Speed Limits (rant/curiosity)

[10068]

I just noticed another strange phenomenon today. What is with people driving slow on the Interstate when there's no sensible psychological or physical reason to do so? I watched about 3 miles of Interstate 405 slow to a crawl (10mph) for NO REASON. No crash/collison ahead. No cops. No rain. No onramp merging into traffic. In fact the only "unpredictable element" was an OFFRAMP which i would assume (incorrectly?) would help the flow of traffic because people are LEAVING the interstate.

So that begs another question... is it just me, or do the vast majority of drivers sometimes drive slow for absolutely no reason at all on the interstate? "Hey the road is clear and there's no obstructions! Let's slam on our brakes!"

 

[ken36]

I'm old. I drive with the traffic. I feel guilty when I see a police car. Here in Texas we never pass a cop. Don't mess with Texas.

 

[averydonovan]

I've only had my license for a week, but I have no issue with sticking to the speed limit. I try to stick within roughly 3MPH +/- the speed limit or to the speed of traffic if slower than the speed limit. Even on highways I prefer to stick to the speed limit. My car gets far better highway gas mileage than city mileage, the difference being more dramatic than average for a vehicle, and that's because between 55MPH and 65MPH the engine is between 1200 and 1500RPM. If the speed limit is 75MPH on a highway that I'm on I'll certainly go that speed, to avoid being a risk to other traffic if they are all going that speed, but my mileage will suffer a bit. And I have a 4500lb car (without passengers and fuel) that with mixed city/highway driving, with more city than not, I still get 23MPG. Owners of cars similar to mine regularly report over 30MPG on the highway. And my car has never had a tune-up (it's due in 15,500 miles). I guess I'm just not in that big of a rush to get anywhere and I'm so used to taking the bus that I set aside more time than needed to get to where I'm going.

 

[Trippytiger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pne /img/forum/go_quote.gif i beg to differ. how are you going to plan your way to 80mph when you have a certain length of on-ramp and a certain gap you must get into with only 55hp to work with?

Then you wait for a bigger gap.

The reality is that hundreds of thousands of people make do with 55 hp or even less every day. It just comes down to judgment and timing.

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donovansmith /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess I'm just not in that big of a rush to get anywhere and I'm so used to taking the bus that I set aside more time than needed to get to where I'm going.

I didn't hate it at first. Here in the Evergreen State traffic is only getting worse over time unfortunately.... it takes 1.5 -3 hours to get anywhere on public transportation. Commute takes a minimum of 45 minutes to travel 10 miles. My fiance works 7am-6pm and it takes her over 1.5 hours to travel 15 miles. (on the Interstate of course. backroads is even slower.) That is 3 hours round trip commute.