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Comments
A similar pet peeve of mine that almost everyone around here does is, when getting on the highway, they quit accelerating around 55MPH until they get near the end of the ramp and then they either putz along at 55 or take off like a bat out of hell trying to merge with 65-75MPH traffic. There seem to be very few that drive in between, like me.
After a while, I decided to borrow one and see if the car was the issue. The steering stucks, the braking has absolutely no peddal feel, it understeers like a pig, and doesn't have too much power. But, it isn't as bad as say a Fiat Panda. When properly driven, I was still able to go around freeway over-passes at 75 with no problem, so what is the issue?
Well a lot of people that drive those high mileage hybrids try to see how much MPG they can get out of them, they are called "hyper milers". For that reason you will see little old ladies in walkers out run some Prius'. Many times they will get a line of people behind them as they take a half mile to get to 40 MPH (a while back someone posted their experience with that on this forum).
As for going slow in the fast lane and cutting people off, well thats just common with all drivers.
As for allowing single drivers with a hybrid in a car pool lane, well that was just a stupid decision.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
The "drive 55" contingent is gaining ground too, and not only among hybrids.
Anyway, tossing lit cigarettes out of the window is a pet peeve of mine.
Is that what it is? Lately I have seen several cars with cardboard signs on the back that says something like "This car does NOT exceed 55 mph". I was wondering what the deal was.
Rocky
It is? You could never guess it in my daily drives. I-55 near me has a 55 MPH SL and doing 70 I have most of the traffic passing me. Anyway how does that work when you have SL on interstates hitting 75 MPH?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Rocky
After enduring 35 mph as the National Speed Limit for four years, 55 was most welcome a week after the [non-permissible content removed] surrendered.
55 is not too slow when you start out an hour earlier and it is a speed better dealt with by most driver's abilities.
I also will need to invest in the latest cop sniffer technology
Rocky
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Rocky
It's funny, in countries where $5/gallon gas does exist, they haven't devolved to 55. Of course, the average motorist there isn't the dumbed down dreck that exists here, so that might be part of it.
"After enduring 35 mph as the National Speed Limit for four years, 55 was most welcome a week after the [non-permissible content removed] surrendered. "
And going 55 in a 41 Ford or 39 Olds is like going 100 in a modern car.
Rocky
I guess the Prius driver's time was more important than my fuel economy... or maybe they thought I had regenerative braking in my Toyota Tacoma :P
james
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Rocky
Yep. Try driving at 55 on the motorways back home (when there isn't traffic) and you'll soon get flattened by an HGV or two. Anything less than 80 and you'll be the slowest thing there.
From the sound of the letters, it's mostly people in vehicles that don't get great mileage. They get a couple more mpg, and it's a big deal for them so they write in to tell the world. They talk about how safe we'd be and how independent our country would be if we just drove 55. (And in the San Jose area, all the freeways have 65mph limits, and a few have very high average speeds.) Hardly any of the people writing in talk about emissions or non-economic conservation.
For me the worst part of it is on onramps. I was squeezed into a tight spot yesterday by a car in front of me merging at 40mph and traffic in the right lane trying to get ahead of him before he got on. Scary stuff.
Should this country be in more trouble with mid east oil - 55 will return as it will be necessary and strictly enforced.
Why just SUVs? I would agree if you would rephrase that as "Long commutes in anything with less than some mpg (say 25 mpg) should be outlawed first".
End our dependency on foreign oil - become Amish.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
55 would be enforced to create revenue, just as the current speed limits. It could be called a war tax. We're in trouble now...
Again, countries with $5/gallon gas haven't reverted to such silliness as 55....but one can hardly call recent trends in our burgeoning corporate theocracy progressive...
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Four words to all the Bellevue drivers at lunch right now: Hang Up and Drive. It was painful being out there not long ago.
For example, 75 mph is approximately 36% faster than 55. 55 is 22% faster than 45. See how this is non-linear from a time standpoint? Now, take my truck, for another example. While the numbers presented here might be extremely low in general, the trend is typical: At a sustained 75 mph, it gets about 10 mpg. At 55, it will get 13... 30% better than 75! At 45, it will get 13.5... 4% better than at 55.
As far as balancing time and resources, 55 gives the greatest return. Now, do not take this as advocating for 55 (!), but were it a matter of debate for "national security" *cough cough*, I would be advocating 55 over 45, 35, or any other ridiculously low #.
Fin..... *hands start shaking trying to grasp concept*.... hang up and dddddrrivee? Nooooo!!!!!! HHahaha. :P :sick:
Or going to work driving 55 would actually cost me at least $125.00 more and take me 10-15 minutes longer than if I would drive 45 (think police and a 40MPH SL).
Now of course going to my other sister house and increase in speed of 5 MPH could save well over an hour in time.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
LOL. Point taken!
I was, admittedly, thinking mostly of distance travel on interstate or currently >55mph limited roadways.
Because a drastic solution is not always required: sometimes a middle path or a tradeoff works. But I suspect you already knew that.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
"...a mode of satirical wit ..."
Since your remark had no wit, it does not qualify.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Ironically, my '05 Camry 4-cyl 5A does not do as well, in town or on the highway (low 30s for the latter), even though both cars are essentially the same except for the auto tranny.
I see a tow truck hauling a full-size Ram van with the latter's front wheels rolling on the ground. I move into the left lane to pass, come over a rise, and see what I thought was a motorcycle ahead of me.
Turns out it was a scooter; the guy's going only 35-40 mph right down the middle of the left lane.
So, the tow truck is going maybe 45; therefore it takes a little while for the truck to get past the scooter. I have to wait until he's done, then get in the right lane to pass the scooter, and back into the left lane to pass the tow truck, who's having a hard time staying in his lane.
There was a crossroad coming up, so I checked in my rearview to see if by some chance the scooter was planning a left turn. No such luck -- he continued on his merry way in the left lane.
Good thing there was no other traffic when I got blocked -- things could have gotten very interesting.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Or more simply stated: that fool's gonna wind up dead. :P
james
The problem with Darwin is that not everyone comes from a pool. Not even the shallow end of the gene pool could excuse a guy riding a scooter in the left lane, I think "swamp" might be more apt. In any case, I agree that natural selection will soon prevail.
Conservation and $5 a gallon coupled with the 55 mph limit will be mandatory so get used to it. It is not a local revenue project, but a world wide problem.
FYI: 50cc scooters are rarely capable of level travel exceeding 35mph, but capability aside not everyone drives at 100% awareness all the time. It could just as easily have happened with a Camry or a bus and where would your 15 seconds be then?
Its so interesting to read here about driving annoyances and think how many of them would happen walking, and if the people around you were people you see and associate with every day.
So much for civil society. Riding a scooter in America is getting closer to an ordinary person walking on the Roman Road.