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Thursday, March 30, 2006 12:00 AM

Driving people crazy

A creative way to test the speed limit -- and other drivers' patience

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  • Friday, March 31, 2006 07:04 AM

    Saving Gas and Lives?

    I have to admit that I've had the fantasy of doing just what those kids did, namely getting some friends together and doing a rolling roadblock at the speed LIMIT. But the possible dangers alone kept me from going beyond even considering it.

    However, I occasionally actually stick to the speed limit, staying in the right lane of a multi-lane highway, and it's quite amazing to see people still get irked when they come up behind me and have to pass to maintain their clearly over the speed LIMIT speeds.

    IF people would voluntarily stay at the speed limit, this country could save substantial amounts of oil and expenditures. The decrease in MPGs for every 5 MPH above 55 or so is quite amazing. Also, I suspect that a substantial number of lives could be saved if people drove at the speed limit and more uniform speeds were maintained overall.

    But I don't hold out much hope for change. The savings in time for exceeding the speed limit are probably slim in the grand scheme of things, but everyone seems compelled to rush everywhere nonetheless, and for those with the powerful SUVs and cars, I suspet there's a lot of ego involved in just showing who's the fastest, biggest, and toughest on the road. "Slowpokes" (i.e., civilly obedient folks) just don't impress anyone.

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