Posted on 06/27/2005 8:37:42 PM PDT by Diddle E. Squat
In Wyoming, it's 75 on Interstates and 65 on other highways. The WHP generally lets +10 MPH speeds go unnoticed. This makes 85-90 fairly common for the speedy drivers.
For '03, they finally upgraded to a rack-and-pinion setup. It's WAY better than my '97.
A big part of the reason for this is the limited resources for the state police / highway patrol. With a given number of officers and a limited number of hours in the day, they can only ticket so many drivers. It will be the top 5% -- or what have you -- regardless of the posted limit. It's simple economics applied to law enforcement.
In areas where ther is no frost, the thick concrete highways are great (unless you are on expansive clays, another story). Mnay of the older highways here in New England are concrete, but because of years of road salt, the concrete gets degraded and chewed up. Asphalt pacthing/overlaying is a cheap, effective and nearly permanent fix.
Also, frost heaves cause a slight lifting of the individual slabs, making for a bumpy ride and drastically shortening the roads life.
It will be interesting to watch the crash statistics, as I have done for insurance companies since '68.
Take seat belts, for example. The 3 states with the weakest seat belt laws have the lowest fatality rates. Why? The evidence points to the fact that when people do not place their trust in the magical powers of some inanimate object they are more likely to accept that they are responsible for the avoidance of a crash.
So one key question is how a change in the speed laws affects the drivers belief that he is responsible for avoiding a crash vs it is not his responsibility. Is part of that a good advertising campaign? Is part of it the impartation of certain values from his parents?
Another key question is how the slow drivers react. A significant portion of crashes occur when a driver does not keep up with traffic and blocks traffic. The impatient get frustrated and start to shift lanes to move up in the line. The people who are passed by the impatient then get po'd. It gradually escalates into road rage or some other attitude that leads to crashes.
Another factor is whether the police will shift from an emphasis on speeding tickets to enforcing the truly dangerious drivers, especially the DUIs. Statistics consistently show that whereas seatbelts are meaningless, the reduction in DUI drivers through strict enforcement has a major impact on a reduction in crashes of all severities, including fatalities.
Mine's a '95 with 300,000 on it. No slop in the steering, highway ride is excellent - and I grew up driving "fine European Import" type cars as well as competition equipment.
I've been to parts of Texas where the only sign of civilization is the road you are on. And since it is never used, it is in great shape. You pretty much have two concerns: a blowout or animal in the road.
When mine hits around 500,000 maybe the company will get me a new one. :)
"What's behind me is behind me!"
Hmm...not sure I believe that...but then again...I tend to travel between 85-90 MPH on the Interstate and some rural highways...when there isn't much traffic (no claims and no tickets...40% discount on my insurance..)...never saw a difference in gas mileage...'00 Silverado...if there's a lot of traffic...70-75 is quite a bit...'esp when those semi's tend to cut in front of people trying to pass other semi's...and I won't even mention semi's trying to pass on a hill...:)
Ice Cream EMERGENCY!
Unless you've done something to improve on the factory design, that's really just your opinion. The "sloppy feel" is built into the steering of every pre-'03 Crown Vic. :-)
Mind you, it only feels sloppy. It's accurate, it doesn't have any play in it, but it doesn't have a good "on-center" feel to it. The rack-and-pinion steering in the new ones is unquestionably better.
Still, like your '95, my '97 with is just fine with high speeds. The factory-optional handling package makes the twisties fun, too. Some people are surprised to see a Crown Vic take curves and freeway ramps at double the posted limit.
I drove from Mississippi to Wisconsin and back last week. We drive a Plymouth minivan with 3.3 liter V6. Most of the way the speed limit was 65 mph. For the most part, I kept the cruise set at 69. For one section coming home (about 200 miles) we ran 74-76 mph.
At the lower speed I got 22.3 mpg. At the higher speed I got 20.5 mpg.
Perhaps you are correct that the newer engines are configured to run at the higher speeds. Unfortunately, not all of us have the newer engines. With 125,000 miles on this engine, I probably would not run 80 mph across my beloved Texas. However, the fear of hurting my engine and not concerns about mileage or death rates is what would slow me down. There are places along the roads especially in West Texas where you can see from horizon to horizon and not encounter another soul on the highway. You are more likely to die from boredom than from a traffic accident.
What's it proposed to be on the TTC if and when it's ever built?...... 85 I think I read somewhere.
Raising it to 80 on the IHs is only bringing it up to what a lot of the traffic is currently traveling.
My definition of slop is the flat center - no reaction for a given input. Mine gives perfect response for the input. Having driven dirt race cars and dump trucks, dozers & excavators, BMW's, formaul ford, 250cc shifter karts (my 100% absolute all time favorite kick in the ass!) and whatever else, to me, it's all about response, not an on-center "feel".
A r&p setup would be better. Regardless, I regularly run 80ish (average for Connecticut), a 20 mph increase would be negligible as long as the differential between me & my fellow motorists remained proportional.
It's because I'm blessed to live in Dallas County, TX where I pay $39.50 every year to get an inspection sticker proving that I am not polluting the atmosphere (Orange Ozone Alert today, BTW). Unlike the good old boys over around Shreveport, where I go to breathe fresh air in the country, and they rod the guts out of their cat converters. And we apparently have only scratched the surface here in the Dallas area, there is more good stuff to come.
How about tripling the fine for left-lane hoggers?
Now we have a workable idea.
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