Driving automobiles





Common Sense Coming to Michigan

http://www.freep.com/news/mich/speed21e_20050921.htm

Bill to raise truck speeds races toward House vote

Some highlights:

"The House Transportation Committee voted 13-1 Tuesday to raise the 55
m.p.h. speed limit for trucks to 60 m.p.h. on rural interstate
highways. The speed limit for passenger vehicles would remain at 70
m.p.h."

"State Police experts say the wide speed disparity — California is the
only other state with a 15-m.p.h. difference between truck and
passenger vehicle speed limits — creates more hazards for motorists
than if the speeds were uniform."

"It’s not speed, but conflicts in speed that cause accidents," said
State Police Lt. Thad Peterson, head of the traffic services section.
"When you have people driving different speeds you have more lane
changes, they speed up and slow down. A lot of decision-making occurs
there."
—————
Amen brother!!!

posted by admin in Uncategorized and have Comments (31)






31 Responses to “Common Sense Coming to Michigan”

  1. admin says:

    On 21 Sep 2005 11:20:39 -0700, "Larry Bud" <larrybud2…@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    >http://www.freep.com/news/mich/speed21e_20050921.htm

    >Bill to raise truck speeds races toward House vote

    >Some highlights:

    >"The House Transportation Committee voted 13-1 Tuesday to raise the 55
    >m.p.h. speed limit for trucks to 60 m.p.h. on rural interstate
    >highways. The speed limit for passenger vehicles would remain at 70
    >m.p.h."

    >"State Police experts say the wide speed disparity — California is the
    >only other state with a 15-m.p.h. difference between truck and
    >passenger vehicle speed limits — creates more hazards for motorists
    >than if the speeds were uniform."

    >"It’s not speed, but conflicts in speed that cause accidents," said
    >State Police Lt. Thad Peterson, head of the traffic services section.
    >"When you have people driving different speeds you have more lane
    >changes, they speed up and slow down. A lot of decision-making occurs
    >there."
    >—————
    >Amen brother!!!

    Even i think it makes sense to have the same speed limit for trucks as
    for cars. What needs to vary is the penalties for speeding.  A 60,000
    pound truck doing 80 in a 70 is a lot more dangerous than a subcompact
    committing the same crime. As i’ve said before, speeding penalties
    should go up as vehicle weight does.  A trucker doing even 75 in a 70
    should go to prison.

  2. admin says:

    Around 9/21/2005 11:52 AM, Aunt Judy (Pride of Diarrhea)

    <http://tinyurl.com/65nqz&gt; wrote:
    > On 21 Sep 2005 11:20:39 -0700, "Larry Bud" <larrybud2…@yahoo.com>
    > wrote:

    >>"It’s not speed, but conflicts in speed that cause accidents," said
    >>State Police Lt. Thad Peterson, head of the traffic services section.
    >>"When you have people driving different speeds you have more lane
    >>changes, they speed up and slow down. A lot of decision-making occurs
    >>there."
    >>—————
    >>Amen brother!!!

    > Even i think it makes sense to have the same speed limit for trucks as
    > for cars.

    Quite right, and 70 MPH for both cars and trucks sounds like a good
    start to me, at least until the actual 85th percentile can be determined.


    ~/Garth
        "I am patient with stupidity
            but not with those who are proud of it." – Edith Sitwell
       (Mail p…@v6stang.com for secure contact information)

  3. admin says:

    "Larry Bud" <larrybud2…@yahoo.com> wrote

    > "State Police experts say the wide speed disparity — California is the
    > only other state with a 15-m.p.h. difference between truck and
    > passenger vehicle speed limits — creates more hazards for motorists
    > than if the speeds were uniform."

    This is a big laugh – IME trucks in CA (on US99, I5, US101) travel
    around 65mph.

    FloydR

  4. admin says:

    laura bush – VEHICULAR HOMICIDE wrote:

    - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    > On 21 Sep 2005 11:20:39 -0700, "Larry Bud" <larrybud2…@yahoo.com>
    > wrote:

    > >http://www.freep.com/news/mich/speed21e_20050921.htm

    > >Bill to raise truck speeds races toward House vote

    > >Some highlights:

    > >"The House Transportation Committee voted 13-1 Tuesday to raise the 55
    > >m.p.h. speed limit for trucks to 60 m.p.h. on rural interstate
    > >highways. The speed limit for passenger vehicles would remain at 70
    > >m.p.h."

