The "gas crisis" bullsh*t never ceases....

[Snow Fox]

try driving around a big city, here in chicago things have slowed tremendously... fewer cars on the road and more carpoolers, more motorcycles, etc...

You should've seen the traffic coming through here yesterday (Sunday, July 6). If anybody thinks that the traffic has slowed down around here they are higher than a kite. The majority of vehicles are pulling either a gigantic 5th wheel camper with a toy hauler in back, or they are pulling a trailer loaded with four wheelers. The majority of plates say Colorado and they are all coming down from the mountains. There must be a lot of high paying jobs down south in CO, because the high fuel prices do not seem to be slowing them down a bit. Then you throw in I-80 and all of the passenger cars/SUV's mixed in with all of the big trucks. Alot of those plates say California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Utah, Washington, Idaho, Orgeon, Wyoming of course, and others mixed in from the other fifty states. They then choose to ignore the big black/white signs that say Speed Limit 75.

Maybe in some of your local areas traffic has slowed, but here on I-80 in SE Wyoming traffic is busier than ever. People aren't doing a very good job at conserving fuel right now when its 4 bucks a gallon. There is no reason for fuel to prices to drop. What is it going to take, 5 or 6 dollars a gallon before you see large scale fuel conservation?

 

[ruffryder]

The whole notion of looking down on what anyone drives because it wastes too much energy is wrong.

I object. The reason is that other people's excess effects us all, especially when it comes to fossil fuel usage. If it didn't then I wouldn't have a problem.

 

[ruffryder]

You should've seen the traffic coming through here yesterday (Sunday, July 6). If anybody thinks that the traffic has slowed down around here they are higher than a kite.

Maybe in some of your local areas traffic has slowed, but here on I-80 in SE Wyoming traffic is busier than ever. People aren't doing a very good job at conserving fuel right now when its 4 bucks a gallon. There is no reason for fuel to prices to drop. What is it going to take, 5 or 6 dollars a gallon before you see large scale fuel conservation?

How about you make the comparison not on one of the busiest national holidays?

 

[maluchm]

I object.

Over ruled

 

[ruffryder]

Over ruled

ha ha ha, I strenuously object!

 

[shortstop20]

Meet me in Chambers you two! LOL

 

[Snow Fox]

How about you make the comparison not on one of the busiest national holidays?

The reason I am making the comparison on a busy holiday weekend, is just that. To see if traffic is down from holiday weekends years past, and it is not. My point is with the high cost of fuel and people b!tching about it, thats all it is.....b!tching. People continue to drive their gas guzzling vehicles at rates higher than the posted speed limit. Until "We the People" of this great nation learn how to conserve more, fuel prices are not going to go down.

As far as people traveling other than a holiday weekend, well traffic is just as busy as ever, any day of the week. As I have stated earlier, people have not reduced their driving habits or slowed their speeds in this part of the country.

 

[Snowizard]

55 mph, you bet.... haha

I remember all too well the 1973 gas "shortage", and the 55 mph speed limit. I was age 31 that year!
It was a big game between the highway cops and truckers, and drivers in general to exceed the 55 limit and play catch-me-if you-can games with the cops. (Highway "Bears" lol.)
THe CB radio came into being as a cop-watch device, and those years were the inspiration for those wonderful literary works of art in the movies such as "Smokey and the Bandit, etc. LOL!

"Let Them Truckers Roll------ 10-4 Rubber Duck."

Thats what I see all over again if the 55 limit is re-activated.

Oh.....
P.S., there were more highway accidents in the '70's with the 55 mph limit, because it was so boring to drive that speed, drivers paid less attention to what was going on on the road, and were more easily distracted.

One more thing, about the early '70's, cynics were saying , that when gas hit $1.00 per gallon, there would be all the gas anyone wanted.
Damn... thats what happened allright.!

So what's the magic price/gal gonna be now? Who knows.?

 

[Jaynelson]

Kind of a side note of interest;

I did a fair amount of research for law class paper back in college regarding speed limits and safety. The consensus was that the safest drivers, ie those with the fewest number of accidents, were mature drivers who travelled 10-15mph over the posted limit. I found info from all over the world and it was all roughly the same. 20mph over drivers were still in many less accidents than 10mph under. The "over" people were more attentive because they were aware of their increased speed and the actual "driving" taking place, as opposed to zoned out people doing the limit or less. Go figure.

 

[duffman]

The reason I am making the comparison on a busy holiday weekend, is just that. To see if traffic is down from holiday weekends years past, and it is not. My point is with the high cost of fuel and people b!tching about it, thats all it is.....b!tching. People continue to drive their gas guzzling vehicles at rates higher than the posted speed limit. Until "We the People" of this great nation learn how to conserve more, fuel prices are not going to go down.QUOTE]

Conservation does not work. We have dramitically increased the efficiency of many of our energy consuming devices since the last energy crises, and we now consume much more energy. For example, CAFE standards are nearly double what they were in 1973. If we want to take the efficiency route (which doesn't work anyway) the quickest way I know to increase efficiency by 10-20% would be to do away with pollution control measures such as catalytic converters, low particulate diesel, smokestack scrubbers, etc.

