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Who Profits When We Speed Print E-mail
Saturday, 06 February 2010
 
In 1975, annual traffic fatalities dropped by 9100 when the nation was saddled with a national speed limit of 55 mph.  9100 deaths prevented – in one year!   Let’s put this in context.  9100 is more than twice the number killed by earthquakes and tsunamis in all recorded U.S history. (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/us_deaths.php)
 
Undoubtedly, millions of gallons of gas were saved (I’m tracking down the actual estimate, but trust me – it’s big).  But as soon as it could, America shrugged off this onerous restriction in favor of the old higher speed limits. 
 
Why?
 
In the face of such common sense benefits, why would states and localities return to more dangerous and expensive practices?  They are always reaching into our personal lives to regulate everything they can, so why would they be so eager to give us back our right to rush breakneck around the highways, wasting gas and killing each other with our cars?
 
There is a time-honored adage in America that pertains to solving such riddles: 
 
Follow The Money.
 
Who profits from America’s love affair with highway speed?  The lion’s share of the money we waste driving 70-75 on our freeways goes straight to Exxon-Mobil, ARCO, Unocal, Conoco-Philips, and the rest of America’s huge oil/gasoline industry.
 
How much money?
 
Some very conservative math (see my posting titled “Some Simple Math, Part 2”) suggests that if only 1% of American drivers agreed to DRIVE THE LIMITS for one year, we’d save about 140,000,000 gallons of gas.  At a gas price of $2.80 per gallon, that’s $392,000,000.  At $3, it’s $420,000,000.  A savings of half-a-billion dollars is not at all out of reach.  With higher participation and higher gas prices, we could easily save a multiple of that.  Maybe a BIG multiple.
 
So consider how much profit Big Oil lost when an entire nation was forced to drive 55.  Tens of billions of dollars, easy.  Maybe hundreds. 
 
Does this begin to explain why old speed limits were restored, when the benefits of the newer, slower ones were obvious to any thinking person?
 
Change Your Driving Habits.  Change The World.
 
 Thanks,
Rick Okie
 
36 MPG Minivan Print E-mail
Friday, 02 October 2009

Kansas City Missouri to McAlester Oklahoma the end of September. Mercury Monterey minivan. epa mileage says 17mpg city/23mpg highway. Filled tank in Kansas City. reset trip odometer & gps. set cruise at 55mph for entire trip. Filled up in McAlester upon arrival. 330 miles. 10 gallons put in. 33mpg!! On return trip back to Kansas City I did the exact same thing. Had a slight tail wind this time but kept cruise set at 55. 330 miles traveled, refilled again upon return, only used 9 gallons. 36mpg!!

Roger Napue
Kansas City, MO

 
09 Chevy HHR gets 40 MPG avg Print E-mail
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
foust40mpg200.jpgI just purchased my 2009 Chevy HHR a few weeks ago.  I am currently on the vehicles first highway trip.  As is normal, I've been keeping to my 55 mph rule.  This vehicle is proving to be a stunning performer for fuel mileage.  This vehicle has the 2.2L flex fuel capable four cylinder engine and 5 speed manual transmission.  My initial stretch between my home and Amarillo, TX., netted 38.3 mpg by the car's computer.  When double checking the computer with a calculator, the calculator showed 39.1 mpg!  This is not to be outdone.  As I pulled into the driveway of my folks house in the car's computer was posting 40.4 mpg.  If the computer is being consistent, and has posted a figure .8 mpg lower than calculated, this will result in a figure of 41.2 for the stretch.  This is all uphill from the Texas area.  I have included a picture of the computer with the car in the driveway.

Bryan Foust

Ed note: EPA MPGfor this vehicle is: 22 City / 32 Hwy

 
Prettier more relaxing drive saves big $ Print E-mail
Friday, 31 July 2009
I'm glad to see this website and to see a small group of politicians supporting reduced speed limits.

I drive a reverse commute, I live in the city and work in the suburbs. About 2 months ago I started taking the "scenic" route to and from work. Instead of the interstate I take the side streets and country roads where the top speeds range from 40 to 55. I mainly made the change because it's a prettier more relaxing drive.