    > >"State Police experts say the wide speed disparity — California is the
    > >only other state with a 15-m.p.h. difference between truck and
    > >passenger vehicle speed limits — creates more hazards for motorists
    > >than if the speeds were uniform."

    > >"It’s not speed, but conflicts in speed that cause accidents," said
    > >State Police Lt. Thad Peterson, head of the traffic services section.
    > >"When you have people driving different speeds you have more lane
    > >changes, they speed up and slow down. A lot of decision-making occurs
    > >there."
    > >—————
    > >Amen brother!!!

    > Even i think it makes sense to have the same speed limit for trucks as
    > for cars. What needs to vary is the penalties for speeding.  A 60,000
    > pound truck doing 80 in a 70 is a lot more dangerous than a subcompact
    > committing the same crime. As i’ve said before, speeding penalties
    > should go up as vehicle weight does.  A trucker doing even 75 in a 70
    > should go to prison.

    That just shows how ridiculous your thought process is.  You support
    arbitrary speed limits, and crazy penalties for breaking those very
    same arbitrary limits.

  5. admin says:

    > And, if a driver is forced by his company to exceed 8 hours
    > a day on the road, that company should be fined heavily.

    How do you prove it, when the log books are fiction?  -Dave

  6. admin says:

    > This is a big laugh – IME trucks in CA (on US99, I5, US101) travel
    > around 65mph.

    > FloydR

    I used to know a truck driver.  He said it was easy to drive a truck on the
    highway, and you didn’t need cruise control.  Just keep the accelerator
    pushed all the way to the floor.  It made sense, for a truck that was speed
    governed.  After all, the truck wasn’t going to go any faster, and you
    didn’t want it to go any SLOWER, so just keep the pedal "nailed" to the
    firewall.  -Dave

  7. admin says:

    Dave C. wrote:
    >>This is a big laugh – IME trucks in CA (on US99, I5, US101) travel
    >>around 65mph.

    >>FloydR

    > I used to know a truck driver.  He said it was easy to drive a truck on the
    > highway, and you didn’t need cruise control.  Just keep the accelerator
    > pushed all the way to the floor.  It made sense, for a truck that was speed
    > governed.  After all, the truck wasn’t going to go any faster, and you
    > didn’t want it to go any SLOWER, so just keep the pedal "nailed" to the
    > firewall.  -Dave

    Yeah, but it only works when everyone else is going either exactly the
    same speed as you or fast. Pretty soon you’ll catch up to another truck
    with its speed limiter set slightly lower.

    Ulf

  8. admin says:

    johns wrote:
    > Satellite. Rich folks have cars with doors that can be unlocked
    > from satellite. Why not track odometer / time / driver, and have
    > the data scanned for abuse every 30 seconds. Be a nice way
    > to track Abdul hauling a "dirty-bomb" too.

    > johns

    Because this is the United States, not some commie hellhole.

    nate


    replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
    http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

  9. admin says:

    On 21 Sep 2005 12:06:52 -0700, johns <johns…@moscow.com> said the
    following in rec.autos.driving…  

    > Speed limit for trucks should be set to 55 mph, and no more.

    And I’ll ask you the same question that I have asked the troll you
    replied to: Why 55MPH? <demonstrating absuridity by being absurd> Why not
    45MPH or 35MPH if safety is your goal. </demonstrating absuridity by
    being absurd>

    > And, if a driver is forced by his company to exceed 8 hours
    > a day on the road, that company should be fined heavily.

    <demonstrating absuridity by being absurd>
    Why 8 hours, why not 6?
    </demonstrating absuridity by being absurd>


    Paul.

    Self appointed unofficial overseer
    of kooks and trolls in rec.autos.driving

  10. admin says:

    > Even i think it

    Stop right there! No you don’t!