 

[DOO DAWG]

America is based on land of the free. If a housewive wants to drive an SUV it is nobody's business. The whole notion of looking down on what anyone drives because it wastes too much energy is wrong.

Snowmobilers of all people should understand this concept, look at the inherent waste of fuel in running sleds and tow vehicles hundreds of miles. If the USA can ban soccer moms from driving a suburban due to fuel they can surely ban snowmobiling due to fuel waste. Then think obout the fuel to run a golf course, boating, ski resort, cruise ships etc...

Once again I am NOT for regulating anything here. If you don't believe it check out the land use section and what I have posted there. My 20 MPG (2500 HD) rig spends most of its time in the driveway...My 37 MPG rig gets me to work and all errands What is it they call it? Supply and demand?? This is only my $.02

 

[MTm7]

I object. The reason is that other people's excess effects us all, especially when it comes to fossil fuel usage. If it didn't then I wouldn't have a problem.

how do you define excess? that is VERY subjective.

 

[duffman]

Kind of a side note of interest;

I did a fair amount of research for law class paper back in college regarding speed limits and safety. The consensus was that the safest drivers, ie those with the fewest number of accidents, were mature drivers who travelled 10-15mph over the posted limit. I found info from all over the world and it was all roughly the same. 20mph over drivers were still in many less accidents than 10mph under. The "over" people were more attentive because they were aware of their increased speed and the actual "driving" taking place, as opposed to zoned out people doing the limit or less. Go figure.

Excellent point. Sometimes real world results stupify the conventional wisdom!

 

[ruffryder]

how do you define excess? that is VERY subjective.

Well, raise the cost of fossil fuels by 200% and we will all quickly be able to define it.

 

[maluchm]

Well, raise the cost of fossil fuels by 200% and we will all quickly be able to define it.

Ruffy... you dodged the question

 

[ruffryder]

Conservation does not work.

Conservation works great as long as the financial incentive to conserve is large enough. This is a money controlled world and most people are only motivated by money.

We have dramitically increased the efficiency of many of our energy consuming devices since the last energy crises, and we now consume much more energy.

Your comparison is incorrect. If efficiency has increased, be definition we are using less fuel on a per unit basis. Comparing it to consuming more energy is wrong because the country has grown a large amount which accounts for the large increase.

If we want to take the efficiency route (which doesn't work anyway) the quickest way I know to increase efficiency by 10-20% would be to do away with pollution control measures such as catalytic converters, low particulate diesel, smokestack scrubbers, etc.

Now that is some crazy talk, I kind of like having clean air to breathe. Reminds me, I need to go outside and have a smoke.

 

[ruffryder]

Ruffy... you dodged the question

Kind of, you are correct it is totally subjective. Therefore, my definition will not be your definition for excess. It is difficult to tell someone else that what they are doing, they are doing out of want and not need. The only way to see/understand what is truly excess is to increase the prices to a level where a majority of people change there habits. If that person still doesn't change, then he actually has a need (or can still afford the want). If he does change, you will be able to see that his need was actually a want.

The above is why I posted the quick one liner. It is difficult to define subjective terms for other people, because well, it is subjective after all.

 

[Clarke673]

in 98 when MT had no speed limit, there were less accidents than in 2000 when there was one. People were falling asleep all over the place. We got pulled over for doing 146 mph in a 1992 Chevy work truck driving to Billings. We got a $25 "excessive gas use" ticket.

In 20 years we will all be riding bikes and the ol horse and buggy will be the hot rods because this nation is WAY backwards. We are the only people out there that beat a country down in a world war and then build them a better economy then ours.

 

[ruffryder]

We got pulled over for doing 146 mph in a 1992 Chevy work truck driving to Billings. We got a $25 "excessive gas use" ticket.

I am calling BS on the 146 mph in a 1992 Chevy work truck. Though, I guess it depends upon what type of work that truck actually did, and if anything was stock on it. 146 MPH is awfully fast for a brick on wheels to push.

 

[Mooseknuckle]

^^^^^^^^

First of all, Iownu, WTF kinda of work trucks are you rollin' in MT. I have got to get me one of those.

Out here on the Left Coast we have a lot of 55-60 freeway, but not a lot of driving at that speed. But not a lot of tickets either. I really think that the deal is that if you won't tax your citizenry for the infrastructure it takes to support them, then you have got to let them get away with some stuff. Here is my example-


A conveyor (not treadmill) is X wide and Y deep and moves Z fast. That equation equals "A" amount of product moved. Now you have more product to move in the same amount of time. Lack of funding and environmental restrictions prevent you from expanding X or Y so the only way to move the product is increase Z. Thats kind of where we are at here, and thus I think that decreasing the speed limit certainly wouldn't help the situation where there are more people than roads.

Just in case you don't have enough to worry about - from Yahoo news

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices fell as much as $6 a barrel Tuesday, bringing crude down $10 this week and hurling prices back to levels not seen since June 26.

OMG Prices not seen since June 26th. Why that was ....like.....uh....last week. Makes it sound like the horse and buggy days doesn't it. I certainly feel better knowing that price are back to levels not seen in 12 days, heck since last month or better yet, since last fiscal quarter.


Ah yes, Excellent, my plan is working. These lemmings actually think they are sticking it to the man.