This is a good post.

I don’t want to really explain my whole thing right now, but in defense of my post i will start with ( and finish with) the fact that it’s almost always crazier to drive through ruralish but residential neighborhoods at 150 than 75.

Like the gun control debate, my personal opinion isn’t idea filled on this issue. For example I think the arguments for gun control are very strong but my personal opinion, based on growing up in Kansas is that i’m pro gun. Likewise, my personal viewpoint that speed limits are more like speed mandates probably isn’t as constructive as the arguments victor is making in this thread.

Lowering the speed limit to 55 mph in the US in the 1970's was done because of gas shortages and it increased gas mileage in all cars/vans/trucks. As a side effect it also lowered the death rate in highway accidents.

Its not that people obey the speed limits. I certainly don't. But people who don't want to get speeding tickets will either obey the speed limit (especially if they are black) or go less than 10 mph over the speed limit.

In general the cost of a ticket at 20+ mph over the limit can be hundreds of dollars more than a typical speeding ticket.

If I need to get somewhere fast, I usually go 19 mph over the limit. However in PA where the limit is 70 mph on some highways I go only 84 or so.

The funny thing is that since I bought an electric car I typically drive no faster than 59 mph because on longer trips I don't want to run out of electricity in the battery. My original Bolt did not have a fast charger so I couldn't fill it at a highway service area. However, when I got behind a truck (like a car length to two car lengths behind) I would drive up to 75 mph because of the draft. The trucks of course would either try to get up to 80 mph to lose me or drop down to 40 mph so I would pass them. Typically though I would stay with them until another truck passed us. Or in the odd cases where they would pull off the road or take an exit.

The other problem since Covid is that pedestrian deaths have increased dramatically. In part it has to do with people on cell phones who are crossing the street without paying attention. As well as drivers who are texting while driving. NYC has reduced their speed limit by 5 mph to try to address pedestrian deaths but I don't know how that is going. I certainly have gotten a ticket from a camera in NYC as well as other members of my family. And stupidly they have not adjusted the traffic lights on staggered Avenues that are set up to allow cars to go 30 mph and make all of the lights. So if you don't speed it will take you twice as long now.

The problem of people going the speed limit in the left lane of highways won't change if speed limits change. Those people believe they are entitled to be in the left lane and I will frequently pass them in CT where it is illegal to pass on the right. Typically they will speed up so I can't pass them. One time I got up to 95 mph passing on the right and was able to pass them (they were going at least 85 mph) and miss the truck in the right lane ahead of me by about 7 feet. The funny thing is that they then immediately slow back down to the speed limit and in this case had a line of about 20 cars behind them eventually while driving right next to that truck. Another time I passed two cars on the right and then the car that was behind the slow guy decided to tailgate me to show me how wrong I was to pass them. Ironically they had also passed the guy in the left lane at that point. They stayed about a foot behind me for about 2 minutes. I didn't react at all. And when they passed me I tipped my cap as basically all 4 of them were waving their arms at me.

The fastest I have ever driven in a car was about 102 mph. I was younger then and just wanted to know what it felt like to be over 100 mph. The fastest I have ever gone in a car was in Germany when I was hitchhiking. I didn't speak German and the driver didn't speak English. We were going about 150 kph (which is about 90 mph) in his BMW when I said something like "Is gud car". He then said "Is gud Rocket" and took it up to 250 kph in the leftmost lane. That would be roughly 150 mph. Thing was that on the Autobahn there were like 6 lanes in each direction (could have been 5) and the German drivers were all meticulous about which lane they were driving in based on their speeds. So it felt safe. Though my adrenaline was pumping so fast I probably wouldn't have been able to tell if I was terrified or not.

My guess is that if speed limits nationally were made to be 60 mph it would reduce accidents, increase gas mileage and reduce pollution and would force people like me who speed to go a little bit slower (like 5 mph slower). It would also be a campaign boost for Trump.