Your next car may not allow you to speed on the highway
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
As many as 37,000 Americans have been killed on the highway in the past 25 years as a result of increased speed limits, according to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
In some states, speed limits have now climbed as high as 85 mph since Congress repealed the National Maximum Speed Limit in 1994. And, according to U.S. safety regulators, excess speed plays a role in about 26 percent of all highway fatalities. With ever more powerful vehicles taking to the roads every year, automakers are coming under increasing pressure to take steps to limit the top speeds of their vehicles.
Swedish automaker Volvo said last month it will cap the top speed at 112 mph in its cars, starting with the 2021 model-year. That’s well above even the fastest legal limit in the U.S., but federal records show it’s not unusual for speeders to exceed that number — and the faster you go, the lower the chance of surviving a crash.
“Because of our research, we know where the problem areas are when it comes to ending serious injuries and fatalities in our cars,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars. “And while a speed limitation is not a cure-all, it’s worth doing if we can even save one life.”
America began phasing out the National Maximum Speed Limit that was put in place in 1974 in response to the first Mideast oil crisis. Noncompliance was high and there was strong pushback from states like Nevada and South Dakota. In the early 1980s, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tried to get motorists to slow down by requiring that speedometers couldn’t read out anything above 85 mph. The blowback from consumers eventually led the NHTSA to drop that rule. In 1987 the speed limit was raised to a maximum 65 on interstate highways, and Congress repealed the NMSL entirely in 1995.
Currently, the fastest highway in the country is a 41-mile stretch of SH 130 in mid-Texas, where passenger vehicles can top out at 130 mph. But for those with a real need for speed, their mecca is the German Autobahn, which has thousands of miles of roadway with no speed limit whatsoever. Some sections do now have restrictions: Travelers driving the 600 miles from Cologne to Berlin will barely find a spot to drive above 100 kmh, or 62 mph — lower than most U.S. superhighways today. And there are proposals backed by Germany’s powerful Green Party that would limit speeds to 130 kmh, or 80 mph.
When it comes to limited-access highways, not everyone buys into the conventional wisdom that “speed kills.” In some places, “increasing the speed limit (will) make the roadways safer,” contends safety expert Tom Sohrweide. He claims his studies show that what’s more important is keeping traffic moving at consistent speeds, with relatively minor gaps between the fastest and slowest vehicles. Sohrweide doesn’t propose eliminating speeds entirely but recommends they be set at the 85th percentile, or the speed at which 85 percent of traffic is moving.
Not everyone buys that argument, however — and some experts contend that lowering speed limits is necessary because of the high number of distracted drivers. Others point out that lower limits reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
What’s clear is the debate over vehicle speeds is only going to continue.
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Is being able to speed a right? (she says as a joke... kind of).....discuss.
Most Americans cannot competently drive and they are too busy playing with the various toys in their cars to drive.
Speeding cannot be a right because a law cannot be unenforceable. It is doubtful that most people ever break 100mph in their cars, so Volvo's idea is not new nor it w it have any changes for most drivers.
Indeed. Many probably cannot even drive a stick shift.
Gordy,
Funny that you say that. I was just talking about how only a handful of my kids' generation can drive a stick. What's up with that?
I guess people want to do things the "easy way." So they don't bother to learn a stick shift or are taught only on an automatic. I sold my stick shift car some years ago and one person was interested in buying, but backed out when they found it was a manual transmission, saying they didn't know how to drive it (stick shift). They didn't even know what a manual transmission was. That's like saying you don't know what an engine is. I was stunned. I always said, if you learn to drive a stick, you can drive anything.
My truck is a 5-speed, but to be honest, it's a pain in the ass in heavy traffic. They can be pretty scary for new drivers on hills, too, especially if some moron pulls up too close behind you.
Hills are no problem if one has the driving skills. Hills presented a little challenge for me when I first learned to drive (on a manual transmission). Now they're nothing to me. I can start up on a hill as easily as I can on a flat road surface.