The trip takes on average only 10 minutes longer but the difference in fuel economy was amazing even when I knew it would make a difference. My Millenium Bug (2000 Beetle) went from averaging 30MPG to averaging 35MPG. My '02 MR2 went from 35MPG to almost 40MPG and my '04 BMW R1150R is getting 59MPG. And a third of the trip has stoplights!

It has never ceased to amaze me how many people seriously believe speed does not affect gas mileage.

The explanation I always use is this. Stick your hand out the window at 55MPH and then at 75MPH. Compare how much harder it is to hold it straight in the wind. That's how much harder the engine in your car is having to work.

I fully support a return to a national 55MPH speed limit. We've become a nation in a perpetual hurry. Slowing down a little, not just on the freeways will do us a lot of good.

Jim Whittaker
 
41 MPG w/ 2009 Corolla for last 2,000 mi Print E-mail
Saturday, 20 June 2009

I don't have an exact speed because this included all city and highway driving.  I followed the basic rules, don't exceed the speed limit but I did on occasion exceed 55 if I determined that safety may be an issue.
I made a tracking form in Excel, but since I couldn't attach it, here is the data in text form.

       5/9/2009        5/16/2009       5/23/2009       5/28/2009       6/4/2009

Miles   397     412.6   408.7   405.5   440.1   2063.9
Fuel/Gal.       10.09   10.11   9.844   9.893   10.413  50.35
MPG     39.3    40.8    41.5    41.0    42.3    41.0
Cost    $23.61  $24.66  $25.58  $26.11  $28.10  $128.06
Price/Gal.      $2.34   $2.44   $2.60   $2.64   $2.70   $2.54

Base MPG        33      33      33      33      33      33
Base Fuel       12.03   12.50   12.38   12.29   13.34   62.54
Base Cost       $28.15  $30.50  $32.18  $32.43  $35.99  $159.07
Savings         $4.54   $5.84   $6.60   $6.32   $7.89   $31.01
% Cost Reduction        16%     19%     21%     19%     22%     19%

Tin Cheung, TX

 
Letter to DOE Secretary Steven Chu Print E-mail
Friday, 29 May 2009
Dr. Chu:
 
In synch with the new vehicle fuel efficiency standards, I strongly recommend that a national maximum speed limit of about 60 mph be implemented ASAP for ALL vehicles.  Such a limit would yield IMMEDIATE benefits with EXISTING vehicles including:
  • Greater fuel efficiency
  • Reduced emissions
  • Improved highway safety.
Future vehicle technologies and designs would be more easily facilitated, simplified and cost reduced because top speeds affect power sources, gearing, brakes, tires, crash protection features, etc.
 
Automobiles are most fuel-efficient between 45 and 60 mph.  Large trucks lose fuel efficiency over 50 mph.  However, 70 mph is the typical maximum auto speed limit (with parts of Texas and Utah having 80 mph).
   
Congress is unlikely to initiate and pass the needed, common sense legislation in a timely manner.  A 60 / 65 mph bill proposed about a year ago by Representative Jackie Speier, et al died in committee when the last Congress closed.  With other countries hoping for increased U.S. leadership on climate change and sustainability, non-elected officials with technical backgrounds (like yourself and NASA's Dr. James E. Hansen) must take a strong initiative based on scientific realities!
 
Donald H. Albertson (retired industrial engineer)
 
Contact the Energy Secretary:
By E-mail:  You can send an email to the Secretary of Energy
at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
By Phone:

1-800-dial-DOE (1-800-342-5363)
1-202-586-5000 (Main Switchboard)

National Phone Directory

By Fax: 202-586-4403
*By Mail: U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585
 
 
38 MPG in a 2009 Honda Civic Print E-mail
Monday, 02 March 2009
38 mpg on my first tank of gas for my 2009 Honda Civic 4 door LX model, 1.8L engine with automatic transmission.  375 miles @ 9.848 gallons.  Mostly highway at 55mph.

