Fords solution for speeding

[patriot]

The drivers coming up from Mexico are just as bad if not worse.

[j-ten-ner]

I really do not understand why some people here feel the need to drive 80 MPH on the highway.

 

Have you ever heard of MPG, safety, efficiency?

 

Anything over 60 MPH, DRASTICALLY reduces your fuel economy. Hell, even the difference between 60 and 65 is very noticeable. Why would you want to go from say, 24 MPG at 60 MPH, down to 16 just so you can do 80 MPH? Despite what some people might think, 80 MPH is not safe. The faster you are going, the less time you have to react, and the more it's going to hurt if you have an accident of any kind, if you even survive. I have over a million miles of heavy haul trucking experience under my belt, and I can tell you there is absolutely no reason to be driving more than 60 - 65 MPH. Want to get there faster? Take a plane or get on an express train.

 

The Government goes to all this effort to mandate cleaner burning vehicles, and it's worked, they burn cleaner than ever. However, what is the point when the operator of the vehicle drives it so fast that it cannot get any decent fuel economy anyways? Once again, the decisions of individual human beings leads to more trouble in our world.

 

People get all uptight about laws, rules and regulations. As long as people keep doing stupid things, or doing whatever the hell they feel like doing, more rules and regulations will come. I for one do not believe most people should even be allowed to make decisions for themselves. The majority of the public are complete, total idiots with little to no common sense. Guy who drives like a total dick has a kid, and his kid learns to drive like a total dick from him, and so on and so forth. We are left with a society full of assholes who think it should be OK to do whatever the hell they want to, ignoring the rules. Watch someone drive, more times than not, it is related to their personality. Drive like a douche, 98% chance that you are, without a doubt, a total douche.

 

If people weren't so good at doing stupid things and breaking the law all the time, the Government would have no need to continue finding ways to Govern us "monkeys" any further.

Thank you for speaking out loud.

Sometimes I wish that I could slap some drivers behind the ears. Just for the sake of it.

And when they ask "why?" another slap would follow imidiatly.

 

1. I could care less about fuel economy.

Time will tell...

 

so long

j-ten-ner

[MikeNH]

Fuel here is cheap and I don't drive my personal vehicle much. If we had prices like Europe I might start to care but even at $4-$5/gallon I just shrug it off and fill up. And don't even get me started on fuel economy mandates by the damn feds. So pointless. If people want small stuff that sips fuel then automakers will build them. Don't force this crap on me.

[Cowpie]

I can cotton to the idea that folks with their personal vehicles might not really concern themselves with mpg. But considering I go thru over 20,000 gallons of diesel a year for my commercial needs, a simple one tenth improvement nets me over $600 more in my wallet in a year on my semi. A full mpg better and we are talking some real pocket money saved. Especially if we hit those $5 a gallon for diesel prices of a few years ago. I am all on board with trying to tweak out all I can from every drop of fuel. Yes, even from my 2500 for my personal use. I have become convinced that many folks blow off the mpg thing just because they don't want to think about it. Well, $60,000 a year in just fuel costs, and it isn't easy for me to just blow it off.

[truckofwinandawesome]

Fuel here is cheap and I don't drive my personal vehicle much. If we had prices like Europe I might start to care but even at $4-$5/gallon I just shrug it off and fill up. And don't even get me started on fuel economy mandates by the damn feds. So pointless. If people want small stuff that sips fuel then automakers will build them. Don't force this crap on me.

Actually, if I remember correctly fuel in Germany is currently $6.39 a gallon; thankfully my sister (an Air Force Spouse living near a town called Bitburg) pays American prices (pretty much paying the same prices as Chris) on Spangdahlem AB (that is where her husband is stationed) or at Rammstein AB.

 

 

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[LaserBlueZ71]

 

 

I've noticed this too, especially here in the midwest where truck traffic is much, much heavier than it was in the northeast. It seems like schools are just churning out these guys without any road manners.

The best truck drivers are the ones who's Dad's were truck drivers.

 

That's how I learned. I started driving trucks when I was 12. My father who has over 4 million miles, accident and ticket free, in oversize freight, taught me everything I know. I worked for a large trucking company when I was a teenager. I started on the docks, loading trailers, running forklifts and what not. They let me get into the shunt truck before I could even legally get my 1A. I was 16 at the time. I learned really fast how to back up. Over the course of the next year, I filled in for guys on holidays, and a shunter who had to take medical leave. The company had a driving competition being held at the head office yard. I talked to a few people and they decided since this was a fun company activity and not a Provincial or National competition, that I could join in. There were 94 drivers in the competition, some with 20, 30 years experience. You know what happened? I won. The 17 year old kid, who did not legally hold a 1A license, won the competition. Now, you could say I am conceded, well, you know what, I earned it! It's all about your level of judgement. Some people have shitty judgement, some have an extremely high level of judgement.

 

What's my point? Trucking is one of those things, it has to be in your blood. Either your really good at it, or your just a steering wheel holder. It's been my passion my entire life, it's all I have ever known or cared about.