It is a fact that cars with manual transmission are stolen less because car thieves cannot drive stick. A clutch pedal is a virtual anti-theft device.
I prefer manuals and I made sure that my daughter could drive a stick shift, but apparently, she is one of the few millennials who can.
My biggest ticket was a 7mph over the limit, about 20 years ago, despite the fact that I have cracked 3 digits a few times on the highway, usually about 3AM.
As do I.
I think most of the problem is Manual Transmissions just aren't available on most cars or trucks. People are used to buying the New Car or Truck they like then choosing the options but if a stick shift is what you want that's where you need to start because that knocks 98% of the New Vehicles right off the list. Even most New 18 wheelers these days are automatics. This has been the trend for 25 years and for those of us who were driving in the 70's and 80's it seem odd not to know how to drive stick because a third of the cars and trucks on the road back then were manual. By the way the best way to learn to drive stick is on a small dirt bike like a xr80 you get the feel for starting and stopping and shifting on a much more forgiving platform. That's how I learned and I was taught to ride a motorcycle young and then driving cars came naturally, just a bigger vehicle.
when crossing the usa I used to factor in tickets as part of the cost of travel.
to save 8hrs time or more was worth a couple hundred dollar ticket.
still is
of course.
radar detectors and CB radios help with that greatly
40yrs driving and only one ticket.
blew past a cop on the interstate like he was not even there.
I used my blinkers when I passed him. (safety first)
I just didn't know it was a cop for another 10-15mins until he caught up
he asked whats the rush?
I said I had been driving for days and once I'm over those mountains in front of us, I get to sleep
he only wrote me a ticket for 10mph over the posted limit.
on my motorcycle, I recently passed a cop on ocean drive "limit 35" doing 90mph
he asked for my ID, checked his radio, came back handed me my ID
and then simply said? thank you sir. have a great night.
(no ticket - not even a warning to slow down.)
if you try this - results may vary
Wow. You guys have a total disregard for the laws of this nation, or for the safety of others. It's all about law and order for anybody else though. You guys should lose your licenses. I have never had a speeding ticket or any other moving violation.
WOW what ?
Bet you've spit on the sidewalk at one time or another. There are laws about that dontchyaknow !
"I believe 20 MPH over in VA might be a felony charge"
20 over or over 80 can be reckless driving in VA, crazy law
Actually I'm not aware of any laws about spitting on sidewalks. I guess they exist. I would never spit on a sidewalk or anywhere else because I'm not a disgusting pig.
That's what EVERYONE says !
Well aren't you a bad ass? LOL.
Wow aren't you a bad ass? LOL.
word. I'm always nice to the police
and they have never gone out of their way to screw me over.
im not a badass... and im no pussy either.
if your not living on the edge? yer takin up too much space in the middle.
cheers
rule 1) no one gets hurt around me unless they deserve it.
rule 2) see the first rule.
have lived by those two simple rules my entire life, not going to change now.
as for disregard of our laws? if the govt had won the drug war? weed would not be legal in some states like it is now. civil disobedience gets things done over time.
if everyone drove the speed limit in the past they never would have raised it above 55 which was the speed limit at the time of my examples above.
with today's 85mph speed limits... 90mph is fast enough for me.
cheers
That's because you are really more like a cue ball than an eight ball.
I make concious effort to drive the speed limit on the highways. If the sign says 65, I do 65 except when passing another slow moving vehicle. No matter what the posted speed limit, there are always idiots that have to go faster. Yesterday I was driving home from another town 60 miles away. I was doing 65 when a nice looking shiny new SUV with plates from Mexico on comes roaring past me at about 80 or so with a couple of young guys in it laughing their heads off. A couple of miles down the road, that same vehicle had been pulled over by the Arizona Highway Patrol. Those two guys looked at me and I just smiled and waved at them as I drove by...
