speed limits

nottastocker · 11-05-2004, 11:59 PM

is there any place in the US that actually has no defined speed limits? i heard montana's like that

blurp · 11-06-2004, 06:27 AM

I read somewhere that Montana was going to re-instate their limits, because the federal government cut off huge amounts of funding when they abolished their speed limits. Anyone else read this? I can't remember where I saw it.

IntellaWorks · 11-06-2004, 08:37 AM

You guys are right, I worked with a guy who lived there for a while and he said they didn't have a liquer law (meaning they could sell it 24/7) and they didn't have speed limits. He said it was a pretty laid back place, poeple don't speed there just because they can.

Thats the whole thing about our gov't they think we're all dumb enough to speed just because we can, so they feel like they MUST enforce speed limits otherwise we'd all just kill each off.

carpcnoobie · 11-06-2004, 09:32 AM

I'm not sure if the speed limit on the Montanabahn has been re-instated. I think it has been.

I remember reading a study a while back that said that people were so SCARED of motorist driving at insane speeds. A speed survey on several main highways showed that a majority of driver's drove 73mph on average and less the 1% drove above 100mph.

States are gradually starting to adopt higher speed limits. I was just looking at a website that a friend passed on to me the other day. I think they said speed limits out west were nearing 85mph in places. Not bad, considering the days of the double-nickel.

Although, I agree, the gov't should raise the speed limits, I really think the gov't should vastly overhaul the driver training process as a whole. The driver's license requirements in many states are a joke. An outright joke and we wonder why there are so many accidents and insurance premiums are so high.

I have lived in Germany the last 3 years, but was born and raised in the states. I have a German driver's license. I can tell you, after taking the test here, I really have an appreciation for the strict measures that are taken. FYI: the test here is designed so that one out of every two people trying the test will fail the first attempt. (I passed the first try

)

I think speed limits are going up because gov'ts are realizing that keeping them down to 55 and such will simply mean a vast majority of people are going to ignore the limits entirely. Raising them to 65 and 75 will be more reasonable and encourage motorist to obey the limit.

Just my opinion. As a person who drives in the states and on the autobahn.

TruckinMP3 · 11-06-2004, 10:21 AM

The interstate speed limit in Montanna is 75 now. The federal government was going to hold federal dollars for highways.

EBFoxbat · 11-06-2004, 10:23 AM

During my roadtrip...from MA to OH to SC to NY back to MA... I encountered 55, 60, 65, 70, and 75 mph limits. On INTERSTATE HIGH ways. The 55 and 60 were in the city so I understand that and the 70 was in the middle of no where.

In Massachusetts the limit is 65. Set your cruise control for under 80 and you will never be pulled over.I usualy set it at about 78 (just my comfort zone) When I got to VA (I think it was) the limit is 70, I still stayed at 78 with the CC. Some people passed at 85 or so.

What busts my balls is the no radar detectors in WV. Even Germany's autobahn has limits in spots now. And where there is none, the limit is "Reasonable and Prudent Speeds" or something like that. Which means you can still be pulled over.

If we had no speed limit, I'd probabaly cruise around 80 or so.

Riddle me this...
00-50 mph w/ AC on 18 mpg
00-50 mph no AC on 19 mpg
50-70 mph w/ AC on 19 mpg
50-70 mph no AC on 21 mpg
70+ mph w/ AC on 16 mpg
70+ mph no AC on 17 mpg

Much faster than 70 and my milage drops. I have a GMC inline 5-cylinder. I actually get better milage cruise around town at 35 than I do at 80. I seem to get the best milage with no AC on and cruising around 70.

LowMileLude · 11-06-2004, 01:10 PM

^^ Yeah, I've made many trips Ohio - Florida - Ohio. It's a long drive.

In Ohio (55-65) I run ~75.

KY I run ~70-75 as well (except for Louisville where I watch the speedlimit carefully, HighwayPatrol around there is a PITA).

TN I run ~70-80 (80mph south of Nashville on into AL).

AL... You're lucky if you see another car for miles in some sections. I ran with a convoy one trip we did 85-90 the whole way down. I normally run at ~85 through AL (except for the cities where I tone it down to 70-75, unless under construction)

FL I've got to switch drivers because I've been used to going 85 and we have to keep it below 60 on a state route into Pensacola, FL.

And my best fuel economy ever was in my '86 Honda Prelude loaded down with all my sister's college gear driving through the mountains of KY 70-75mph. 38mpg (I normally got 32-34). I do find anything over 73mph lowers my mpg considerably, too.

TruckinMP3 · 11-06-2004, 02:18 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by EBFoxbat

During my roadtrip...from MA to OH to SC to NY back to MA... I encountered 55, 60, 65, 70, and 75 mph limits. On INTERSTATE HIGH ways. The 55 and 60 were in the city so I understand that and the 70 was in the middle of no where.

