So, are we driving too slow?

[Murf2u]

Unfortunately for all our good manners and politeness up here in Canuck land, slower traffic moving over into the right lane is not a prevalent habit.

It seems most feel that it doesn't matter what lane, even on a 4, 5 or 6 lane highway they drive in. And they wonder how road rage starts? Sheesh.

[tedgard01]

I drive at what I know is a safe speed for what I am driving, regardless of what others do. In a car, I usually can drive faster than in the RV.

Regardless, no matter how fast I drive, there are others that will want to drive faster. If the speed limit is 65 they will go 70 to 75 or more, and yet even they will find someone riding their tail pushing them to go faster or get out of their way.

I have been driving a long time, and in my experience, I have found that those faster drivers are the the ones that you find in the ditch further down the road.

Speed kills, and combining high speed with an inexperienced driver and you are facing a real threat to everyone else on the road that is far worse than a safe driver in an RV.

Statistics are clear that more accidents are caused by either an inexperienced driver that is going to fast or by someone that has been drinking and driving.

The reason that RV insurance is so low is that most RV drivers are experienced drivers that drive at safer speeds and have less accidents.

[Beatcop49]

I haven't read all the posts, but I did watch the video. Im sure this guy is well educated, book wise, and has a string of degrees way longer than mine. But...

I was a cop for 25 years, 6 of those years as a traffic cop...I was a certified traffic crash reconstructionist. I reconstructed traffic fatalities, 80 in all....I was also recognized by the court as an expert witness in crash reconstruction. I have also investigated thousands of minor crashes, crashes with injuries, and near fatal crashes, on top of the 80 fatalities. I have more than a little "street" experience in this area. I can tell you that, the faster the speed, the more seriouse the crash. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that a 10 mile per hour crash is less dangerous than a 100 mile per hour crash. As for his stats, " There are lies, damn lies, and statistics."

"Where we fall" in this equation is up to each individual. Where I fall is that I know my "safe limit" while towing my RV, and my safe limit is where I stay. Those that want to pass, can.

[tedgard01]

I don't know what the educational background of the video guy is, but it does not take a lot of smarts to see that this video is lacking in its hypothesis.

As an example, he is comparing fatality statistics from back in the '70s to those of today, only looking at the speed limit laws. That is not the whole story by any means.

Advances in automobile safety standards for instance are not even considered. For those of us that are old enough to be driving back in the '60s or '70s know that many changes have come about during that time.

One example is that in the '60s and '70s it was rare for people to wear a seat belt. Now it is the norm for you to fasten your seatbelt as one of the first things you do when getting into the car.

Another example is the many advances made in car safety when in a collision, like crumple zones, air bags, etc, etc, etc.

If we had kept the 55 mph speed limit from the '70s in place, and made the advances in the safety standards that have been made over the last 50 years, my theory is that the traffic fatalities would have experienced significant declines over that time period.

[MartinP]

Saw a decal on a big rig " I drive at this speed for you safety and fuel economy". Thinking about putting one on the MH. I run 57 to 65 on the open road based on road surface, weather and traffic and stay in the right lane. I am very conscious of the posted speed limits and traffic flow but, I will not be forced to drive at a speed higher that I deem to be safe because someone else chooses to drive at speeds greater than I am driving. I will pull over where possible to allow other traffic to pass.

Martin

[chideock]

Originally Posted by MartinP

Saw a decal on a big rig " I drive at this speed for you safety and fuel economy". Thinking about putting one on the MH. I run 57 to 65 on the open road based on road surface, weather and traffic and stay in the right lane. I am very conscious of the posted speed limits and traffic flow but, I will not be forced to drive at a speed higher that I deem to be safe because someone else chooses to drive at speeds greater than I am driving. I will pull over where possible to allow other traffic to pass.

Martin

X2

I like the decal - now to find one!