If I went 65 on highways where the posted limit is 65, I'd cause an accident. Even in the right lane, sometimes. I try to keep up with the traffic flow. I'm generally going around 75 in the left lane - but I always move over if someone else wants to go faster. And not at the last minute, either ... I can tell that they're coming up on me and move over. The exception is when I'm going past an on-ramp. For some reason, despite all the farmland, the idiots who designed one of the highways I take decided not to put in a merge area. So whenever possible, I get over in the left lane while passing the on-ramp, even if it pisses someone behind me off for a couple of minutes. The people merging don't care that they have no merge area, decide they have the right of way, and pull right in anyway, even if there are cars in the right lane going 65 or 70 mph.
Yesterday I was passing someone, I was going 75 in the left lane along with the rest of the left-lane traffic ... some idiot came flying up in the right lane behind the car which was now about next to me, realized at the last minute there was no room in between me and the car I was passing, and passed the right-hand car on the shoulder. Idiot.
Generally cops won't give you a ticket if you're going 8 or 9 over on a higher speed road, and 4 or so over in a 25 mph zone. In rush hour, usually they won't pull anyone over ... but then in rush hour around here, you're generally not speeding anyway because traffic is too heavy.
Unless they need to meet their ticket quota for the week.
There was a time when "governors" (a device that sets a top speed that cannot be surpassed) were installed on car motors (in Canada, at least) but eventually they were no longer mandatory. I think that the top speed limit control in cars should be at least 20 mph above the highest posted speed limit for safety reasons. There can be situations in driving where a car must put on a burst of speed, such as when passing an 18-wheeler, and being unexpectedly confronted with a car coming towards you on a 2 lane highway, in a situation where cars are backed up behind the truck so slowing is no solution.
Or when you're running away from a police car that's chasing you!
Yeah, which is something the people who try to outrun cops never seem to think about.
Nice.
My husband did that on a motorcycle with me on the back. He didn't get caught but he caught a lot of fury from me.
Not the first time he did it either, not with me, but other times by himself.
I was so damn mad. I'm getting mad again! lol
I hope you where wearing a helmet. Michigan does not require helmets anymore.
if I have someone on the back who wants a helmet, I wear one also to protect my self from them clocking me in the back of the head with their head.
as for straight pipe? nothing will save a life faster than that.
I had one so quiet it was silly, and almost every day someone would try to push me out of my lane like I was not even there. (they didn't even look before changing lanes)
after straight pipes? everyone for a mile knows exactly where I am at all times.
id rather be flipped off for my pipes than ran smooth over.
people get mad, I just smile
ha.
my only limits on passengers are:
I'll let em all walk.
here is my scooter
I used to wonder why people liked their bikes to be so loud, until a friend explained it to me. Makes perfect sense.
I'll bet police cars, ambulances, fire trucks and certain government vehicles (like secret service, FBI, CIA and the POTUS limo) will not be subject to the limitation.
Up until now I thought noisy bikes were childish, but now I see the point.
You do not want any fire truck driving over 100mph. Trust me on this.
Thanks for the info.
Okay, I guess you're right.
Those trucks don't handle well at much over 75MPG, especially in anything but a straight line. The truck suspension is actually quite crude live axles and beam axles.
or will be buying that car.
besides, im not sure they have met the motorheads in the usa.
any part, govenor, or computer program holding a car back can be replaced, removed, and or rewritten.
they will have those cars on the dragstrip in no time flat
back yard mechanics in this country will make a game out of it.
if they love the car but hate limits - they can simply replace the motor with a blown 350 small-block
Thought the same. There is always a way around things.
regulations only unleash the awesome creativity of man.
cheers
"What’s clear is the debate over vehicle speeds is only going to continue."
Can't wait for some dipshit in congress to propose some idiotic rule that makes car companies put a governor on ALL new cars to limit their speeds to 55 mph max..
I would not like a car like that.
If ya think about it, 37,000 deaths due to "High Speed" in 25 years, ain't bad at all, if you compare it to the yearly automotive deaths that occur from "Other" (37,000/year).
I'll take my chances with "High Speed" then.
was just going to make the same point.