In Massachusetts the limit is 65. Set your cruise control for under 80 and you will never be pulled over.I usualy set it at about 78 (just my comfort zone) When I got to VA (I think it was) the limit is 70, I still stayed at 78 with the CC. Some people passed at 85 or so.

What busts my balls is the no radar detectors in WV. Even Germany's autobahn has limits in spots now. And where there is none, the limit is "Reasonable and Prudent Speeds" or something like that. Which means you can still be pulled over.

If we had no speed limit, I'd probabaly cruise around 80 or so.

Riddle me this...
00-50 mph w/ AC on 18 mpg
00-50 mph no AC on 19 mpg
50-70 mph w/ AC on 19 mpg
50-70 mph no AC on 21 mpg
70+ mph w/ AC on 16 mpg
70+ mph no AC on 17 mpg

Much faster than 70 and my milage drops. I have a GMC inline 5-cylinder. I actually get better milage cruise around town at 35 than I do at 80. I seem to get the best milage with no AC on and cruising around 70.

The 75 limit is the max the feds will let a state post, it can be less.

as for the mpg riddle, did you have any difference in wind or grade? Air temp and humitity are also factors....

blurp · 11-06-2004, 02:25 PM

come to think of it, every vehicle I've ever owned, except for one (a 3 1/2 ton truck), has had a "sweet spot" around 70mph.

carpcnoobie · 11-06-2004, 03:24 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by EBFoxbat

What busts my balls is the no radar detectors in WV. Even Germany's autobahn has limits in spots now. And where there is none, the limit is "Reasonable and Prudent Speeds" or something like that. Which means you can still be pulled over.

States where radar detectors are illegal. As far as I still know, the only states that do not allow radar detectors are Virginia, Connecticut and Washington D.C. (not a state). I've never heard West Virginia having a radar detector law. WV has 75 speed limit.

As for Germany... yes, it is "Reasonable and prudent". Trust me... it's not very often I see people get pulled over in Germany for going to fast. There are speed limits on the autobahn. Those can be imposed for intersecting autobahns, rain/precip, noise protection, steep grades, construction, or sharp turns. The key on Germany's autobahns is the fact that the speed limits tend to be very reasonable. Even when there are speed limits they are reasonable and typically don't last that long outside of the major cities.

Common offenses, for which you will be pulled over on the autobahn, are illegal passing (passing on the right), wreckless driving, following too close, impeding traffic (sitting in the fast lane slowing cars down) and probably some more that I can't think of at the given moment. Police here also don't play the cat and mouse game like they do in the states. Waiting behind bushes and trees to catch you doing something wrong. For speeding they simply put up a camera and hope you don't see it. There are some police patrolling the autobahns, but it is far less likely for me to see a police patrol here verse a state trooper in the states. This all of course from my impressions of driving in Germany.

lgbr · 11-06-2004, 04:38 PM

Overdrive gear ratios are tuned for 70 mph these days. The faster you go, the harder your engine has to work, so you'll need a transmission with two overdrives to get good mileage over 70 mph.

I believe it was the year 1999 or 2000, christmas of, where they got rid of the speed limits. I remember that between Christmas and the New Year, there was no actual speed limit (not like the "Reasonable and safe" I saw on speed limit signs).

I often drive through Montana, and there they like to put crosses or hearts where people have died. You see a ton of them on highways, but almost done on the interstate, and the highways are whats dangerous there. There was nothing dangerous about the interstate in Montana.

It seems the only motivation behind switching to a speed limit in Montana was federal money. Now the speed limit is 75 in most places on I-90. My dad tells me that before the speed limit was put back in place, you could get pulled over for doing over 80. Neglegent and reckless driving laws still applied.

One huge thing I notice about Montana is not only do a lot of drivers not care, the cops aren't assholes like they are in the rest of the states. Not only that, but I have never ever seen a single speed trap in Montana. I see cops, but they are going places. Once last summer when I was going home from Montana I was on a two lane highway and I hit 90 (yes, in my civic, was very easy to do) and passed about 8 cars in less than a minute. I watched the faces of all the drivers as I went by, and to my suprise, it seemed that no one cared at all. Washington drivers would be screaming at you, honking, and flashing their lights for something like that.

So, don't get discouraged, you can still have fun in Montana. But if you want to go nuts, save it for the track.

Quattro · 11-06-2004, 06:21 PM

You guys are lucky where you have speed limits 70 and above. We still have 55 here is New York and some places even 50.

nottastocker · 11-06-2004, 10:55 PM

the highest ive seen is 65, on I81

choyak · 11-06-2004, 11:10 PM

California has 70, Arizona has 75, Colorado is 75, Nebraska is 75, Iowa and Wisconsin are 65 (I drove through in August)
I think the speed limit in cities is less though.

Compu-Blazer · 11-07-2004, 09:21 PM

good ole 55mph here in Illinois :-(

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