When we lived in Wyoming almost 20 years ago, we could regularly drive 80+
mph (not on county roads which were often gravel :-) After about 4 years
our windshield had started to get sandblasted from hitting stuff in the air
at that speed. The majority of accidents there were one vehicle, usually
where the driver fell asleep. I always believed that if the speeds were
slower there would have been more sleeping drivers from the boredom. Other
times the accident was caused by a combination of things. Occasionally, a
fast moving vehicle would overtake a slow-moving car in blowing snow and the
results would be spectacular! I just read that the biggest killer on the
roads today is sleeping while driving. An estimated 48000 were killed last
year alone that way.
East of the Mississippi (and on the West Coast) it is often not possible to
drive fast and prudently if one can drive fast at all. Remember the rule
taught in Driver's Ed: keep a two second interval between cars? See how
often that is applied today. Fortunately, today's cars handle and brake
better than in the days of the muscle cars. But reaction times haven't
gotten faster!
My '71 Camera was capable of amazing acceleration and top end after I
blueprinted the 350 ci engine and added reworked angle-plug heads, etc.,
etc. At 7000 RPM the car reached 70 mph in first gear on the automatic
transmission. But it still had a '71 vintage suspension, lots of weight,
and so so brakes (which became poor when hot from stopping). It also became
light on the front-end at high speeds. I used to educate passengers as to
the virtues of seatbelts by driving at insane speeds along two lane country
roads, often at night just to see them struggle to find their belt! Then
the octane started dropping and the engine had to come out. It's a real
wonder I survived that car.
Can you imagine what we could do today with the computers, fuel injection,
roller cams, improved suspensions, lighter cars, metallic brake linings, 4
wheel disk brakes, etc.! In hindsight, I wish I had spent the money on OM
equipment back then instead.
Gregg
From: Mark Dapoz
> > What really doesn't make sense is a car that will go two or three times
the
> > legal limit. Where are you going to use them today? But the memories
of
> > when we could are good!
>
> Didn't Montana abolish highway speed limits for daytime driving just a few
> years ago?
> -mark
>
>
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