|
|
Post Reply 
|
Page 123 5> |
| Author |
 Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search  Topic Options
|
lostagain 
Senior Member 
Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586 |
 Topic: Towing SpeedPosted: 11 Apr 2020 at 2:39pm |
|
There are many statutes that are to be used only in unique or special circumstances. Even lawyers and judges have the capacity, at least on occasion, to use common sense. The same is true for most police, though some become a little confused at times.
The foresightful town council of Elko used this common sense and now have the perfect enforcement mechanism for the publics's safety. As I said, it is just one of many examples of our forward thinking in NV. As for necessities, worker safety comes first, even if there is an increased perception of need due to isolation and high stress. Adequate protection of the "independent contractors" would make the utilization of their services rather pointless. What is terribly unfair, however, is that these hard working people are ineligible for unemployment benefits unlike those who work in cabarets providing only temptations. A solution is being considered.
|
|
|
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
|
 |
|
|
offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 12:50pm |
|
I stand corrected re OR. I had read that it had rescinded its gas pumping restriction but I see that it was only partial. Someone must have done a study that found rural night owls have a higher IQ than other Oregonians.
I would think an attorney would not favor arbitrary decisions by law enforcement as to which statutes to enforce and which to ignore, as Elko would be doing without city council direction. So much for the even handed application of criminal justice.  I'm not touching the shutdown of the oldest profession in NV other than to say that it might be argued that it is an essential industry in this period of isolation and high stress. |
|
|
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
|
|
|
|
lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586 |
Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 11:39am |
|
Oregon doesn't allow self service except at night in rural areas. Currently, with the pandemic, the fire marshal has allowed a temporary lifting of the rule. Some towns in the N.E. also prohibit self service. I have to say, when I lived in NJ and it was cold and stormy, pulling into a gas station and being to say "fill'er up!" was pretty nice. And the prices there were far lower than adjoining states, though they've since raised the taxes.
As for Elko, as with all towns and cities in NV, we are very forward looking and leaders of the civilized world. Elko is an example. The mask ordinance can now be implemented again without the need to hold a city council session, thus maintaining social distancing, which is pretty easy to do in rural NV. The truly sad thing about social distancing and closure of non-essential businesses, not only is our sewing business completely shut down, a far older business is also shut down, depriving some rural counties of much needed tax revenue.
 |
|
|
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
|
|
|
|
offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 8:12am |
The problem with taking secondary highways in places with lots of at grade intersections and driveways is that greatly increases the frequency of speed differentials as slow traffic enters and exits the roadway. That's not a problem in rural NV 'cause hardly anyone lives out there but it is in the rural east. The interstates are much safer, even if you're travelling at 65 rather than 50.
We probablycan't use NJ as an example of a state with sensible laws. Its the only state where you can't pump your own gas. Somehow or other the rest of the country can get that done safely, but once inside the boundaries of NJ a motorist stupidity field engages and folks can't put gas in their tanks without killing themselves. Then there are all those jug handle turns... OTOH, I don't think that the original 13 colonies have any monopoly on regulatory peculiarities. The 55 truck and towing limit in CA is one example. Another in your state is rather interesting. I gather that Elko never bothered to rescind a law dating from the 1918 flu epidemic requiring folks to wear masks at all times while on the streets. So perhaps eventually everything comes back into fashion, even masks in Elko and sleighs in NJ.  |
|
|
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
|
|
|
|
Colt
Senior Member
Joined: 16 Nov 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 383 |
Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 1:13am |
|
LOL! I'm on my 2nd CX-5 and wouldn't think twice about 85 on an interstate highway.
I'm also a retired Civil Engineer. There is more politics and less engineering in speed limits than any other part of civil engineering. Speed limits in Chattanooga/Hamilton County are more often set by management based on resident complaints than an engineering study. Notwithstanding voodoo engineering, the regulations are the regulations and the speed limit is what is posted. Failure to obey risks a citation. Buy the best Electronic Counter Measures you can find. A safe speed is in the pucker of the beholder. I counsel conservative energy management and 1 or 2 escape routes. |
|
|
John
'16 R-Pod 180 |
|
|
|
|
lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586 |
Posted: 10 Apr 2020 at 10:07pm |
|
The 80 limit on I-80 is new, but copies UT, 80 all the way from just west of Salt Lake to the NV state line. Personally, I find driving that fast very uncomfortable in a Mazda cx5. There is no way I'm driving that speed with a trailer. I'll keep it around 60, but a 20 mph differential is just plain scary. Far better to take US 50 to head east. It's slower and much more interesting. Great places to camp along the way.
