MovieChat Forums > Days of Thunder (1990) Discussion > Higher speeds

Higher speeds

posted 18 years ago by hollyvolley
7 replies | jump to latest

Higher highway speeds, more horsepower and larger vehicles inhibit the advancement of more fuel efficient combustion vehicles, electrics, and hybrids

Normal highway traffic can only realistically travel so fast, and the macho motoring mentality of NASCAR is counter-productive to saner public transport.
Large cars and trucks reinforce their use because some people feel they need more armored protection from all the other large cars and trucks that may collide with them. Then they end up taking their dogs, or driving around with all sorts of other stuff in the car, that adds weight, reduces fuel efficiency and wears out the vehicle faster, especially the tires, brakes, tranny and motor

Large speakers and powerful sound sytems should be discouraged- as they too add weight, and disturb people living near roadways, and some people will joy ride around even more just to listen to their music, if they can't do so at home or in some tiny cramped apartment next to the superspeedway parking lot

Studies have shown that motorists, speeding along to stirring music have a higher incidence of acciDENTS- especially when it's that Waggoner tune the helicopters blare in Apocalypse Now. The men love it, but it really doesn't Thrill me terribly. But that smell, that gasoline smell is sure in the air again these days. Smells like Victory Boulevard in L.A. has for a long time now.

People are always wanting to argue about these indisputable points:
The strength to weight efficiency of a vehicle does not increase proportionally with it's horsepower and motor size, because of the extra weight of the engine block, a heavier chassis to support it, heavier struts and brakes, wheel size and the more fluid it must carry, i.e. the oil, the coolant, the extra gallons of fuel

In general, the more gasoline a vehicle burns, the more it pollutes the air with exhaust, and in general, the more noise it makes.

Longer lines of traffic are not only increased with the number of vehicles, but by the length of the vehicles.

Car manufacturers are not as concerned with vehicles that will last and that can be repaired easily, as with selling us another one as soon as possible

God in heaven, God above, be a God of truth and love

[–] hollyvolley 18 years ago

Other indisputable points:

Road surface wear is influenced by both the weather, and by the size, weight and volume of traffic on it. Weather cannot be controlled, but the size and weight of the vehicles can be. The volume of traffic is always under tighter economic restrictions as it increases, so smaller vehicles, taking up less space promotes economic fairness too.

Longer vehicles take longer to get through intersections- holding everyone else up and consuming fuel of every vehicle waiting- as well as simply forming longer lines of traffic backed up on the freeway, and at toll booths, where stop and go driving uses fuel and wears vehicles out faster.

In a wreck, a larger and heavier vehicle- by the laws of physics- has a greater potential to do both human physical damage and damage to other vehicles- and has less of a safety zone to escape through when other objects block it's path, so it's more likely to collide with something to begin with. This disproportionately raises insurance rates and necessitates more repairs.

Higher speeds leave less reaction time available to avoid collisions.

Large vehicles block the view of those in regular cars, and so promote a cycle of use that still leads to more collisions in general.

[–] hollyvolley 18 years ago

People have mocked Jimmy Carter- a real class act- ever since he lowered the national speed limit to 55, back in the 1970's after the first energy crisis- and when the middle east had already been embattled for twenty five years-(He spent his years since then promoting housing and offering sane views in books, when he could've spent his time playing golf or laying in the sun)

Now it's another thirty years of fuss- higher speeds are back- putting people in danger, stressing our workforce and economy, causing collisions that slow the freeway back down anyway with tie-ups, and probably spurring on the conflict overseas. I have been being harrassed- very intentionally with motor noise and vibration- among a host of other nasty dirty tricks- for a number of years- and my accounts generally fall on the deaf ears of a corporate media- forever pushing corporal punishment forward.

I think the price of gasoline has now been artificially lowered again by this Administration and it's oil company ties- just when momentum for this questionable war has run out of steam- even with much of the military-
When they inevitably withdraw and the price inevitably goes back up- they'll be screaming about how right George Bush was - Typical!

When it went to 3 bucks- things were definitly more quiet then in my neck of the woods- If it went up to four or five- it would temporarily hurt some people- but we'd all be better off in the long run- in terms of stress, in terms of noise, in terms of air pollution and in terms of safety- A healthy adjustment in the efficiency of our labors and follys would prove very beneficial in the long run-

God in heaven, God above, be a God of truth and love

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] hollyvolley 17 years ago

That is certainly an interesting POLITICAL argument- but when we are talking about motoring, the laws of physics, physiology and practical necessity should balance and offset the passionate marketing concerns that pound at us through the media to stimulate the sakes of newer cars.

Higher speeds may be more appropriate in the wide open spaces that remain- but by their very nature, they help to diminish those very spaces. Higher speeds anywhere use up automobiles and fuel faster- causing more labor and lowering motoring efficiency- which as it's focus should be in simply transporting us as safely and efficiently as possible-

and also adds to increased pollution- via increased fuel consumption. Increases in pollution are simply physiologically harmful- fossil fuel emissions are damaging to all forms of organic life- and so the only sane approach and overall theory is a conservative approach that minimizes them- NOT the passionate advertising of car manufacturers, showing cars being driven to the limit designed to get us to purchase more new cars as soon as possible- OR the wasteful example that NASCAR sets- inplictly encouraging unecessary speed on public roadways

As far as legislation goes, here in my Indiana for instance- it's been about two years since legislators legally raised the speed limits (things are NOT that wide open here) which also required all the roadsigns to be changed and spurs more unecessary road construction- ALL AT A TIME WHEN THE PRICE OF FUEL HAD AKREADY RISEN STEADILY FOR SEVERAL YEARS- and with nothing else forseeable on the horizon- and so the legislation, like NASCAR, was simply the wrong thing at the wrong time, and irresponsible

And if it it seems I have a personal axe to grind- YES I DO!

As a transgendered person I find the hidden meaning behind the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup to be offensive and insulting and on a par with what I've come to expect from chavanistic American Professional sports: "Next T El" - "T" being a common term for people like me, and "el" being a Spanish term implying male- it's typical American male pig trash talking and I'm sick of it. How about the "Nextfriedwhitetrash Cup" series? Crash and burn, because I'm sure you greasirs are finger licken good Chicken boys!

When will America grow up? and especially over something like automobile transportation which otherwise affects so many people?

God in heaven, God above, be a God of truth and love

[–] smiley_may00 17 years ago

Nextel Cup hidden meaning?? I'm guessing you don't own a Nextel or Sprint phone.

[–] 17 years ago

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