Words fail me.....
Discussion
http://www.davidstrahan.com/blog/?p=163
Comments on “What happens next?”
Tony Troughton-Smith Says:
May 25th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I’ve been doing some judicious driving lately. By simply (but religiously) keeping my maximum speed down to 50mph(80kph) where I could otherwise do 70(112), and by being very gentle on the accelerator, I have found I improve my consumption by between 20% and 40%! Some of this may be due to the fact I’m driving a Prius, which has a fairly high-tech fuel management system, but I still think any car will deliver an improvement at least as good as the lower of these figures.
During the last oil ‘crisis’ back in the 1970s the US government (and others, I have been told) legislated to reduce the maximum speed limit to 55mph purely for this reason – to save precious fuel. From the driver’s point of view of course, it also reduces the cost per trip by the same percentage. And in terms of CO2, the environment is saved that proportion of additional greenhouse gas.
So why aren’t our governments rushing through similar laws this time? Why isn’t anyone even talking about it?
I’ve registered two URLs – stickat50.org and stickat80.org, with the intention of getting the ball rolling, explaining this idea and maybe selling some bumper stickers (useful to explain to the driver behind you!). But I’m not a web developer, and never got around to learning html. Anyone want to lend a hand with the site, or suggest avenues to promote a move to reduce our top speeds, such as NGOs or bodies who might be prepared to back it?
I’d welcome any ideas, observations or opinions – even negative ones (but don’t bother to point out that time is money and longer journey times will cost us – this is obvious, but I think the savings in fuel and environmental costs now outweigh the – very slight – increase in travel time.
ETA
To be fair, he's f
king accurate when he says "But i'm no web developer"
http://www.stickat50.org/
Comments on “What happens next?”
Tony Troughton-Smith Says:
May 25th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I’ve been doing some judicious driving lately. By simply (but religiously) keeping my maximum speed down to 50mph(80kph) where I could otherwise do 70(112), and by being very gentle on the accelerator, I have found I improve my consumption by between 20% and 40%! Some of this may be due to the fact I’m driving a Prius, which has a fairly high-tech fuel management system, but I still think any car will deliver an improvement at least as good as the lower of these figures.
During the last oil ‘crisis’ back in the 1970s the US government (and others, I have been told) legislated to reduce the maximum speed limit to 55mph purely for this reason – to save precious fuel. From the driver’s point of view of course, it also reduces the cost per trip by the same percentage. And in terms of CO2, the environment is saved that proportion of additional greenhouse gas.
So why aren’t our governments rushing through similar laws this time? Why isn’t anyone even talking about it?
I’ve registered two URLs – stickat50.org and stickat80.org, with the intention of getting the ball rolling, explaining this idea and maybe selling some bumper stickers (useful to explain to the driver behind you!). But I’m not a web developer, and never got around to learning html. Anyone want to lend a hand with the site, or suggest avenues to promote a move to reduce our top speeds, such as NGOs or bodies who might be prepared to back it?
I’d welcome any ideas, observations or opinions – even negative ones (but don’t bother to point out that time is money and longer journey times will cost us – this is obvious, but I think the savings in fuel and environmental costs now outweigh the – very slight – increase in travel time.
ETA
To be fair, he's f
king accurate when he says "But i'm no web developer"http://www.stickat50.org/
Edited by hondafanatic on Thursday 29th October 12:37
A month or so ago I was travelling along the A4 heading towards Heathrow when I spotted a chap in a Peugeot 406. Now, that in itself is fine but what irritated me most was that the eco-warrior driving it had stickers all over the car that read "Save the planet. Become a Vegetarian!".
How on earth does that even make sense?! I was going to ask my OH to take a photo but I was too busy giving him the loser sign (
) and getting told off for it too..! Women. 
How on earth does that even make sense?! I was going to ask my OH to take a photo but I was too busy giving him the loser sign (
) and getting told off for it too..! Women. LukeBird said:
Woodstar said:
Keeping your top speed down to 50mph (80kph) cuts your fuel consumption by up to 40%, saving you money and reducing your emissions, as well as your stress levels and the risk of accidents. Why not try it and see for yourself!
You are having a fken giraffe aren't you?!Backing up a long snake of impatient drivers on NSL A- and B-roads isn't.
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