[tedgard01]

Originally Posted by MartinP

Saw a decal on a big rig " I drive at this speed for you safety and fuel economy". Thinking about putting one on the MH. I run 57 to 65 on the open road based on road surface, weather and traffic and stay in the right lane. I am very conscious of the posted speed limits and traffic flow but, I will not be forced to drive at a speed higher that I deem to be safe because someone else chooses to drive at speeds greater than I am driving. I will pull over where possible to allow other traffic to pass.

Martin

It is only an inexperienced driver, or someone that already drives recklessly and wants to justify their bad habits, that would use this video as their reasoning to increase their driving speeds.

It is like some folks (mainly younger, inexperienced ones) that want to smoke in order to fit in with their pier group. They simply chose to ignore all the facts about the reality of the dangers of smoking and use some crazy outlier statistic to justify their action. It's only when they get lung cancer, lip cancer, throat cancer, or find that they have to be tied to an oxygen bottle for the rest of their life that they finally admit to the dangers of smoking...

The problem is with fast and unsafe drivers, the end is so quick that they don't know until the last second just how much danger they put themselves and others in. And those that survive, generally find a way to blame others for the accident versus accepting responsibility for their own reckless actions.

[PatStab]

I generally drive around the speed limit, now on a windy twisty road I may slow down to much. But if I do I also pull over as I can and let others pass.

On interstates I drive 60 to 65, where they have the high limits I wouldn't drive that fast if I could. This thing weighs to much to stop quickly. In the spring in front of a snowstorm I went the speed limit 70 so as not to get caught but I did not feel comfortable driving that fast and slowed back down soon as I could.

There is danger in slow drivers or fast. You never know if they are drunk, drugged up or distracted with a phone or kids. Just have to practice defensive driving much as possible. About all you can do.

[aboatguy]

Originally Posted by JFXG

Just out of curiosity, what MH are you driving that gets 11-13 mpg at 80?

M35 Allegro bus with Cummins 5.9 and a 6 speed Allison usual speed on highway is the posted speed limit.

[mojoracing]

I just got back from a trip to Tennessee and the posted speed limit most of the way was 70 mph. Its hard to keep that pace in the hills. I set the cruise at 60-62 but you will rarely find me doing any faster. I feel its just too hard on the motorhome.

[Rich-n-Linda]

Originally Posted by aboatguy

M35 Allegro bus with Cummins 5.9 and a 6 speed Allison usual speed on highway is the posted speed limit.

Absolutely no way will you get a consistent 11 - 13 mpg in that rig.


Rich & Linda
'06 Mandalay 40E
Freightliner XC-R chassis
Cummins 400 HP ISL

[Chuck 1935]

After reading these posts, it is easy to see why most of the motoring public dislikes these rolling roadblocks that we lovingly call Motorhomes.

[tedgard01]

I am happy to see that most of us take driving as a serious responsibility, and drive safely. Only irresponsible people would dislike that and think they are so important that we should not be able to use the freeway system as much as them.

Just because we drive a MH, that is a larger vehicle that should not be driven in the same fashion as a car, be any different than a truck driver, a mobile home delivery service, a oversized load operator, or any other larger vehicle.

The point is not that every vehicle should drive as fast as every other vehicle. There is a responsible way to drive, based upon the vehicle you are driving.

If you are driving a car, or any other vehicle, and you think you can drive safely at 75 mph, that does not mean that everyone else needs to drive at that speed. The faster you drive, the more responsible you become to be in control of your vehicle in relation to all the other vehicles on the road. Therefore, as a safe driver, you need to be considerate of others and recognize that some vehicles and/or drivers are not going to be driving at you safe speed, but at their safe speed.

If you can not drive safely, because you are driving too fast in relation to any other traffic on the road, then that is your problem, and you are endangering others by not driving safely in regard to the other traffic on the road.

I happen to believe that it is much safer to drive to the right to allow faster traffic to pass on the left when ever possible. No complaints there.


Ted

[Chuck 1935]

Originally Posted by tedgard01

I am happy to see that most of us drive safely. Only irresponsible people would dislike that.


Ted

Hit the nail on the head. Keeping up with the traffic and staying to the right is the responsible thing to do.