My experience with the rules of the road in the original 13 colonies is that they have no sense of organization. In NJ I had to look up some driving rules and found them mixed in with laws about utterly unrelated topics, such as a contract rule and murder laws, and there were all kinds of rules about horse drawn sleighs. In the entire time I lived in NJ, I never saw a horse drawn sleigh on a road.
|
|
|
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
|
|
|
|
offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 10 Apr 2020 at 9:35pm |
|
So we agree I can legally tow at 67 on I81. I’m not violating statute and I feel safer than I would driving 60 which I would prefer to do if not for the traffic. So it’s all good. 👍
I’m personally not at all worried about the possibility of being cited for not towing at 45 on VA’s lovely secondary highways because some overzealous state trooper decides my rpod is a house trailer. I typically cruise along about 50 on those and enjoy the view anyway. So I’m not planning to contact a lawyer, a urologist or a cardiologist. Well, at least not about speed limits. 😱 BTW it looks like most of I80 east of metro Reno in NV is posted at 80, towing or not. I guess that would seriously burn up some fossil fuel. https://www.nevadadot.com/home/showdocument?id=17053 |
|
|
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
|
|
|
|
lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586 |
Posted: 10 Apr 2020 at 7:20pm |
|
No, the speed limit on I81 in VA, if posted at 70, seems to apply to all vehicles. It's 45 on some highways. Read the statute. I cut and pasted it as written. As for whether it applies to an RV trailer, the statute isn't very clear. I'd want to contact a VA lawyer, if I was worried about it. But since the NV legislature writes things a little more clearly here, I don't have to worry about it. We don't have a split limit. I drive 60 if the limit is 65 and do my best to not impede others. If I am not concerned about impeding others, I'll knock it down a nickel. In CA, I set the cruise control to 55. That's the law.
As for traffic engineering issues, I'll just leave it to those whose expertise and professional experience is in that field. Like I say, no matter how well qualified a medical doctor, who is a urologist, may be, s/he isn't going to do open heart surgery on me. So, I may grumble and whine when I have to drive slower than I'd like, but I'm going to do my best to respect the law. |
|
|
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
|
|
|
|
offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 10 Apr 2020 at 6:46pm |
|
So, is your interpretation that the speed limit for a semi or a passenger vehicle towing a travel trailer on i81 here in SW VA, which is posted at 70, is actually 45 mph? Better let the VA Staties know🤔. A travel trailer is not a house trailer btw.
We have established that StephenH’s link is out of date. Any number of other websites have the correct figures. Try Wikipedia or your AAA link. This one has a interesting detailed discussion. https://rvnerds.com/resources/speed-limits-and-towing/ I agree that we need to follow the regs in our respective states. I have an issue with CA’s regs but it’s a moot point since I don’t tow a trailer there. As for the engineering, the issue with high differential speeds is essentially that the faster or slower you drive relative to the average speed of the traffic the more vehicles you interact with and the higher the probability that you will have an accident. It’s called the Solomon curve and was first documented 50 years ago. It’s actually worse when you are going slower than the traffic than faster. Also, if you do interact with a vehicle going at a significantly different speed, the kinetic energy that could be transferred to your rig is much greater than if the speed difference is small because it goes with the square of the speed difference. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_curve |
|
|
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
|
|
|
|
lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586 |
Posted: 10 Apr 2020 at 2:34pm |
|
The list provided by StephenH lists 15 states with 55 mph trailer towing limits.
The VA statute states: Except as otherwise provided in this article, the maximum speed limit shall be 55 miles per hour on interstate highways or other limited access highways with divided roadways, nonlimited access highways having four or more lanes, and all state primary highways.
The maximum speed limit on all other highways shall be 55 miles per hour if the vehicle is a passenger motor vehicle, bus, pickup or panel truck, or a motorcycle, but 45 miles per hour on such highways if the vehicle is a truck, tractor truck, or combination of vehicles designed to transport property, or is a motor vehicle being used to tow a vehicle designed for self-propulsion, or a house trailer. [Emphasis added.] Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the maximum speed limit shall be 70 miles per hour where indicated by lawfully placed signs, erected subsequent to a traffic engineering study and analysis of available and appropriate accident and law-enforcement data, on (i) interstate highways; (ii) multilane, divided, limited access highways; and (iii) high-occupancy vehicle lanes if such lanes are physically separated from regular travel lanes. The maximum speed limit shall be 60 miles per hour where indicated by lawfully placed signs, erected subsequent to a traffic engineering study and analysis of available and appropriate accident and law-enforcement data, on U.S. Route 17, U.S. Route 23, U.S. Route 29, U.S. Route 58, U.S. Alternate Route 58, U.S. Route 301, U.S. Route 360, U.S. Route 460, U.S. Route 501 between the Town of South Boston and the North Carolina state line, State Route 3, and State Route 207 where such routes are nonlimited access, multilane, divided highways. No doubt some places use speed limits as revenue enhancers, but in more civilized states, speed traps are illegal. The wisdom of split speed limits is debatable and it would be interested in seeing what professional traffic engineers have to say about it. Just as one would not hire an urologist to perform open heart surgery, though s/he may be an outstanding urologist, perhaps we should look to highly trained traffic engineers to help settle this question. Since each state is empowered to set it's own speed limits and we don't have a national speed limit, then our obligation is to follow the speed laws of the state we're in, even if we think they are silly, inappropriate, porrly thought out, laughable, revenue enhancers, or just plane dumb. And most states, in the last analysis, have superimposed on all their speed limits, the basic speed law; i.e., no one should drive faster than is safe for existing conditions. |
|
|
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
|
|
|
|
Post Reply
|
Page 123 5> |
| Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |
Towing Speed