However, driven sensibly, it can get greatly improved fuel economy! I use the truck to tow a small (20 foot) travel trailer, and at other times a small (21 foot) boat. The rig is well suited to this purpose. At 55 - 57 MPH towing the 3500 pound trailer the engine is only turning over at 1700 RPM. Loafing along.
I am glad to find your website. I support reducing the national speed limit to 55 mph.
In looking at your "Help contact our allies" list, one major ally that should be added is "Environment California."
Environment California normally works on a variety of state level environmental legislation, however, they do also undertake national legislation lobbying as well.
I have already contacted Environment California and urged them to adopt a position of supporting and lobbying for a reduction of the speed limit to 55. Of course, the more public support they see for this idea, the more likely they are to enthusiatcally support it.
I am happy to have found your bumper stickers about driving 55 to reduce CO2 emissions/global warming. I started driving no more than 5 miles over the speed limit a couple of months ago, and have been thrilled with my gas savings and I feel less stressed while driving. The only problem has been other drivers, who are irate about not being able to go 10 miles over the speed limit, and when those big SUV's and trucks are tailgating my little sedan it is annoying and a little scary. I was thinking I should design a bumper sticker to try to spread the message but figured I should google it to see if someone else had. And you had!
I heard one of your proponents broadcasting on the CB while I was traveling through Salina, KS a while ago. At the time I was usually doing 65mph. On XM Radio ch 171 Kevin Rutherford also encourages us to drive 55 strictly as an economic decision. I've slowed down so far to 58 mph and have seen my fuel economy go from 5.7mpg up to 6.7 mpg. I'll be trying 55 mph next and see what results I get.
Driving 55 particularly on the interstate would be an excellent idea! I, for myself, HATE to ride fast, and have always resented being pressured to ride like a racecar whenever I get on the interstate. But it is either that or ride secondary highways all the way, more relaxing, but a bit long on a lengthy journey. The dilemma I have always had is if I ride a speed I am more comfortable with, somewhere between 55 -60, I am deluged from behind by obviously irate drivers who are pushing my bumper to either speed up or get off the road. I'm sure many of you know the feeling.
It would be a good idea to have these bumper stickers to let them know what you are doing. One idea I would propose is develop a flashing LED with the same messages as the bumper sticker. This would serve as a warning to slow and also to give them the message slowing down is a good way to save gas. Incidentally, I would also like to see these kind of flashing lights developed for motorscooters. I have been riding small motorscooters that get 80 MPG that can make 55 MPH easily, but not 65-80 at all. Flashing LEDs would be useful here. The bumper stickers would help, too.
Keep on slowing! John F. Bamberger
Thanks for the suggestion John. We googled "LED License Plate Frame" and found a few available that can be programmed with any message, they are a bit pricey at around $60, but still a great idea, especially for night time driving.
Last week I sent this letter out to a number of conservation organizations, and also to Yes! magazine. They asked me for a reference and I couldn't find it, so I googled "55 speed limit mideast oil" and BINGO! "You've been doing this for a while. Why hasn't it caught on?" I suggest a new bumpersticker :
55 FOR PEACE
55 FOR POLAR BEARS
55 TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING, etc.
Text of my earlier letter:
Here’s an action almost everyone can do immediately that will reduce global warming. DRIVE SLOWER.
I read in a recent Sierra Club magazine that if the whole country went back to the 55mph speed limit (as we did in the first oil crisis back in the 70s) it would save the amount of oil we import from the Persian Gulf. We don't have to wait for the Government, we can drive 55 right now. How about some sort of campaign: Drive 55, keep the earth alive! or 55 for polar bears! 55 for peace! People could display a bumper sticker, so we'd know who we are as we drive down the highway.
I'm already doing it. I’ve been doing it for 3 years, since I bought my Honda Hybrid. It has a clever LED readout of my average mileage, so I tested it on the highway, and at 55mph my car gets 55mpg. At 60 it drops to about 52, at 65 it’s down to about 47. It’s true, it does require some sacrifice. It takes longer to get places. But you know what? It doesn’t take that much longer. Every time the needle creeps up to 60 I remember polar bears and slow down. It makes me feel good.
A lot of different groups could suggest their members do this: environmental groups, peace groups - almost every problem we are struggling with could be helped by slowing down.
