Community Forums

Jo/Lee · 12-30-2008, 05:49 AM

If it is a 2 lane highway I use the so called granny lane but with 3 or more I use the next one over. It seems most people don't know what the word "Yield" means. They don't even check the mirrors. Put on the turn signal and it gives them a force field to take your spot on the road.

Lee

RustyJC · 12-30-2008, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Baby Bear:
Traffic has a self controlling speed, sometimes too fast, others, too slow.
Want to be safe; run with the traffic, if possible.

In highway design, this is known as the 85th percentile rule. Find the speed at or below which 85% of the traffic is moving, and that's the speed at which the speed limit should optimally be set.

Quote:

Q. How should speed limits be set?

A. Traffic engineers maintain that speed limits should be established according to the 85th percentile of free flowing traffic. This means the limit should be set at a level at or under which 85 percent of people are driving. Numerous studies have shown that the 85th percentile is the safest possible level at which to set a speed limit.

Rusty

hamguy · 12-30-2008, 06:29 AM

If you drive 55 on I-40 in Arizona, your rear window will be sandblasted by wind blown sand. You will be honked at by Roadrunners (a bird) as they pass. You will most likely fall asleep and kill people. And the hair in your nose will grow to heretofore unknown lengths.

diandtom · 12-30-2008, 07:49 AM

I get my best mileage at 60-62. The Chevy 2500 will not go into 6 gear until after 60 when towing. It seems to pull better at these speeds

melvonnar · 12-30-2008, 09:25 AM

Quote:

If you drive 55 on I-40 in Arizona, your rear window will be sandblasted by wind blown sand. You will be honked at by Roadrunners (a bird) as they pass. You will most likely fall asleep and kill people. And the hair in your nose will grow to heretofore unknown lengths

I love a man with a sense of humor.

Much better than some of the road rage I"ve heard of.
Had one in Tampa last year the got the man so mad he cut off the driver in front of him; jumped out of his car and shot and killed the driver of the other car.
He"ll spend a few years in jail to think about whether it was worth it.

jspande · 12-30-2008, 09:46 AM

Back in the late 70's I lived in Cleveland, and remember a test conducted by an official agency - Ohio Dept. of Transportation I think.

Back then many Truckers were swearing up and down that they got better mileage at 65-70 mph than at the 55 speed limit, due of course to gear ratio factors. In order to entice truckers to participate, they were offered a free tuneup by factory mechanics. Runs at 55 and 65 were done on the Ohio Turnpike (I-80) by each truck, and every single one got better mileage at 55.

Johnny · 12-30-2008, 05:42 PM

Of course, in the late 70's, trucks didn't have fire-breathing 600+HP 14+ litre diesels able to pull tall overdrive gears. (Did any of them even HAVE overdrive at all?) They do now. Heck, the little single-axle daycabs at work have more power (300-350HP) than most OTR rigs would have then. The little 7.2 Cat in the Freigtliner M2 box truck I drive probably makes as much power (220HP) as most of those OTR trucks. Heck, even the lowest of the low, like CR England, is running 500HP Detroit 60's. In the 70's, 500HP in an OTR truck was literally unheard-of. My uncle's 400HP Cummins was pretty spectacular.

(Of course, that same engine design, the justly-legendary 855ci Big Cam, is the one Cummins managed 600+HP from...)

Our tractors were turned down from 65-70 to 60 earlier this year. EACH AND EVERY TRACTOR IN THE FLEET, when limited to 60MPH, burned MORE fuel.

Rick & Hope · 12-30-2008, 10:14 PM

Earlier this year we set the governor on our 2008 Freightliner Cascadia tractor set to 70 MPH and had the computer set to Detroit Diesel's fuel saving program. Our normal run is Arkansas to California and back across I-40. We used 30 gallons more fuel with this setup. Every little hill we were down shifting. A normal climb out of Needles Calif. we would drop maybe 2 gears and crest the hill at 45 MPH, after reprogram we were dropping 4 maybe 5 gears and doing 25 MPH at the top. Had them reprogram computer back to full power and turn governor off and fuel mileage went back to what it was before.

melvonnar · 12-31-2008, 04:49 AM

A tractor (18 wheelers) has 500 plus horsepower; may get better milage pulling 90,00 pounds; but how many motorhomes pull ths weight or are geared to pull 90,00 pounds up and down hills. ( I always refer to mountians as just big hills).
I have nothing against 18 wheelers; time is money for those folks, but this website refers to RV"S not 18 wheelers; while on the subject of 18 wheelers,

Maybe one of you folks that drive the big rigs can answer a question for me. This has happened to me more times than I can remember;
I"m going down the road at my normal 55MPH (my normal crusing speed); there is little traffic, the passing lane has no vehicles in it. An 18 wheeler pulls up behind me gets so close to the toad it looks like like it:s pushing it. (couldn"t be more than 5 feet.) this 18 wheeler will follow me for miles right on my tail. (the passing lane has been free all this time) when they do pass, nearly always it will cut me off short and let out a long blast on their air horn. (I"m talking interstate highway here).
I believe I have as much right on this road as anyone.
I have a story about a rest stop; but I"ll save that for another time.

Rick & Hope · 12-31-2008, 06:26 AM

Lane restrictions. Some states and municipalities have restricted trucks to the right lane.

melvonnar · 12-31-2008, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Lane restrictions. Some states and municipalities have restricted trucks to the right lane

If you drive a truck you know the reason for that;

for those that don"t know; sometimes when the road is built; extra reinforcment is put in the right lane to handle the extra weight of the 18 wheelers.
Other times they just want the heavy 18 wheelers to only beat to death one lane.
And again if you get two or three 18 wheelers side by side they can tie up traffic. (yes I"ve seen this.

from my experance the 18 wheelers mostly ignor that restriction.
when I get one of these nitwits on my tail I always look for that restriction; if I see a restriction I will make every effort to get out of the way to let them pass.

Backwaters · 12-31-2008, 10:02 AM

By the way, the 80 MPH speed limit applies to "light trucks pulling trailers".

I believe Texas is the only state in which I felt traveling AT the speed limit was tooo fast for me. LOL. I was on a two lane, narrow and very little shoulder, can't remember the highway, seem like forever on that road.