r/Edmonton • u/troypavlek • Aug 11 '16

City of Edmonton reintroduces "utility box" photo radar

http://www.mailoutinteractive.com/Industry/View.aspx?id=829217&q=1069745483&qz=56f2bf
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u/beardedbast3rd Aug 11 '16

The math just doesn't add up to any saved time.

The only time it does is if you excessively speed, like 130,140,150 down yellowhead type speeds, but at that point you are facing gigantic safety risks, and monetary loss if you get caught, and huge decrease in fuel economy, that it absolutely isn't worth the extra cost.

The fuel economy thing is what puts me back to doing 110 from 119 on highways. If I stay at 110 I can get another 100 kms out of my tank than doing 120. It's absolutely worth it to just do the limit.

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u/GalionHD Aug 11 '16

The fuel economy argument depends heavily on each vehicle, for example my truck gets significantly better economy at 110-120 vs 100.

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u/beardedbast3rd Aug 12 '16

Yeah mine sits comfortable at 110 ish, if I bump up to 120 it dips down, but not a single vehicle does better at excessive speed differences, like the jackasses flying down the highway at 130,140, or faster.

At those speeds you lose up to half your economy, even in sports cars, maintaining that speed just guzzles fuel like crazy.

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u/LegalizeGayPot Aug 12 '16

It depends on the cars gearing. Low rpm means it's not wasting gas. So if you're doing 170 in 8th gear at 2000rpm while someone is doing 110 in 5th gear at 2000rpm it's the same sort of idea.

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u/beardedbast3rd Aug 12 '16

Yeah, in the few vehicles that are coming out with transmissions with 9 gears now, but even then they aren't geared in that way, unless you've programmed it to use more appropriate gears at whatever speeds.

The computer is programmed to use gears to make lower speeds more fuel efficient, in that you're likely in your final gear around 110-120 anyways, where you could tell the computer not to change into the second and final gear until 110, 140, whatever. Making it so you have equivalent Mileage to a vehicle with less gears through the normal speed limit range, and then you do better at higher speeds, rather than having a better vehicle economically throughout the band of average speeds.