  11. admin says:

    "johns" <johns…@moscow.com> wrote in message

    news:1127329612.670028.19110@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com…

    > My uncle was Mayor of Raleigh, NC. First thing he did when he got
    > into office was sick the Highway Patrol on those Gas Trucks that
    > use to tailgate everybody headed down to the NC beaches.

    Mayor = City
    Highway Patrol = State
    My skepticism of this story = very high

  12. admin says:

    "johns" <johns…@moscow.com> wrote in message

    news:1127329612.670028.19110@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com…

    > Speed limit for trucks should be set to 55 mph, and no more.

    I’m sure Jesus would agree.

    Cheers,

    Carl Rogers
    —————–
    Calrog.com Highway-Shield page:  http://hwy-shields.calrog.com
    Highway-Shields books:  http://www.lulu.com/calrog-bookstore

  13. admin says:

    "johns" <johns…@moscow.com> wrote in message

    news:1127355861.101225.115420@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com…

    > Safe stopping distance … genius.

    > johns

    Who defines safe?  Does the individual and/or entity understand:

    (a) the mechanics of each freight-vehicle and how effective each make and
    model is in collision-prone situations;
    (b) the response-time of the given driver;
    (c) the amount of distance between one driver and the next (at the given
    moment);
    (d) the conditions of the road as provided by physical or environmental
    conditions;

    For discussion’s sake, let’s remove the political "fund-raising" element and
    abide by the preceding conditions only.

    Cheers,

    Carl Rogers
    —————–
    Calrog.com Highway-Shield page:  http://hwy-shields.calrog.com
    Highway-Shields books:  http://www.lulu.com/calrog-bookstore

  14. admin says:

    "johns" <johns…@moscow.com> wrote in message

    news:1127356639.536004.20340@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com…

    > simple accident statistics .. and acceptable losses :-)

    > johns

    Where are the simple accident statistics, and from where can we access
    these?  Can causal-relationships and not correlational ones be objectively
    reached?

    What defines acceptable losses?  Does this apply to the driver and/or entity
    that issues citations?

    Cheers,

    Carl Rogers
    —————–
    Calrog.com Highway-Shield page:  http://hwy-shields.calrog.com
    Highway-Shields books:  http://www.lulu.com/calrog-bookstore

  15. admin says:

    On 21 Sep 2005 19:24:21 -0700, johns <johns…@moscow.com> said the
    following in rec.autos.driving…  

    > Safe stopping distance … genius.

    Then why not limit trucks to 45MPH or 35MPH? Even safer by your logic.


    Paul.

    Self appointed unofficial overseer
    of kooks and trolls in rec.autos.driving

  16. admin says:

    On Wed, 21 Sep 2005, Nate Nagel wrote:
    >> Satellite. Rich folks have cars with doors that can be unlocked from
    >> satellite. Why not track odometer / time / driver, and have the data
    >> scanned for abuse every 30 seconds. Be a nice way to track Abdul
    >> hauling a "dirty-bomb" too. johns

    > Because this is the United States, not some commie hellhole.

    Look around you and answer the question again.

  17. admin says:

    On Thu, 22 Sep 2005, johns wrote:
    > Highway dept in any state.  Also insurance reports given to any car
    > manufacturer that assesses safety records. Ford Motor Company
    > used the term "acceptable losses" regards its piece of crap cars
    > that had exposed gas tanks back in the 70s – 80s.

    …and paid PR firms a lot of loud money (and victims a lot of quiet
    money) so that people would do as you just did: believe and perpetuate the
    idea that the dangerous gas tank designs stopped in the ’80s.

  18. admin says:

    On 22 Sep 2005 05:19:45 -0700, "johns" <johns…@moscow.com> wrote:

    >Highway dept in any state.  Also insurance reports given to any car
    >manufacturer that assesses safety records. Ford Motor Company
    >used the term "acceptable losses" regards its piece of crap cars
    >that had exposed gas tanks back in the 70s – 80s.  Cause of those
    >accidents was exposed gas tanks. Solution was stop exposing
    >the gas tanks. Stupid bastards could not figure that out until
    >they got the crap sued out of them, and Congress dragged them
    >on the carpet about just what garbage American cars were.

