd.

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by natininja

This is such a silly debate, because the first could be acknowledged, but accompanied by an argument for why increasing the speed limit is still worthwhile. Instead, proponents here are denying there are any negatives whatsoever and claiming it's all a conspiracy for revenue generation. Which is empirically absurd.

Hi natininja--

There are times where lower speed limits are absolutely necessary. This includes congested urban areas, tight turns, blind spots on the other side of hills, and when the weather's simply abysmal. And a crash at 70 MPH will invariably cause more damage than a crash at 50 MPH, all things equal.

But you can't sit here and defend the actions of the Arlington Heights mayor's court and believe their sob story about "safety", when you realize that traffic tickets form the majority of the municipality's income. They join armpits like New Rome and Elmwood Place in making shameless money grabs.

As far as driving at higher speeds go, I'll just point to an old argument - that there's no speed limits at all on large stretches of the Autobahn, and their crash rates are far lower than ours.

And it's because the Germans take driving seriously.

Almost nobody in the States knows how to drive. They just know to put the car in "D" and put the gas pedal to the floor to get going.

They don't know how to correct understeer, they don't know how to brake in an emergency (apart from stomp on the pedal and pray that their ABS isn't broken), they don't know how to take corners at higher speeds, and they often don't maintain their cars properly.

To be fair, it's probably buried on page 133 of the driver's guide the BMV hands you when you're 16, but nobody reads that anyway.

I firmly believe that you could take the stretch of I-75 in Butler/Warren Counties at 130 MPH if you had a good car and knew what you were doing. The combination of long straightaways, multiple lanes, wider lanes, and long line-of-sight make for a VERY safe road.

If people know how to drive.