I didn't see that earlier reply but if I had, I would have replied the same way: I don't believe that.

First off, I have driven my normal 55 mph near and in large cities and I didn't die. Second, OP is driving what I assume is a large truck, kinda hard to kill those guys.

But there is an addiction to going fast, it's a religious-type devotion as strong as the love for the smartphone. People just can't give up the speed.
I think the phenomenon would make good doctoral thesis material.

 

A HUGE advantage of driving slower is a dramatic increase in gas mileage! That's the reason we went to the 55mph National Speed Limit in the first place. Overdrive transmissions made a big difference as well, but those came around much later...

Our trucks are about as aerodynamic as a brick. Heck, even in my cars, I notice that if I drive at 65-70mph (the speed limits around here), I get 1-2mpg better gas mileage than if I go 75+ .. The truck being bigger/squarer is even more dramatic! Heck, just putting a tonneau cover on my truck decreased the aerodynamic drag of the turbulent air behind the cab and into the bed box.... enough for over one mpg at highway speed!

 

Speed does not kill, the sudden stop does. That stop can be walking, riding a bicycle, running, etc.

I appreciate those that want to protect me from life, but none of us make it out alive. I think we should all make our own sound choices and let us live with the consequences. As long as it's legal, I think we should be left alone.

Now, get off my grass.

 

If you are not doing 80 around here, you will get passed
I look down and see myself going 90 just to keep up
Agree, it's way easier to slow down and be safe

 

You did see what earlier reply? You said the same thing in another thread so I answered the one here with the post from that thread instead of typing it again.

I was saying it isn’t safe for you and the other people when the speed limit is 70 mph, the other drivers are going 80+ mph and they come up on you putting along doing 55 mph. There used to be minimum speed limits which were 10mph below the maximum speed limit. Wouldn’t going 15mph under the speed limit mean you should have 4-way flashers on to let people know you are going slow? So driving an old vehicle means you don’t care if it gets in an accident?

Same here except I don’t do 90 to keep up but I’m not going to drive 25mph slower than the flow of traffic either.

 

MyFordTrucks,

Are you one of those people that can't seem to see beyond maybe 2 car lengths ahead?

I've been driving 55 mph on every interstate I've been on since the summer of 2006. Back then I was driving about 500 interstate miles every week for some business. One day, after the meeting, I wasn't in a hurry and thought "I wonder if there is anything to that 55 mph federal law? Will it really help that much in mileage?"

So I drove 55 for a 150 mile leg of the trip. Stopped for gas and did an average mileage calculation. 50 miles to the gallon! I was shocked! My Honda Civic normally got 38 mpg on that same trip! So I tried 55 mph again. 48 miles to the gallon. Why the slight difference? I had just had a decorative (and drag inducing) wing put on the back end. Bought it and scheduled the work months before my milage test. I kept trying it. 48, 46....mileage was nice. The fuel savings had to add up.....

I get passed by every vehicle on the interstate and I'm OK with that. I rarely pass anyone. I stay in the right lane. Something I've noticed though, even over the course of literally miles of straight, flat road, people can't seem to see that far ahead. They come up on me, not seeming to notice they are closing distance, not pass even though the left lane was open for literally miles, only to get trapped behind me. Some try to tailgate, thinking I guess "he'll speed up." Um, no. Tailgating is a form of bullying and I have a real problem with bullies. I don't go slower or brake check, but I don't speed up. On occasion, I'm not paying attention either, get caught behind a tractor trailer on a hill, have to wait for the left lane to clear. I don't get angry at the trucker, I should have been more alert. I'm OK with that. I don't get angry.

Now I know truckers have a problem with our hills, if a truck is trapped behind, and another hill is coming, I'll speed up to give him a better chance at a run. They have a tough enough job as it is.

I've found the slower interstate speed does indeed reduce driving stress. That's a subjective thing of course but I've felt a more relaxing drive at 55 compared to at 70 or 75. I often pull over and help disabled motorists, done it so often I carry extra tools just because so few people carry tools at all. I have some rules about it, but if I think it is safe and I can help, I generally pull over. It's easier to pull over close at 55 than at 75. (Car crashes I pull over regardless of the danger. I've been first on-scene for several).

I can understand the "who wants to live forever?" mentality. For a time I got paid to ski and I spent that money jumping out of airplanes. Talk about addiction! Every spare cent I had got left in the sky! Oddly enough, I drove 55 to and from the airport. LOL

 

There are sections of freeway and highway up here in wisconsin and down by chicago on the wisconsin side (probably more, i dont sprawl out much from wisconsin) that you would get pulled over going 55mph as they have posted minimum speeds. The most interesting one I saw was 75mph speed limit
60mph Minimum

Im not arguing or taking a stand, just pointing out that youd have to go a bit faster to avoid a ticket

 

Most interstates across the country have a 45mph minimum speed on 70mph maximum roads.

 

Absolutely not. Up in the distance or even behind me I can see the car in the right lane back up traffic while driving 15-20 mph under the speed limit because the left lane is also full of cars.

I figured there was probably a study of different speeds for fuel efficiency and that the government didn’t just arbitrarily choose 55mph but you never know.

Good for you.

 

Arbitrary number made up to give control of federal money to the states. Nothing more.

 

Interstates are designed for high speed travel. If you are on those roads, it is your responsibility to drive with traffic, not create a rolling road block because you are having some kind of zen moment. You have no business being on an interstate with a 70 mph speed limit, doing 55 mph. You are a danger to everyone on the road and should get a ticket, just like someone driving excessively fast. If you don't want to drive with traffic, get off the highway and drive surface roads.

 

Again, if the minimum posted speed limit is 45mph there is nothing you can do about it except be angry.

 

i can stand up in public and call people out for acting like jerks.
It’s high time we did that.
I’m on the road all the time and people get killed every day because some ****** thought his/her program was more important than everyone else’s.
That’s these guys right here.
if you can’t afford gas, don’t drive.
But you might want to consider what a piece of garbage you really are.
The reason you don’t have a right to drive is because it’s a shared responsibility.
Act like it.

 

Well said.

 

All that complaining and those people still have the right to drive at a minimum 45mph. You said people get killed every day because they thought their program was more important than others but doesn't that go both ways? Crazy to advocate for people driving 20 over the speed limit as somehow less dangerous than someone going 25 under. Keep your eyes on the road and there won't be any problems.