    Ford made GM Pickups?
    In any case, actual figures show that those Fords didn’t burst into
    flame more than any others.

    >Regards
    >trucks, 55 mph is the max speed which will allow a truck to stop
    >when the light turns yellow .. before it goes red.

    How many stop lights are there on Interstates?
    And how long are those yellow lights? Don’t their duration change for
    the posted (or prevailing) speeds? I believe they do.

    >johns


    Bill Funk
    Replace "g" with "a"
    funktionality.blogspot.com

  19. admin says:

    laura bush – VEHICULAR HOMICIDE wrote:

    - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    > On 21 Sep 2005 11:20:39 -0700, "Larry Bud" <larrybud2…@yahoo.com>
    > wrote:

    > >http://www.freep.com/news/mich/speed21e_20050921.htm

    > >Bill to raise truck speeds races toward House vote

    > >Some highlights:

    > >"The House Transportation Committee voted 13-1 Tuesday to raise the 55
    > >m.p.h. speed limit for trucks to 60 m.p.h. on rural interstate
    > >highways. The speed limit for passenger vehicles would remain at 70
    > >m.p.h."

    > >"State Police experts say the wide speed disparity — California is the
    > >only other state with a 15-m.p.h. difference between truck and
    > >passenger vehicle speed limits — creates more hazards for motorists
    > >than if the speeds were uniform."

    > >"It’s not speed, but conflicts in speed that cause accidents," said
    > >State Police Lt. Thad Peterson, head of the traffic services section.
    > >"When you have people driving different speeds you have more lane
    > >changes, they speed up and slow down. A lot of decision-making occurs
    > >there."
    > >—————

    Common sense came to Michigan a long time ago.  We’re a blue state,
    remember?

    scooter34

  20. admin says:

    Nate Nagel wrote:
    > johns wrote:
    > > Satellite. Rich folks have cars with doors that can be unlocked
    > > from satellite. Why not track odometer / time / driver, and have
    > > the data scanned for abuse every 30 seconds. Be a nice way
    > > to track Abdul hauling a "dirty-bomb" too.

    > Because this is the United States, not some commie hellhole.

    Ever wonder why those drivers of big orange "Schneider National" rigs
    seem to be so well-behaved?  They’ve had GPS tracking for years.  You
    get caught speeding; you get fired.  They know exactly where every one
    of their trucks is, which direction it’s headed, and how fast, 24/7.
    I’d bet they’re not the only ones.

    C.R. Krieger
    (BT, DT)

  21. admin says:

    - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    scooter34 wrote:
    > laura bush – VEHICULAR HOMICIDE wrote:
    > > On 21 Sep 2005 11:20:39 -0700, "Larry Bud" <larrybud2…@yahoo.com>
    > > wrote:

    > > >http://www.freep.com/news/mich/speed21e_20050921.htm

    > > >Bill to raise truck speeds races toward House vote

    > > >Some highlights:

    > > >"The House Transportation Committee voted 13-1 Tuesday to raise the 55
    > > >m.p.h. speed limit for trucks to 60 m.p.h. on rural interstate
    > > >highways. The speed limit for passenger vehicles would remain at 70
    > > >m.p.h."

    > > >"State Police experts say the wide speed disparity — California is the
    > > >only other state with a 15-m.p.h. difference between truck and
    > > >passenger vehicle speed limits — creates more hazards for motorists
    > > >than if the speeds were uniform."

    > > >"It’s not speed, but conflicts in speed that cause accidents," said
    > > >State Police Lt. Thad Peterson, head of the traffic services section.
    > > >"When you have people driving different speeds you have more lane
    > > >changes, they speed up and slow down. A lot of decision-making occurs
    > > >there."
    > > >—————
    > Common sense came to Michigan a long time ago.  We’re a blue state,
    > remember?

    Yeah, Granholm’s doind a crack up job, right?  What’s our unemployment
    rate vs. the rest of the nation?

  22. admin says:

    Daniel J. Stern wrote:

    > …and paid PR firms a lot of loud money (and victims a lot of quiet
    > money) so that people would do as you just did: believe and perpetuate the
    > idea that the dangerous gas tank designs stopped in the ’80s.

