Lowering car speedometers to only 45 MPH?

Ian F

They tried that in the 1980s. American car speedometers topped out at about 80 miles per hour.

The cars themselves did not.

You do know that the speedometer has nothing to do with how fast the car can actually go, right? That many cars can go faster than their speedos say, and many can't even get anywhere close to the top of their speedo?

And we're in a hurry because we have finite amount of time. If humans lived a million years, and a day was 100 hours long, I'm sure driving everywhere at 45 mph would be just dandy. But unfortunately, the way the US is laid out would make that impractical for many, many people.

And most people who COULD do that without spending an unacceptable percentage of their life on the road live close enough to their workplace that they probably never see a speed limit higher than 45 on their commute ANYWAY.

Oh yeah, and lowering speed limits doesn't save lives. Setting the speed limit to the 85th percentile (that is, regardless of the speed limit, the speed which 85 percent of drivers are below) saves lives.

In addition, setting a MINIMUM speed limit at the 30th percentile would also save lives.

http://www.safespeed.org.uk/speedlimits.html

In short, it might be a good idea if the only thing at play here were Newtonian physics...but there's also psychology and biology at work, and they're a little more complicated.

Steven F

I believe if you check accident stats on the NHTSA site, you may be amazed at the velocity most accidents occur at.

Try this before you assume that it is "SPEED" that kills and mames.

The lack of skill to avoid collisions and the where-with-all to have the ability to practically apply them may be where you might want to start your post next time.

fire4511

If we really want to be safe, shouldn't we lower the speed limit to 5 MPH, and require that everyone riding in a vehicle wear a helmet and fire retardant suit, just like race car drivers wear?

How about we ban all vehicles? We could also require that everyone who is walking wear knee and elbow pads, because they might trip and fall down! Why not require that all light poles be wrapped in bubble wrap?

All of these ideas are to be kind... STUPID!!! We tried a 50 (later 55) MPH speed limit and it was a dismal failure!! People just refused to obey the law!! Why do you want to try something that has already proven to be a failure?

Steven C

You only want to go 45 buy a Prius.

Scott H

Lowering the speedometer won't do anything. Cars are designed to safely travel much faster than 45mph. I live in the Southwest USA. It's 450 miles from Phoenix to Albuquerque. I can drive it in under 6 hours. At the speed you're proposing, it would take 10 hours. 10 hours across some of the most deserted land you've ever seen. No thanks. Next suggestion?

Anastasia Beaverhousen

45mph? Are you kidding me??? The speed limit on the freeway is 65pmh, 70 in some areas. I would never support that, it would be quite expensive. Everyone's supposed to rush out and by these new, weak cars that can barely climb a small hill, and we should all junk our cars that work just fine??!! If your engine's max speed was 45mph, you would be constantly pushing your car to it's limit, which is not good for engine life. This is the silliest argument I've ever heard. What we need to do is have stricter rules and punishments for people breaking the laws already in effect.

JAMES11A

Are you interested in limiting the speed to 45 mph or just limiting the speedometer to 45?

Limiting the speedometer to 45 will do little good.

Limiting the speed to 45 means that NO ONE would get anywhere in Texas, Oklahoma, etc. It would also dramatically increase the cost of EVERYTHING shipped by truck (hint - if you got it, a truck brought it). It would take longer to ship and that means that drivers/shippers would have to raise rates to compensate for the increased time on the road.

If you wish to limit your own speed to 45, have a ball. Some of the rest of us have other ideas.

Vince M

You are correct in your assumption that higher speeds cause more deaths, but there is no magic limit at 45 mph that will make cars NOT deadly in a collision. In an impact between a 4,000 pound minivan and a 150 pound pedestrian, even at 25 mph, the pedestrian loses.

petmykitty22

We are in such a hurry to get to our darn jobs so we dont loose them and and then our nice new cars and then all of our posessions and of course our homes..

markar

Hello,,I always say lower the speed limit to 21 and raise the drinking age to 65.

John S

This could be answered in many ways. one, yes it would saves lives, though also what if you are in an emergency. This is a good concept but maby it should be more like 90 or 100. I will say that there is not much reason besides racing for cars that go over 200.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: