NHTSA& EPA want to limit speedof vehicles over 26,000 lbs

smkettner wrote:
So 80,000 pounds is fine to go down the highway at 80+ mph.
Honestly I am OK if they are governed to 60 to 68 max as proposed.

do you really believe you're going to be any less injured or less dead if hit by 80K-lbs going 60-mp vs 80??

Hopeless conversation -

I think I'll get ready for my 588 mph trip in a 129,000 lb tin can with wings and have some peanuts while everybody freaks out about weight and speed down below - jeezoots.

So 80,000 pounds is fine to go down the highway at 80+ mph.
Honestly I am OK if they are governed to 60 to 68 max as proposed.

These last few posts are a perfect example of why the FEDS should stay out of this.

It's pretty obvious what works for southern California doesn't work for northern New York. Let each individual state determine what works best for them and set their laws accordingly - just like the Constitution designed it to be.

Last year was a very low snow year for us. Apparently some of the guys needed to get their hours in. One morning I was on Rt 81 (Interstate) with my cruise set at 70 MPH when I came onto a bunch of backed up traffic. The plows were out, running tandem, making sparks on the highway. All I could do was :S

yes, mountains and curves and grade and traffic and visibility are all factors....

Mile High wrote:

smkettner wrote:

Bruce Brown wrote:

Mile High wrote:
yep - one truck going 1 mph slower but they are both maxed, so the faster one pulls out to pass the slower one and we all wait. I can only see it getting worse than it is now.

Exactly - and we see it all the time. :S

And now in NYS they've gone to running snow plows in tandem in the Interstate too - at 35 MPH max. How long do you think it takes that rolling roadblock to start? Worse yet, how safe do you think having that many cars bunched up on winter roads is?

The state would never admit it, but I know this area very, very well. It's very rural and traffic flow is light. There is not a chance this ever would have happened unless the stupid tandem plows had traffic stacked up. There just it's that kind of traffic flow.

This happened in the north bound lane, we were traveling in the south bound lane without issue. The southbound lane wasn't being plowed and traffic wasn't stacked up. Funny how that works...

30 cars & 4 tractor trailers pile up

How fast do you expect to drive in the snow? At 35 MPH those plows would probably be pulling away from me.

No need to bunch up when driving slow but most drives still do. The reason there were not 35 vehicles involved was because the 35th actually had to proper following distance for speed and conditions.

No you don't get it CA - 35 is way too slow on even the snowy roads - and the worst thing that can happen to you is to follow the plow because your vehicle is getting the fresh Magnesium Chloride that plow is spitting out the back, destroying the finish on the front of your vehicle, even at 2 miles behind the plow. The best place to be in a Colorado snow is with the blue light in your rear view mirror fading away.

You folks have your own issues to worry about - like those Kamikaze Café Racers that use the white line as a speedway between cars. Jeezoots - I just came back from there and that hazard would keep me in my lane for sure, regardless of the speed of the guy in front of me.

Well safe speed on snow depends on the condition of the snow and how much traffic there is, and what you are driving.

I have driven as fast as 70 on snow on a divided interstate in Colorado with almost zero traffic going my way.

In the picture below we were going 45+/- on Oregon 26 coming home from the coast in January. This was what I considered a safe following distance pulling our 28' 5er.

smkettner wrote:

Bruce Brown wrote:

Mile High wrote:
yep - one truck going 1 mph slower but they are both maxed, so the faster one pulls out to pass the slower one and we all wait. I can only see it getting worse than it is now.

Exactly - and we see it all the time. :S

And now in NYS they've gone to running snow plows in tandem in the Interstate too - at 35 MPH max. How long do you think it takes that rolling roadblock to start? Worse yet, how safe do you think having that many cars bunched up on winter roads is?

The state would never admit it, but I know this area very, very well. It's very rural and traffic flow is light. There is not a chance this ever would have happened unless the stupid tandem plows had traffic stacked up. There just it's that kind of traffic flow.

This happened in the north bound lane, we were traveling in the south bound lane without issue. The southbound lane wasn't being plowed and traffic wasn't stacked up. Funny how that works...

30 cars & 4 tractor trailers pile up

How fast do you expect to drive in the snow? At 35 MPH those plows would probably be pulling away from me.

No need to bunch up when driving slow but most drives still do. The reason there were not 35 vehicles involved was because the 35th actually had to proper following distance for speed and conditions.

It's 35 max, not always 35. :W

And spoken like someone who has never driven in snow with a properly equipped vehicle.

Mile High wrote:

smkettner wrote:

Bruce Brown wrote:

Mile High wrote:
yep - one truck going 1 mph slower but they are both maxed, so the faster one pulls out to pass the slower one and we all wait. I can only see it getting worse than it is now.

Exactly - and we see it all the time. :S

And now in NYS they've gone to running snow plows in tandem in the Interstate too - at 35 MPH max. How long do you think it takes that rolling roadblock to start? Worse yet, how safe do you think having that many cars bunched up on winter roads is?

The state would never admit it, but I know this area very, very well. It's very rural and traffic flow is light. There is not a chance this ever would have happened unless the stupid tandem plows had traffic stacked up. There just it's that kind of traffic flow.

This happened in the north bound lane, we were traveling in the south bound lane without issue. The southbound lane wasn't being plowed and traffic wasn't stacked up. Funny how that works...

30 cars & 4 tractor trailers pile up

How fast do you expect to drive in the snow? At 35 MPH those plows would probably be pulling away from me.

No need to bunch up when driving slow but most drives still do. The reason there were not 35 vehicles involved was because the 35th actually had to proper following distance for speed and conditions.

No you don't get it CA - 35 is way too slow on even the snowy roads - and the worst thing that can happen to you is to follow the plow because your vehicle is getting the fresh Magnesium Chloride that plow is spitting out the back, destroying the finish on the front of your vehicle, even at 2 miles behind the plow. The best place to be in a Colorado snow is with the blue light in your rear view mirror fading away.

You folks have your own issues to worry about - like those Kamikaze Café Racers that use the white line as a speedway between cars. Jeezoots - I just came back from there and that hazard would keep me in my lane for sure, regardless of the speed of the guy in front of me.

And spoken like someone who HAS driven a properly equipped vehicle in snow - and someone who understands exactly what I'm taking about! :B

smkettner wrote:

Bruce Brown wrote:

Mile High wrote:
yep - one truck going 1 mph slower but they are both maxed, so the faster one pulls out to pass the slower one and we all wait. I can only see it getting worse than it is now.

Exactly - and we see it all the time. :S

And now in NYS they've gone to running snow plows in tandem in the Interstate too - at 35 MPH max. How long do you think it takes that rolling roadblock to start? Worse yet, how safe do you think having that many cars bunched up on winter roads is?

The state would never admit it, but I know this area very, very well. It's very rural and traffic flow is light. There is not a chance this ever would have happened unless the stupid tandem plows had traffic stacked up. There just it's that kind of traffic flow.

This happened in the north bound lane, we were traveling in the south bound lane without issue. The southbound lane wasn't being plowed and traffic wasn't stacked up. Funny how that works...

30 cars & 4 tractor trailers pile up

How fast do you expect to drive in the snow? At 35 MPH those plows would probably be pulling away from me.

No need to bunch up when driving slow but most drives still do. The reason there were not 35 vehicles involved was because the 35th actually had to proper following distance for speed and conditions.

No you don't get it CA - 35 is way too slow on even the snowy roads - and the worst thing that can happen to you is to follow the plow because your vehicle is getting the fresh Magnesium Chloride that plow is spitting out the back, destroying the finish on the front of your vehicle, even at 2 miles behind the plow. The best place to be in a Colorado snow is with the blue light in your rear view mirror fading away.

You folks have your own issues to worry about - like those Kamikaze Café Racers that use the white line as a speedway between cars. Jeezoots - I just came back from there and that hazard would keep me in my lane for sure, regardless of the speed of the guy in front of me.

97chevor wrote:
Truck speed is dependent on fuel price. More Federal control is not the answer.

And that would be true if truck drivers were paid by the hour. I know some are, but aren't most paid by the mile or by the load? I know during Tomato season the drivers get paid per load they deliver. The extra cost of fuel is more than made up by driving like a mad man and getting as many runs in as possible. The tipped over tomato trailers become proof of that.