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Few things are more American than driving. Driving is something of a capitalistic activity(as opposed to using public transportation, which has more parallels with socialism). I support more freedom while engaging in this quintessentially American activity. Jack up the speed limits! Let freedom roar at 80 mph!
Driving is something of a capitalistic activity(as opposed to using public transportation, which has more parallels with socialism).
I can drive my car and never have to pay a cent for the wear I put on the roads, which are a publicly-funded social good. There may be gas taxes but not all cars use gas (and the amount of gas I use has little to do with how many miles of roads I travel on).
If I want to ride a bus I have to pay money. Capitalism.
No. The amount of fuel wasted traveling at that speed is too high.
1. "Too high" is a subjective (I think?) way of describing it. If you don't want to spend the money, don't.
2. If people are wasting fuel, it'd put money into the local economy. Taxes applied to road use, fuel use, plus that Coke and candy bar when you fill up goes towards keeping the gas station open...
Still can't see why anyone has to go that fast anyway. I never had any wish to go that fast, even as a teenager. I find myself actually looking forward to meeting up behind some slow moving truck or other car on the interstate and just cruising along behind them below the limit. No one gets mad at me, I can save what ever gas I want, I can actually enjoy the scenery, and I can watch all the idiots fly by in the fast lane and slam their brakes on as they stumble upon each other... Humor is where you find it, even on the interstate!
I tend to want to go fast on Interstates because they're so often such a miserable, soulless experience that I want it to be over with as soon as possible.
If time is not of the essence, though, I will almost always try to seek out an alternate route that doesn't involve controlled access highways. On these routes I am quite content to cruise along at or even a little below the posted speed limit, taking in all of the towns, farms, and scenery that are along the way.
2. If people are wasting fuel, it'd put money into the local economy. Taxes applied to road use, fuel use, plus that Coke and candy bar when you fill up goes towards keeping the gas station open...
If those taxes covered the cost of maintaining the infrastructure (they used to, but whoops, now they don't quite), I'd agree with that. Much of the freeway traffic in this state comes from fuel purchased out of state.
Also, it's laughable to think that NM could support even just I-40 with its gas tax receipts; states like Connecticut and New Jersey pay for our high-speed roads.
Quote:
If time is not of the essence, though, I will almost always try to seek out an alternate route that doesn't involve controlled access highways. On these routes I am quite content to cruise along at or even a little below the posted speed limit, taking in all of the towns, farms, and scenery that are along the way.
With few exceptions, the best speed to sightsee is zero miles per hour.
I moved from ABQ to Germany back in Apr and I have to say, driving 110-120 mph on the limit-free sections of autobahn doesn't phase me (anymore).
The autobahn system wouldn't work in the US since we are not trained for this kind of high speed driving where nearly everyone knows and follows the law. I've never seen anyone drive slow in the fast lane here, ever. Nor have I ever seen someone block a merging car or one changing lanes as long as their turn signal was on.
Different mentality here for sure and one that makes speed free sections of autobahn driving possible and safe.
Sorry to bump an old thread, but I have another reason why it is unlikely that the speed limit between Albuquerque and Santa Fe is unlikely to be increased if New Mexico were to legalize 80 mph speed limits: The Rail Runner. Rio Metro probably won't allow a speed limit increase on this stretch of I-25, since it would negatively impact the Rail Runner's ridership, and I would expect they would fight hard to prevent a speed limit increase to 80.
So, in addition to the high amount of traffic and populations of the counties this stretch of I-25 serves, I don't expect it would get raised to 80 mph even if New Mexico were to legalize 80 mph speed limits. It seems here that many users here simply want, rather than expect, this stretch of I-25 to be increased to 80 mph. Sorry everyone, but it isn't happening even if other highways in New Mexico get raised to 80.
Plus, a traffic study would have to be done to raise the speed limit (which applies to all highways in New Mexico), and there are several candidates that make obviously make more sense than I-25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Here is my ranking of likely candidates for an 80 mph speed limit:
I-25 in Sierra County. Sierra County is one of the least populated counties in New Mexico and this area is very sparse and lightly traveled.
US 70 through White Sands. US 70 is the only non-Interstate highway in New Mexico posted at 75 mph, and White Sands is pretty desolate.
I-40 west of Albuquerque to Grants. Part of this stretch has a 65 mph minimum left lane speed limit, and was designed for high speed. The only exceptions would be where the speed limit is currently reduced to 65.
I-25 between Las Vegas and Raton. Another sparse and lightly traveled area where raising the speed limit makes sense.
I-40 between Moriarty and Santa Rosa. Not as lightly traveled as some of the previously mentioned highways, but still pretty desolate.
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