scorpa said:
Is the 55mph max thing just a states thing, because we don't seem to have that here. Semis blow by me all the time at at least 120 (km/h). I don't know how much limiting the speed will really help anyway, accidents will still happen...small car drivers cause just as many as truck drivers do. Either way I wasn't condoning SUVs or anything I just think the new FJ cruiser looks really neat!
Most states have done away with that limit for some time now. It was implemented back during the 70s fuel shortage (I think) when it was determined that that was the optimal speed for conserving fuel. I don't know if that's the optimal speed for modern cars. For a long time, Federal highway funding to the states was tied to the states maintaining 55 mph as the maximum speed limit, so that's what got them to go along with it (they could have raised it, but would have lost the highway money, which would have been costly to the states). It wasn't meant as a safety measure, just a fuel conservation measure.
In terms of semis, though, yes a lot of states still have a separate speed limit for them, especially when the car speed limit is fairly high, and that is a safety issue now...it doesn't mean they follow the speed limit. That takes into account the greater stopping distance for a loaded semi, as well as stability of the vehicle at higher speeds.
The absolute worst combination I frequently see on highways are the semis exceeding the speed limit, and the small sports cars weaving through traffic, also exceeding the speed limit, and cutting off the semis. There are also idiots who will cut in front of a semi and then stop short, giving them no room to stop.
People driving SUVs, especially the larger models, also often don't realize they are driving a truck and can't just drive it like they drive a car. I think this is even more of a problem since manufacturers have improved the steering so it doesn't "feel" like a truck so much. I think anyone owning an SUV or pick-up truck (or any other large vehicle, like a van, RV, or to tow a travel trailer behind your car) should require an additional driving test and endorsement on their license to be allowed to drive it, just to make sure they know how to drive the thing. This should include things like walking around the vehicle before backing out of a driveway to make sure there isn't anything or anybody behind it in the blind spot, and general awareness that they HAVE large blind spots, appropriate use of the side mirrors, ability to parallel park that monster, knowledge of increased stopping distances and safe following distances, differences in handling during a skid and risks of rollovers on tight curves, etc. Those vehicles do have a lot more in common with what semi drivers need to know than with what the average driving test covers for driving a car. While there are people who do know how to safely drive an SUV or pick-up truck, a lot don't. And, it's really not just them, and not just an issue of fuel consumption. There are people whose regular cars are small compact cars, but then when they need to move, they rent that moving truck and stick a trailer behind it to tow their car, and have never in their life driven a large truck, let alone handled a trailer before, and that's just a dangerous combination to put them on a long road-trip with no experience driving such a vehicle...and anyone with a valid driver's license can do it.
Anyway, that's not the intent of the thread, and isn't really related to fuel consumption issues, or vehicle manufacturers, I just had to vent that thought.
More on topic, in terms of vehicle needs of the general public, what manufacturers other than Subaru still have station wagon style models? I think a lot cut those lines as minivans and SUVs became the more popular "family" vehicles, but that's really what most energy-conscious families need...just a vehicle with a large enough area in the back to fit a stroller alongside the diaper bag and groceries. Half the problem is the way strollers have gotten ridiculously huge too. Some of them just won't fit into the trunk of some cars (it frustrates me when the trunk capacity is sufficient to fit something into it, but the opening isn't large enough). The older cars used to have huge trunks and trunk openings, and that was amenable for such uses as fitting in strollers. Station wagons aren't as ugly as they used to be, but maybe they need a make-over and new advertising campaign to get people to move toward smaller vehicles with better mileage without compromising that cargo space they desire. And maybe that's what they need to come out with as hybrid models, or models capable of running on biodiesel, etc, to attract the eco-friendly, family-friendly market.
). MI did have a separate truck speed limit, and it was either 55 or 60, but the car speed limit was 75! That was just plain dangerous, because the trucks weren't even required to stay to the right lane, so you'd have a car flying along at 75 (or 80 or 85...no matter how high the speed limit is, there are still people driving 10 over), and come up against a wall of trucks going 55 or 60. If the car driver slowed in time not to hit them, then they're impatiently tailgating the truck, trying to get around to get back to the car speed limit. If you're going to have more than one speed limit, you need separate lanes for vehicles that need to follow those speed limits.
), which are equally as annoying. Land Rover lost me when they decided to make the Range Rover Sport? What the hell is a Range Rover sport supposed to be? We also have people carriers here, stupid large bus/car things, BUT they are actually economical for the most part, I just don't like em.
