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I Can't Drive 55
listen:
 A Memorial Weekend crackdown by New Hampshire law enforcement netted a large number of speeders, many of whom were going eighty-miles-an-hour or faster. There's no doubt that Granite Staters have a need for speed...and almost as many opinions about it as tickets given out last week. We'll look at the current laws, hear what you think about the current speed limits...and also get into why we drive the way we do. Laura's guests are Peter Thomson, Coordinator for the State of New Hampshire Highway Safety Agency and Captain Alan Welch, State Police Command Staff. We'll also hear from Dr. Leon James, Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii who also is known as Dr. Driving on the web. Web resources:
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It was not mentioned the effect of the types of vehicles with regard to accidents. It was mentioned on the show the greatly increased incidence of rollovers. I would expect this would be due to the prevalence of more unstable vehicles, such as SUVs and vans. Also, the marketing to the 20-something generation is not only with targeted ads. In fact, the high-end versions of a number of lines, notably the Honda Civic Si and the Volkswagen Jetta GLI, include features such as very-low profile tires and hard-as-a-rock suspensions that are only suitable for driving at high speeds, not for normal roads at normal speeds.
It was interesting to hear the discussion of speed as a factor in accidents, and the remark that the speed limit should not be raised because of this. What I find is that at least in New Hampshire there is a posted speed limit and a higher de facto limit at which the speed limit is enforced. I would suggest that making the speed limit higher would not increase the average speed in accidents as long as the higher speed limit is enforced properly.
Police commenting on the Memorial Day crackdown on I95 stated that the speeding was so rampant that they needed to focus on drivers exceeding 80 MPH. I would suggest that this very approach increases the incidence of speeding. Many people exceed the speed limit because they know there is no chance of being stopped if they keep their speed under 75 MMPH for example. If instead the police made random stops of any cars exceeding the limit, many people would not speed because they know there would be at least a small chance of being stopped.
(I heard only the tail end of today's program, so this issue may have been discussed.)
It should be mentioned that fuel economy degrades at higher speeds. For any vehicle, a significant part of the work done by the engine goes to overcome air resistance, the slowing force of the wind that a car experiences as it rushes forward. This resistance varies roughly as the square of the speed, which is a fancy way of saying that it goes up with speed faster than you might think: if you double your speed, the force of the air doesn't double – it increases by a factor of four. So, if you drive at 70 miles per hour, the engine must work four times harder than it would at 35 miles per hour, just to plough through the oncoming air.
This was brought home to me concretely when I began a job that required a long commute. When I started the job I bought a gas/electric hybrid (Honda Civic) to use instead of my old pickup. This car was rated at 46/51 mpg, for city/highway driving. I was in the habit of traveling at about 70 - 75 mph on the interstate (mea culpa!), and with the new car I was getting about 45 miles per gallon. Not bad, but a little disappointing. Then I noticed that on the days that I took secondary roads, where my speed varied from about 30 to 50, the fuel economy of my car improved dramatically. Now, on a typical day I travel half on secondary roads at 30-50 mph, half on the interstate at 65 mph, and my fuel usage varies from about 50 to 55 miles per gallon, sometimes as high as 60. At today's gas prices, this translates to a saving of about $500 per year for my commute, all due to lower speeds.
So, you may not kill yourself or someone else as you tear down the highway doing 80 or 90 (one hopes not) – but you'll pay for it.
What also wasn't mentioned is that drivers who do the legally (and perhaps morally) correct thing - drive the limit - feel like they are causing trouble because cars are wizzing around them. So what should we do? Break the law in the interest of safety?
Personally, I set the cruise control for 65 and hope that I can form up with a pack of like minded drivers. (although until this show, I hadn't realized that forming into a pack puts my find at ease)
Then there's the changing limits. How many drivers actually slow down on rt 93/Everett Turnpike as it goes though Manchester and Concord?
Fuel economy was mentioned, but wasn't played up. This website: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml sums it up - for every 5mph over 60, you're paying .20c/gal more for gas.