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Old 08-18-2017, 09:48 AM
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Default The mysteries of life....

My speedometer goes to 120 mph. The speed limits in the U.S.A. are almost always 65 mph........ Why not make the top speed of a car something like 80 mph?

Never figured that one out....
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:00 AM
Dave Abrahamson Dave Abrahamson is offline
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I don't believe the top speed of the car and the highest reading on the spedo have much to do with each other. My Nissan Versa spedo tops out at 140.....not bloody likely!
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:11 AM
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Another benefit of autonomous cars.

We have a parkway here that was recently changed from 50MPH to 30MPH. no one goes under 45 MPH on this. There are signs everywhere and warnings and billboards etc.

If we make a law, then enforce it, or else don't bother making it.

Autonomous vehicles can be programmed to never break the speed limit.

Then, we won't even need speedometers.

I can't wait. I intend to sit in the back seat and play my guitar through my whole commute. Hours and hours of guitar time.

Then I'll read a book or watch a movie. I'll sleep while my car commutes me to work four hours away, then sleep on the commute back. Zero loss in home/family time but my career opportunities just expanded by a 250 mile radius.
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:20 AM
Otterhound Otterhound is offline
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Because , when you drop a motor vehicle from 10,000' , it will need the 65-120 part .
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:20 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TBman View Post
My speedometer goes to 120 mph. The speed limits in the U.S.A. are almost always 65 mph........ Why not make the top speed of a car something like 80 mph?

Never figured that one out....
It's a safety feature built into all automobiles should the need arise to outrun a zombie apocalypse. They top out at about 90 mph, 95 if going downhill....

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Old 08-18-2017, 10:20 AM
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You're on a two lane road, other lane is solid traffic. You're doing the limit, 60MPH. Fire, ambulance, Hazmat, and state police cars come up behind you at double your speed with lights and sirens on. Do you keep doing the limit or speed way up so as not to impede them? I've been in that situation.
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HHP View Post
You're on a two lane road, other lane is solid traffic. You're doing the limit, 60MPH. Fire, ambulance, Hazmat, and state police cars come up behind you at double your speed with lights and sirens on. Do you keep doing the limit or speed way up so as not to impede them? I've been in that situation.
If I cannot move over I speed up to give them clear road ahead of them. I figure I will get out of that ticket.

I once followed an ambulance taking my dad to the hospital - we were flying. Police followed me into the parking lot and made sure I was legitimately with the ambulance then wished me luck.
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:26 AM
jhmulkey jhmulkey is offline
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You should find this short article interesting:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/59478...er-legal-limit

Since some people have an aversion to links:

Quote:
Why Do Car Speedometers List Speeds That Are Way Over the Legal Limit?

Judging by their speedometers, you would think that most modern automobiles can easily hit 160 miles per hour. Yet, unless you’re a NASCAR vet, you probably have never come close to actually going that fast. Let’s talk tickets: In the U.S. there isn’t a single stretch of highway where one can legally exceed 85 mph. So why do car companies build models that can double this velocity in the first place?

Well, the short answer is “they don’t,” as this clip points out:



According to former Nissan executive Larry Dominique, “Eighty percent of cars on the road are not designed for and will not go over 110 miles per hour,” regardless of what your speedometer claims. Moreover, tires usually can’t long endure being pushed over 130 miles per hour.

So why does the speedometer of your dawdling family sedan or minivan boast of high speeds that it simply can’t match?

There’s a small matter of salesmanship. To unsuspecting folks shopping for a new ride, higher maximum velocities may imply stronger engines. Thus, from a marketing perspective, exaggerated speedometers make total sense. But does this deceiving practice come at a price? Fearing that inflated numbers encouraged reckless driving, National Highway Safety Administration leader Joan Claybrook spearheaded a new rule which prohibited speedometers from reading above 85 miles per hour in 1979 (this was repealed two years later).

Take a peek at certain older speedometers, and you might notice that the number 55 is circled. That’s because, during a 1974 standoff with OPEC, President Richard Nixon issued a nationwide speed limit of 55 mph which he hoped would promote fuel efficiency. Though this measure, dubbed the Emergency Energy Conservation Act, would be tweaked and modified in subsequent years, it wasn’t fully repealed until 1995.
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:27 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HHP View Post
You're on a two lane road, other lane is solid traffic. You're doing the limit, 60MPH. Fire, ambulance, Hazmat, and state police cars come up behind you at double your speed with lights and sirens on. Do you keep doing the limit or speed way up so as not to impede them? I've been in that situation.
Actually you pull onto the shoulder and let the emergency vehicle pass. As a former EMT/ambulance driver, the last thing you want when you're heading for an emergency or to the hospital is someone in front of you who won't pull over and seems to be racing you. I'm going to stick with my zombie apocalypse theory....

