Numerous studies in the 1980s showed that the NMSL (National Maximum Speed Limit, or 55mph) only conserved 1% of the gasoline consumed at the time. The amount of fuel consumed, said NHTSA, could also be saved by slightly overinflating your tires to reduce rolling resistance instead.
It drives up the cost of goods, especially under the new trucking laws, because it further shortens the distance one can drive in a day.
Let us look at Texas, for example. It is approximately 250 miles from Dallas to Houston, a common enough drive. At 55mph, it takes approximately 4.5 hours to go between the two cities. At 70mph, it takes about *3.5* hours. At 85, it takes under *3* hours to go that distance. Do that distance twice at 85, and you’ve saved *three* hours out of the day.
Or let’s say that you must run something from Dallas to El Paso, a common freight route. That’s about 880 miles. Let’s see...
At 55mph, it will take you 16 hours to drive that far, assuming you drive straight through. Most people won’t spend more than 10-12 hours or so in the saddle, so if you add in 10 hours for sleep, food, and relaxation before picking up driving again, you’re looking at about *26* hours, or a little more than a day to get to El Paso.
At 75mph, you will cover that distance in 11.75 hours.
At 85mph, the new maximum legal speed limit in Texas, you will cover the distance in about ten and a half hours.
That’s a difference of *15.5* hours at most and *6* hours at the least!
What’s 15 hours of lifespan worth to you?
Why is time spend getting from here to there considered wasted?
Truck drivers,yes they can’t drive as many miles in a day.
What happens to the hours you have saved when you dramatically increase your chances of dying in an auto accident?
How much is your life worth to you? How much is my life worth because a person’s need for speed ended my life?
Actually, it's 80, but I will probably be doing 85 or so if I ever go that way.