    Ah, but Grasshopper, you forget the unique combination those brightly
    burning Pintos brought to the table:

    1) a fuel tank behind the rear axle that could be ruptured in a rear
    impact (quite common in lots of cars),

    2) bolts protruding from the rear axle that punctured the tank at the
    axle (under the rear seat),

    3) rear wheel wells at each end of the back seat that burst open, thus
    allowing said punctured tank to spray the interior with fuel, and

    4) a short-coupled body style that, upon a rear impact, jammed both of
    the doors shut, trapping the occupants inside as the flames burned on.

    Frankly, I’m not scared of getting hit in the rear of my Grand
    Chickory, my old BMW 535is or, your favorite, the Crown Vic (where the
    fuel tank resides in each).  I’ll open my door and step out – and I
    won’t be covered with gas when I do.

    C.R. Krieger
    (BT, DT)

  23. admin says:

    On Thu, 22 Sep 2005, Motorhead Lawyer wrote:
    >> …and paid PR firms a lot of loud money (and victims a lot of quiet
    >> money) so that people would do as you just did: believe and perpetuate
    >> the idea that the dangerous gas tank designs stopped in the ’80s.

    > Ah, but Grasshopper, you forget the unique combination those brightly
    > burning Pintos brought to the table:

    Naw, I didn’t. I wasn’t even considering Pintos when I wrote that, ’cause
    Pintos *did* end after the early ’80s.

    The unsafe gas tank/body designs continued long, long after the last Pinto
    rolled off the line. And no, I’m not even talking about Clown Victorias.

  24. admin says:

    On 22 Sep 2005 14:18:35 -0700, Motorhead Lawyer <88.53…@gmail.com> said
    the following in rec.autos.driving…  

    > Ever wonder why those drivers of big orange "Schneider National" rigs
    > seem to be so well-behaved?  They’ve had GPS tracking for years.  You
    > get caught speeding; you get fired.  They know exactly where every one
    > of their trucks is, which direction it’s headed, and how fast, 24/7.
    > I’d bet they’re not the only ones.

    Saw something about that not long ago on the Discovery Channel or one of
    those channels. Wasn’t a Schneider truck, but that little white sat
    antenna communicated every thing about the truck (including engine
    performance) back home. If there was a problem with the truck, the
    company knew about it before the driver did.


    Paul.

    Self appointed unofficial overseer
    of kooks and trolls in rec.autos.driving

  25. admin says:

    On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 12:23:34 -0400 "Daniel J. Stern"

    <dast…@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    > > then you can gage your ignorance more accurately. With tires, I
    > > admit both ignorance and, to a great extent, a lack of
    > > understanding of the boundaries of tire technology.

    > Allow me to assist: No-name tires aren’t near the *lower* boundaries
    > of tire technology, not the upper. This isn’t suspect advertising
    > hype, it’s just plain common sense.

    Can you help us interpret what you say there?  No name tires
    arent "near" the lower boundaries… "not the upper".

    I dont want to "read into" that contradictory statement.


    remove MYSHOES to email

  26. admin says:

    http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/Tires/pages/TireRatings.cfm is a
    easy way to see the UTG Ratings for various tire brands. The UTG ratings are
    required by the government.
    http://www.tirerack.com/tires/SearchTires.jsp provides consumer opinons on
    some tires, but in gerneral only brand name tires.
    http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/manufacture/ if you get the DOT code off
    the tire, you can figure out who actually built the tire. For instance
    Goodyear’s  Kelly Springfield subsiduary also market tires under the
    MultiMile brand. Are they as good as Kelly Springfield tires? I don’t know.
    My Father always claimed they were better. Ironically he always claimed
    Goodyear tires were sorry. Even more ironically he is riding around on
    Country Squire Radials which are actually just Goodyear made tires. On the
    other hand they have been far better than the Firestones that came on his
    Ranger.