Here is the pertinent Virginia statute:

§ 46.2-829. Approach of law-enforcement or fire-fighting vehicles, rescue vehicles, or ambulances; violation as failure to yield right-of-way.
Upon the approach of any emergency vehicle as defined in § 46.2-920 giving audible signal by siren, exhaust whistle, or air horn designed to give automatically intermittent signals, and displaying a flashing, blinking, or alternating emergency light or lights as provided in §§ 46.2-1022 through 46.2-1024, the driver of every other vehicle shall, as quickly as traffic and other highway conditions permit, drive to the nearest edge of the roadway, clear of any intersection of highways, and stop and remain there, unless otherwise directed by a law-enforcement officer, until the emergency vehicle has passed. This provision shall not relieve the driver of any such vehicle to which the right-of-way is to be yielded of the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway, nor shall it protect the driver of any such vehicle from the consequences of an arbitrary exercise of such right-of-way.

Violation of this section shall constitute failure to yield the right-of-way; however, any violation of this section that involves overtaking or passing a moving emergency vehicle giving an audible signal and displaying activated warning lights as provided for in this section shall constitute reckless driving, punishable as provided in § 46.2-868.
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Last edited by RP; 08-18-2017 at 10:35 AM.
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:36 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HHP View Post
You're on a two lane road, other lane is solid traffic. You're doing the limit, 60MPH. Fire, ambulance, Hazmat, and state police cars come up behind you at double your speed with lights and sirens on. Do you keep doing the limit or speed way up so as not to impede them? I've been in that situation.
If there is absolutely no shoulder, then you'd have to find the next place to pull over. I'd not advise doing that at 120mph though, or you'll likely need another ambulance for yourself and possible others.

Only other option is to pull a Go-Go-Gadget move and let the emergency vehicle drive under you

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Old 08-18-2017, 10:49 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RP View Post
Actually you pull onto the shoulder and let the emergency vehicle pass. As a former EMT/ambulance driver, the last thing you want when you're heading for an emergency or to the hospital is someone in front of you who won't pull over and seems to be racing you. I'm going to stick with my zombie apocalypse theory....

Here is the pertinent Virginia statute:

§ 46.2-829. Approach of law-enforcement or fire-fighting vehicles, rescue vehicles, or ambulances; violation as failure to yield right-of-way.
Upon the approach of any emergency vehicle as defined in § 46.2-920 giving audible signal by siren, exhaust whistle, or air horn designed to give automatically intermittent signals, and displaying a flashing, blinking, or alternating emergency light or lights as provided in §§ 46.2-1022 through 46.2-1024, the driver of every other vehicle shall, as quickly as traffic and other highway conditions permit, drive to the nearest edge of the roadway, clear of any intersection of highways, and stop and remain there, unless otherwise directed by a law-enforcement officer, until the emergency vehicle has passed. This provision shall not relieve the driver of any such vehicle to which the right-of-way is to be yielded of the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway, nor shall it protect the driver of any such vehicle from the consequences of an arbitrary exercise of such right-of-way.

Violation of this section shall constitute failure to yield the right-of-way; however, any violation of this section that involves overtaking or passing a moving emergency vehicle giving an audible signal and displaying activated warning lights as provided for in this section shall constitute reckless driving, punishable as provided in § 46.2-868.
In my case, I was on I64, right lane clogged and to my left was a steep embankment. I was, however, driving the Olds 4-4-2 I had at the time so there was no "racing" the emergency vehicles. When I dropped the hammer, they disappeared in my rear view and were 1-2 minutes behind when I was able to merge right.
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:57 AM
AX17609 AX17609 is offline
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Lots of consumer items have powerful features that never get used, like the top 18 frets on my guitar, for example.
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Old 08-18-2017, 11:01 AM
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That section of the speedometer is for those days when you've absolutely, positively, had it with solving all your merging problems with the brake.

Bob
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Old 08-18-2017, 11:06 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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Last time I was in the States, driving from California to Texas (2005) the max limits were 70mph, as it is in the UK.
Sur la continent there are roads with 81 mph max speeds, and I believe that in Germany there are still some unrestricted roads.

Most cars speedos go way higher than the car could be driven, always were - I remember laughing at other kids in school who would look into a car and say "Wow - it goes over 100.120" or whatever!

First time I drove over 100 mph was in my Dad's Jaguar, sitting on his lap - I think I was about 7.

My wifey bought a car today ! - A Mini Cooper! Boy has technology changed in the last few years!
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Old 08-18-2017, 01:40 PM
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Along with that is why have high performance sports cars? You can't really drive them anywhere. You just drive around looking cool.
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