Thanks,
Jenny Deupree
in Franconia, NH
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Thank you Jenny, and also all the others who have sent email and encouragement. This new website is for you. Our goal: One Million Drive 55 bumperstickers!
Governor Ernie Fletcher
700 Capital Avenue, Suite 100
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 Online Contact
Dear Governor Fletcher,
Could you please answer the following question? Considering what I have stated in this letter, what significant benefits can you offer regarding the proposed increase in speed limits on any highway in Kentucky that truly outweigh the benefits and need for a more sensible approach to our environment, health and energy crisis?
Dear MEMBER OF CONGRESS, I am sending this letter to those whom I consider to be our country's leading thinkers and policy makers. I write to you with great respect and a deep desire to help our country survive.
As many of you know, one of the simplest ways we can conserve gas is to just drive slower. With the Labor Day Weekend approaching, why not take a little more time to get where you're going? Talk more with your family and friends, bring more music, and help conserve the amount of gas you use that weekend!!!
If you feel inclined, make a small sign for your rear window to let others know why you are driving 55. Use your imagination and feel free to add any other messages you want to promote!!! It's also a good idea to stay in the right hand lanes so that other drivers can pass on the left (if they really do need to go faster)
Thanks for hearing me out, spread the word!!!
Drive 55 - Conserve Your Ride - Labor Day Weekend
Many thanks to Dan Liu for sending in this excellent suggestion - pass it on!
Hi, I thought this story should be of interest to you. I did drive 55 (52 to 53 true speed) to set this mileage record. I don't recall passing anyone on the entire trip.
Ernie Rogers
Over the Labor Day weekend, the TDI Club had it's annual get-together called "TDI Fest." The club has a large percentage of car efficiency enthusiasts that have chosen diesel technology instead of hybrids. TDI (short for "Turbocharged Direct Injection" is Volkswagen's label for it's highly-efficient automobile diesel engines. 150 people showed up for the three-day affair near Madison, Wisconsin. They were a small segment of the approximately 35,000 club members that have registered at http://www.tdiclub.com <http://www.tdiclub.com/> . The meeting was about efficiency and also about high performance. With a TDI-powered car, you can definitely have both.
Attendees drove to the meeting from all over the U.S. and Canada to show off their beloved fuel-sipping cars. Cars were entered in a variety of competitions from road rallying to extreme fuel economy.
The fuel economy prize was won by Ernie Rogers from Pleasant Grove, Utah. His winning car is a 2003 VW Beetle TDI. He drove 1375 miles to get to the meeting using just 18 gallons of fuel-- 1200 miles of which was accomplished on just one tankfull (15.5 gallons). His trip fuel economy was 76 miles per gallon.
Rogers' car included several small refinements that added up to the exceptional mileage: a drag reducing device he designed and built himself (pictures at http://www.max-mpg.com <http://www.max-mpg.com/> ), lower-rolling-resistance tires, low-friction engine oil, and use of a B5 biodiesel blend fuel to increase efficiency and improve emissions.
The hottest topic of conversation at the meeting, and the subject of a popular technical session, was on the benefits of using biodiesel or biodiesel-blend fuels. Most of the attendees were either already using biodiesel or had decided to start. It was noted that research in Canada had shown that a fuel blend with only 1% biodiesel can increase a car's fuel economy by as much as 14% while substantially lowering emissions.
Biodiesel is one of many new sulfur-free diesel engine fuels now entering the market in small quantities. Most of the new fuels (including biodiesel) are not made from petroleum, but from a number of renewable sources. Biodiesel can be made from soybean oil, canola oil, or other seed oils, and from many oily wastes such as animal fats. Low-grade oils and fats that are not fit for use in foods have now found a new usefulness. In the future, we will be able to make renewable diesel fuels from other wastes such as garbage and leftovers from harvesting of many crops including wood.
Diesel engines provide exceptionally high torque at low rpm, as well as 43% peak efficiency, higher than any other type of engine. While diesels gained a bad reputation in the past for high emissions, newly developed engines have overcome the problem, running clean on fuels with very low sulfur content.
Diesel engines naturally emit less carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) because of their higher efficiency.
For more in-depth information on TDI cars and TDI Fest, go to http://www.tdiclub.com TDIClub.com Warning: If you were thinking of buying a TDI car, expect disappointment. These cars have become very scarce because of high fuel prices.