 

The people coming out of driving schools today, have no clue. I am so glad I was taught the right way to do things, by true professionals. It's all about WHO teaches you. People can boast about experience all they want, but you can do something wrong for years. You can do something wrong, your entire life. In that case, your experience counts for nothing.

[MikeNH]

Actually, if I remember correctly fuel in Germany is currently $6.39 a gallon; thankfully my sister (an Air Force Spouse living near a town called Bitburg) pays American prices (pretty much paying the same prices as Chris) on Spangdahlem AB (that is where her husband is stationed) or at Rammstein AB.

 

 

Sent to the Interwebs by an Apple

Last summer it was $7-$8 when I was there. But oil has dropped and the value of the Euro has tanked. Haven't checked since.

[wurgs]

So far the difference from 60-75 is only about 3mpg so I'm not too concerned. If I was I would be driving a Prius. Like most people I only actually need my pickup a few times a month, the rest of the time a car would do. People don't drive pickups and SUVs for the gas mileage.

[Cowpie]

Well, that is true, but mpg is always a plus unless you are Daddy Warbucks. I sure didn't get a 2013 Freightliner semi truck for maximum fuel economy on the road either, it is a pure work truck to get a job done. But even that, I like tweaking all I can out of it for mpg. When a person is dropping in a single year for just fuel, more than a person can buy a new 2015 2500 Dmax LTZ for, fuel economy is indeed an issue. For my pickup, I didn't buy it for mpg also, but for what I needed it for. Still, I like getting the best mpg out of it I can.

 

And if the time comes when we see fuel double or more in price from what it is now, I would be willing to bet that mpg will become something that folks focus in on more. Some people have very short memories. It wasn't that long ago when everyone was screaming over fuel prices and it was causing some very deleterious effects on the national economy. The probability of that occurring again is not that remote.

[MikeNH]

Back when I drove my truck every day I figured out that $5/gal would be the point where I'd need to do some serious thinking about what I owned. But now that my personal vehicle is essentially a weekend cruiser it matters far less. For me the high fuel prices were a drag but it didn't really hurt much.

 

 

You keep bringing up your commercial truck which is an absurd comparison. Most drivers won't come close in annual mileage to what a professional driver does nor does any common vehicle sold today come close to the dismal mileage commercial trucks get.

[Cowpie]

Well, I would say many vehicles come close to the "dismal" mileage commercial trucks get. Lets's see... what is the average mpg most folks get from a 2500HD 6.0L yanking around 10,000 lb of trailer? Most would usually say around 8-10 mpg, right? Well, I can hit that 8 mpg with 55,000 lb of trailer and freight on the 5th wheel of my semi truck. Who is getting "dismal" mpg? And there are many commercial semi trucks hitting the market now that can darn near touch the 10 mpg mark under a load. So while many won't cover as many miles, they sure will eat as much fuel per mile out of their dismal mpg pickups. Really sad a 7200 lb pickup pulling a 10,000 lb trailer can't get much better mpg than a truck grossing 75,000 lb. Even a Dmax is pretty sad in the broad scheme of things. On a good day, and while only grossing 1/4 or slightly more than a 80,000 lb semi, a Dmax might get double the mpg. On a lb for lb basis, the Dmax should be getting high 20's for fuel mileage under a gross load, and well over 30 running around empty. Dismal is misplaced.

[MikeNH]

Because most people tow loads every day. Stop comparing the life of s commercial driver to folks who commute, it makes no sense.

[truckofwinandawesome]

Because most people tow loads every day. Stop comparing the life of s commercial driver to folks who commute, it makes no sense.

he's right, when it comes to emissions control and Fuel Economy: Midrange (for Light Duty Pickups and School Buses) and Heavy Duty Diesels (large 18 Wheelers, or engines installed in Heavy Earthmoving Equipment) are on COMPLETELY Different Planets. And comparing Gasoline to Diesel fuel economy and emissions is like a theoretical physicist trying to explain Einstein's theory of relativity to a mentally challenged person; it's IMPOSSIBLE to do.

[Cowpie]

Because most people tow loads every day. Stop comparing the life of s commercial driver to folks who commute, it makes no sense.

 

Not comparing the "life" of either. But it is apropos to compare the efficiency of engines that use similar fuel, which I was. I compared a Dmax (diesel) to larger diesel engines used in heavier commercial trucks, both towing up to their respective weight limits. That is very applicable. Guess you didn't make it to the last part of the post. I suppose it is happening, but most folks are not "commuting" with a 12,000 lb 5th wheel trailer on the back of their pickup. So try not, in your enthusiasm to criticize me, to use the same misrepresentation you are accusing me of. Me thinks ye doest protest too much.

[KARNUT]

My GMC truck gets advertised HWY fuel millage at 72 MPH. After that it drops for every MPH over. I'm pretty satisfied with a 70 MPH speed limit on most HWYs, the speeders tend to stay under 80. You don't seem to get distracted at that speed like you did back in the double nickel days, that was pure hell. Not to change the subject but what this emerging trend of increasing distance between cars at stop lights and stop signs? I've seen left turn lanes with only three cars in it that should hold at least five leaving cars out in the other lane. Looks like people paying too much attention to there phone.

 

 

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