    My opinion is that the different in cost between quality tires and crummy
    tires is trival when spread over the life of the tires. Nothing can ruin a
    car’s driving characteristics faster than second rate tires. My first bad
    experience with "bad" private label tires was a set of Grand Prix Radials I
    bought for my Datsun 280Z. Turns out these were private labeled Firestone
    Radial 500 tires. Yuck! That was the last time I bought private label tires
    for my own vehicles.

    Ed

  27. admin says:

    C. E. White wrote:
    > …For instance
    > Goodyear’s  Kelly Springfield subsiduary also market tires under the
    > MultiMile brand. Are they as good as Kelly Springfield tires? I don’t know.
    > My Father always claimed they were better. Ironically he always claimed
    > Goodyear tires were sorry. Even more ironically he is riding around on
    > Country Squire Radials which are actually just Goodyear made tires. On the
    > other hand they have been far better than the Firestones that came on his
    > Ranger.
    > …Turns out these were private labeled Firestone
    > Radial 500 tires. Yuck! That was the last time I bought private label tires
    > for my own vehicles.

    Good and bad designs can of course come out of the same factory.  Specs.
    are flexible, and, as with any commodity (tires, batteries, whatever),
    compromises are made in the design to target a certain low end market
    niche.  I get tickled at people who use the fact that two products (one
    a brand name, and one a no name) came out of the same factory, so – hey
    – why not save a bunch of money and get the cheaper one that, by some
    law of (meta)physics, *has* to be just as good.

    Bill Putney
    (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
    address with the letter ‘x’)

  28. admin says:

    On Wed, 21 Sep 2005, mst wrote:
    >> No-name tires aren’t near the *lower* boundaries of tire technology,
    >> not the upper. This isn’t suspect advertising hype, it’s just plain
    >> common sense.

    > Can you help us interpret what you say there?  No name tires arent
    > "near" the lower boundaries… "not the upper".

    Whoops, typo. Should read: "No-name tires *ARE* near the _lower_
    boundaries of tire technology, not the upper…"

  29. admin says:

    On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 20:42:08 -0400 "Daniel J. Stern"

    > On Wed, 21 Sep 2005, mst wrote:

    > >> No-name tires aren’t near the *lower* boundaries of tire
    > >> technology, not the upper. This isn’t suspect advertising hype,
    > >> it’s just plain common sense.

    > > Can you help us interpret what you say there?  No name tires arent
    > > "near" the lower boundaries… "not the upper".

    > Whoops, typo. Should read: "No-name tires *ARE* near the _lower_
    > boundaries of tire technology, not the upper…"

    No prob … I wasnt quite sure which way
    to go with the orig statement :)


    remove MYSHOES to email

  30. admin says:

    Daniel J. Stern wrote:
    > On Wed, 21 Sep 2005, KWS wrote:
    > No-name tires aren’t near the *lower* boundaries of tire
    > technology, not the upper.

    Of they aren’t near the lower boundary and not near the upper, are they
    exactly in the middle?  ;)

    > What part of "Unbranded tires are unbranded because the company who made
    > them does not wish their reputation to be harmed by being associated with
    > that particular tire, or because that particular tire was made in a
    > backalley shop in China that was told by an unscrupulous Western importer
    > ‘Make them black and round’" do you find difficult to understand?

    Aren’t most unbranded or store brand tires sold in the U.S. made by
    Kelly Springfield (Goodyear), Goodrich (Michelin), or Cooper?

  31. admin says:

    "larry moe ‘n curly" <larrymoencu…@my-deja.com> wrote in message
    news:1127354588.599624.37320@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com…

    > Aren’t most unbranded or store brand tires sold in the U.S. made by
    > Kelly Springfield (Goodyear), Goodrich (Michelin), or Cooper?

    Don’t forget Bridgestone/Firestone.

    And yes, I think most private label tires are made in US factories (but not
    all – you can check the manufacturer’s code to determine the plant of
    origin). Although the private label tires might be made in the same factory,
    it does not mean that the tires are the same as the manufacturer’s branded
    tires. Heck not even all branded tires from a given manufacturer are the
    same quality. Do you think a manufacturer is going to put the top quality
    materials and best design features into a tire that will sell for half of
    the price of their lowest quality branded tire?

    Ed