I can’t drive 55 again; please don’t make me

3 thoughts on “I can’t drive 55 again; please don’t make me”

  1. “….East Coast drivers (including those in Washington) scarcely noticed because on their congested roads, they seldom reach that speed anyway.” Ha! ha!

    I’ve been taking things much slower just around town- it actually does make a difference of +4 or 5 m.p.g when doing so. Guess I never knew how much of a lead foot I was until my husband mentioned how the mpg went down when I was driving. Since then, I’ve slowed down and it makes a big difference. And, that’s just locally 😉
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    I don’t do much driving, just to the supermarket or over to my son’s house. That’s just at normal city speeds. It’s different, of course, on the interstate. If you go too slow, you’ll get run over. Still, I paid $4.10 a gallon last week. That got my attention.

  2. Ah, I remember those days. I remember people swapping license plates because last digit had to be even or odd to buy gas on certain days of the week. And then gas hit 65 cents a gallon. And then *gasp* 70 CENTS A GALLON!

    I dunno. I think Americans complain about the cost of gas too much. They were paying $4.00 a gallon in Europe 15 years ago.

    And on Long Island, there’s no 55. I was doing 70 in the middle lane in a 55 the other day and two troopers in a car pulled along side me in the left lane, touched the edges of their glasses, smiled big toothy smiles, and floored it. Apparently I was holding up the show!
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    Lol! I hear that. Around here, 70 seems to be a minimum, not a max. That’s okay on the open road, but scary in bumper-to-bumper urban traffic.

    The $4 gas doesn’t hurt me that much, but my son has a 45-minute commute (one-way) to work, and his wife and kids run around all day in an SUV. Their budget was bursting a year ago.

    I’d forgotten the license plate swapping! Then after the swap, you had to find a station that had some gas before you ran out looking for one.

    What’s really sad is that the embargo prompted a lot of discussion about the need to develop alternative energy sources. So how are we doing 25 years later? Hmm …

  3. Hey 30,
    I didn’t realize that’s why they downgraded the speed limit way back then. Though, I’ve never been much of a driver, and have generally worked near to where I live. But yeah, I’ve been in that crawling traffic and it is agonizing – especially out here – because you’re right, there is a lot more driving necessary when you live in SoCal, than pretty much anywhere else.
    WC
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    SoCal driving would scare the $^*( out of me! Well, it would if the smog didn’t blind me first.

... and that's my two cents