Kate H.
Baton Rouge, LA

 
55 Is Mindfulness Print E-mail
Friday, 02 January 2009

The trip to Honesdale from Ossining is estimated by Google maps to be 108 miles and about 2½ hours in duration. I took this trip with my wife this summer to attend a wedding, and it took us about 30-40 minutes longer than the google estimate. The reason being that I tried to travel at least five miles below the speed limit on every road and travel at 45 mph on I-287 and I-84. Let me assure you from the start, the idea of traveling at 45 mph on the interstate did not work. Even at 55 (the new upper limit I set on the trip) it felt scary when semis, at their 75-80 mph speed and tens of thousands of pounds of mass, bore down on our little Toyota Corolla.

Read more...
 
Pulled over for NOT speeding? Print E-mail
Thursday, 25 December 2008
I recently took an 1100 mile road trip in my 1996 Lincoln Town Car driving at a maximum of 55.  At the end of my trip my average fuel economy came out to be 31.5mpg.  If that isn't proof that 55mph uses less gas then I don't know what is.  I mean this is a Lincoln Town Car for crying out loud!!  And I'm getting numbers in the 30's!  Also, my dad drove his 2001 Lincoln Town Car from Barstow, CA to Needles, CA at 55 and he averaged 33mpg.

This trip was all interstate where the speed limit was as high as 75 for the majority of the trip.  And there I was sitting in the right lane crusing at 55.  Some people may say that's insane and illegal.  Well let me tell you that it's not.  The thing to remember is that the minimum speed on the interstate is 45.  And one of the bigger things to remember is that the vast majority of the other drivers out there will simply pass without incident.  Even if they have to wait behind you for a minute before they have the chance to pass.  But yes, there are also the others (the jerks) that will blare their horn at you even if you are in the right lane.  In my case the three drivers that did this were semi truck drivers.  Also on my trip, I was pulled over by the cops because they thought it was suspicious that I was driving 55 in a 75.  I explained to him that I was simply getting better gas mileage at 55.  I asked if it was legal and the officer told me "yes" but he was concerned about the other cars moving faster than me.

So with that said, it's good that you guys offer bumper stickers to inform and warn other drivers of what you are doing.  Especially for cops so they won't pull you over.

Heriberto Tarango
 
96 Land Rover gets 19.5 MPG at 55 MPH Print E-mail
Sunday, 12 October 2008
A national 55pph speed limit can lead to real savings now. I can get behind this because I know driving slower works. I drive a 1996 Land Rover Discovery with a V8. When tested back in '96 they said that it would get 13 mpg in the city and 16 mpg in the highway. I average just over 15 mpg and 19.6 on longer highway trips like I did to Disneyland 3 days ago...with 4 people in the car!

It sure beats the hell out of a few other .orgs that are trying to get me to pressure congress for electric cars and alt-fuels. Congress has never produced a single car or a drop of fuel. That is the job of business and markets, I mean if you don't want a $2,000,000 car that is half as good...LOL!

Now laws...that they do all day long. Let's have the 55 speed limit!

Daniel Smith

 
27 year old Vet Drives 55 Print E-mail
Wednesday, 01 October 2008

I am a 27 year old male born and raised right here in Sacramento. The overwhelming social influence I was subjected to during my youth was that environmentalists were invariably card carrying socialists and anything that wasn't a V8 with a manual transmission was not only un-American but was solid grounds for questioning someone’s manhood. My father saved me from all of that by imbuing me with the foundations I needed to question the norm and develop my own understandings of the world. But it still took me a while to shed the socially imposed shackles and raise my head above the fog.

My first car was a 1984 Corvette that I had for only two months, the second was a 1989 Camaro RS. I had an irrational need for speed and was only under 55 when at the pump or in the driveway. I joined the military at 19 and soon after that I purchased my third car, a 1994 Corvette ZR-1, this didn’t help my speed problem.

