Real life figures spur lower speeds

I read your letters daily and felt compelled to add my two cents today.

First, I am new to the area, still trying to sell my home in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, after about one year. I started out commuting home every other week until the fuel prices got so out of hand. It is now every three or four weeks.

Here is a personal observation supporting lowering speed limits. I drive two different vehicles; which one depends on whether I have work to do on my home. The first vehicle is a Chevy Aveo. At 70-plus mph it averages 28 to 29 miles per gallon for the drive. Held to 65, it will do 32 mpg; at 60 it gets 34 to 35 mpg.

The second vehicle is an older 1992 Chevy 4×4 truck. At 70-plus it gets no better than 12 mpg. At 65 it gets a consistent 18 mpg. Big difference — these are real world figures, not from a GM test track in perfect conditions. The drive time difference of the speeds is well worth the savings.

As a final note, I read with interest the Friday letter on fuel costs, “How much gas to go back in time?” The writer obviously has more money than good sense, drives a very large SUV or truck and never leaves the county.

Kevin L. Kennedy

Everett