37,000 deaths in 25yrs? with over 20,000 cities in our country?
this is so not even a national emergency of any kind.
I'm calling bs here... the consumer is king.
Some Politician always has this need to "Restrict" based on some "Study" or another, and it sucks !
Can't say whether it's a right or not but as sufferer of LFSCS (lead foot speed creep syndrome) I thank god everyday for the invention of cruise control. It has saved me a lot of money oven the years
I treat speed limits like suggestions
Speed limits are more for revenue generation than safety
a very interesting article and corresponding comments with bragging about circumventing laws and not being caught.... very interesting... i suppose it's fun to plan how to circumvent laws and not get caught, or just factor in breaking the law to your trip.... is it ok just because of the law that's being broke (the speed limit) ?
For the land of the free, we sure have a lot of laws.
Even Germany has the Autobahn.
tis true - we do have a lot of laws. i guess it's "cool" to break some and not so cool to break others ? (i love the Autobahn, but i don't think that would work in the USA.)
Eh, everyone has probably jay-walked before.
Lets just say that I do slow down for school zones.
True. A lot of idiot drivers around.
oh probably true, myself included. Except i'm not giving tips on circumventing laws or advice on how to handle law enforcement... but to each their own.. it's just odd that on other articles many people are all up in arms about lawbreakers and yet here they brag about being lawbreakers and give advice on it.... it's very interesting to me
i guess some laws are "cool" to break and others aren't... i wish i had a list of which laws fell into which categories...
very good to hear
absolutely !
I know lots of people who think it is cool to break immigration laws.
That's a start to your list.
oh ? so in your opinion - immigration laws are cool to break ?
WHAT?
Did you read what I wrote?
WHAT ? you couldn't answer the question about your own personal opinion ?
Sorry, it was such an inane question I was momentarily taken aback.
Of course I don't think it is cool to break immigration laws. That's why I don't.
It's a game to me. If I get caught speeding, I just take my ticket and politely thank the officer and go on my way...
....of course I've only been stopped 3 times and haven't received a ticket yet.....
ok, so immigration laws are in the "not cool to break" category... so what about speed limits ? do you break those because it's "cool" or do you obey them because it's "not cool to break" them ?
ah gotcha. do you think it's ok to break speed limits but not ok to break other laws ?
Perhaps to you. I know lots of people who don't mind breaking immigration laws at all. I dare say some probably think it is cool.
I'm all for speed limits. I don't break them because I think it is cool nor do I obey them because I think it is cool.
All I was doing was trying to help you with that list you seemed to want.
are those people on this article or commenting on this article ? ... or did you not comprehend my comment you initially replied to:
i even bolded (and increased the font size) for you to help you out this time. Please let me know if you need any further help.
ah ok, thanks for the info
well you helped with your opinion, but your initial comment was not helpful since these "people" you know are probably not on this article.
I suspect some are. That wasn't what you initially asked.
My comprehension is just fine. Yours appears to be lacking.
Part of your comment I responded to is this:
And I responded with:
I didn't claim they were here, nor is it what you asked.
You're welcome. I don't mind answering when you ask nicely.
My initial comment was specifically answering something you said you wished you had--a list of what laws are cool to break and which aren't.
Do what you will with that!
yes, you responded to that which was preceded by..... (are you ready ?)... this !:
so yes, your comprehension appears to be lacking since i wish i had a list - due to the comments already made on this article... i guess context goes along with comprehension ? it's not like i was asking for a random list from "people" you supposedly know, right ?
don't forget about context ok ?
awesome
i did
you seem pretty consistent with laws and adhering to them - so thanks 
Sometimes I jaywalk. And speeding and jaywalking are not victimless crimes so I'm bad for doing that.
But I don't cheat on my taxes.
ah good. you acknowledge that breaking the law is bad so you don't advocate to break the laws or give advice on how to handle law enforcement if you intentionally break the law - that's good
it's always stupid to cheat on your taxes in my opinion - they eventually catch up to you.