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2008 Chevrolet Impala averages 33.8 MPG Print E-mail
Sunday, 07 September 2008

I've been doing the 55 mph routine long before I found this site.  I've owned hybrid cars with the built in mileage computers, and had made it a game to push the graphics ever higher, and log ever higher figures into my sheets. I no longer have the hybrid cars, but still keep to the 55 mph rule.  Case in point, my current ride, which is a 2008 Chevy Impala 2LT with the 3.9L V6 that cuts down to three cyilnders under low load conditions.  Tonight on the way home, I've posted a new high number - 33.8 mpg by the car's computer.  This isn't via a solid nonstop highway drive either. I have about 15 traffic lights on my 50 mile commute to get through, and three of them still managed to get me to come to a full stop, despite the late night hour that is my drive time home.  I have a photo of the car's mileage computer as proof:  Average fuel economy 33.8 MPG at 55 MPH

 

Bryan Foust
Paradise, TX

EPA MPG rating on this car is 18 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, 22 mpg combined
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/24696.shtml

Update, 10/14/2008

I am writing tonight to give an update on my efforts to push my fuel economy to new heights on my 2008 Impala.  Tonight, not only did I beat my old record of 33.8, I practically shattered it.  I pulled into my driveway after my drive home from work, to find the mileage readout posting a new high of 34.9 mpg.  That is not all, for a while, it was showing as high as 35.3 mpg, before the hills in my immediate area took their toll on the numbers.  As with my first email, I have a photo of the screen: 

35mpg_impala.jpg

I don't care that the price of gas has been coming down as of late. Maintaining my rule of driving no faster than 55 mph, combined with the recent downward trend in prices at the pump (I will not call it "cheap" untill we see pre-Katrina prices, and I'm not holding my breath for that) both combine to further help give my fuel budget a bit of a break.
Bryan 

Update January 4, 2009

Once again, I write back to share another experience of keepting to a maximum speed of 55 mph.  I recently just returned from a holiday visit to family over the Christmas and New Year's holiday.  The drive up to Colorado included a battle with headwinds, and resulted in a none too remarkable 32.3 and 31.7 mpg respectively out of the two tanks of gas purchased for the approximately 750 mile drive.

My drive home however, would prove to be much more fruitful.  The temps were warm (almost too warm) and winds more favorable for the return trip. I topped off the tank before heading down the highway, and set the cruise to the requisite 55 mph speed.  As the miles ticked by, the computer kept gradually climbing higher, as the "AFM" system in my Impala took every possible opportunity to turn the V6 engine into a V3.  By the time I entered into the Texas panhandle area out of New Mexico, the mileage computer was solidly locked into the 36 mpg figure.  Still the computer would notch upwards a couple of more ticks by the time I began to see Amarillo on the horizon.  Needless to say, I was thrilled to see my full size car enter into fuel economy territory occupied by the Chevy Aveo.  As Amarillo was my planned city to stop for gas, I pulled into the Pilot Truckstop located at I-40 and Loop 335.  When I shut off the ignition, the computer was showing 36.5 mpg.  As with all of my record mileage claims, I've included a picture of the computer:
 http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1247/3167759237_0ea17d54c4.jpg

This number was obtained after a 437 mile drive.

The rest of my drive home would still prove the merits of keeping my speed to 55, and letting the car's cylinder deactivation make the most of itself.  The continuing drive down US 287 to the DFW area includes lots of little towns to slow down through.  The mileage computer still posted a very respectable 35 mpg, despite having traffic lights to contend with in the small towns.

 
Save gas and save lives Print E-mail
Tuesday, 19 August 2008

I am a retired police officer and was working the east side of Tampa during the first mandatory 55 mph limit.  Prior to this, we experienced about 2 fatalities per week on I-275 and I-4, a lot of injuries and extensive vehicle damage. After the reduced speed (as they said, strictly enforced), we dropped to about 2 fatalities per month, a reduction in injuries and property damage.  I know that people are bored while driving at 55 but consideration for the safety of others must come before being entertained while driving. Speed does kill and too often.

Al Ratliff Jr.
Retired TPD Corporal

Thank you Officer Ratliff! More about speeding and safety is published in the Safety section of this website.

 
Your Brain on Mathematics Print E-mail
Wednesday, 06 August 2008

All you need to know.
W = F X D
Work (energy consumed) = Force (aerodynamic parasite drag) X Distance traveled.
Aerodynamic parasite drag force increases as the Square of the increase in speed.

From 55 mph to 80 mph the speed increase is 1.45. 1.45 squared is 2.11
Over DOUBLE THE ENERGY USED!

Conversely slowing from 80 to 55 (55/80 = .6875   Square this = .473 used)
cuts the energy, fuel burned to less than 1/2.

Jim Messina
Allentown, PA 

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