So the car I drive on a daily basis has a fuel consumption meter which tells you both the instantaneous and average rates of change. Very useful. Lately I've been trying to keep it pegged at 30 mpg in order to maximize my fuel economy while maintaining a sane rate of travel. Now, the roads around me are not very flat, and are in fact a lot hillier than people seem to realize. Because I try to keep my mpg pegged rather than my mph, my speed tends to wobble between 50 mph on the uphills and 75 mph on the downhills (dependent on the length and height change, of course).
Now, the point... The travesty in my eyes is the way we are forced to drive because of speed limits. Instead of being allowed to accelerate when accelerating would make sense i.e. the downslope, that is when the speed limit forces me to brake instead. Instead of carrying that increased speed into the next upslope, I'm forced to increase my RPMs in order to maintain speed thus increasing my fuel consumption greatly.
There's no real point to this other than to point out that maintaining a certain speed does nothing to increase fuel economy, it's the maintenance of RPMs that correlates with fuel economy. I'm not advocating the end of speed limits, just felt like pointing out a logical flaw in modern law. The 55 mph limit was imposed in the 1970s under the false assumption that it would increase fuel economy in vehicles. Just another example of unintended consequences for knee jerk legislation.
Now, the point... The travesty in my eyes is the way we are forced to drive because of speed limits. Instead of being allowed to accelerate when accelerating would make sense i.e. the downslope, that is when the speed limit forces me to brake instead. Instead of carrying that increased speed into the next upslope, I'm forced to increase my RPMs in order to maintain speed thus increasing my fuel consumption greatly.
There's no real point to this other than to point out that maintaining a certain speed does nothing to increase fuel economy, it's the maintenance of RPMs that correlates with fuel economy. I'm not advocating the end of speed limits, just felt like pointing out a logical flaw in modern law. The 55 mph limit was imposed in the 1970s under the false assumption that it would increase fuel economy in vehicles. Just another example of unintended consequences for knee jerk legislation.
Last edited by Jay (2011-04-28 14:58:29)
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
