So many issues to address. Sorry about the length.
1. We should be allowed to drive 100 mph provided your car can pass a high speed inspection.
2. Fines are outta control. It's the dept of finance that sets the fines. It's a budget thing and the punishment never fits the crime. $110.00 for a 25 cent expired meter in NY is the real crime.
3. Insurance co's should not be allowed to base their premiums on tickets, it's wrong. If you've had many claims and losses that they had to pay is one thing. They shouldn't have the right to bump you 30% because of a speeding ticket. An organization needs to be created to address this insessant(sp?) ticketing, fining, and premium bumping travesty. Thousands of members could influence voting and law making. Afterall, we're the ones voting the people into office that make these laws.
4. High gas prices and the Bush family seem to be closely related. The last time this country had record high gas was during the first Bush administration; as well as a recession and stock market crash. Drill the hell out of Alaska. If it will reduce our dependence on the Middle East and lower prices by at least a buck a gallon, then I'm all for it.
5. Automakers need more cars and trucks with high mpg diesel engines. With them, SUV's would be getting around 30mpg. And stop charging thousands more for that option. My father's Jetta gets 45mpg with the air on. A diesel Durango? Sounds great.

Here in Milwaukee we're at $2.19 for the CHEAP stuff! Damn...

Our gas is back down to 1.88 in tghe good eville. thats for the cheap stuff, i get no difference with anythign higher......I agree with jjovr......on everything....except drilling the hell out of alaska, that should be a last resort, there is no shortage of oil, the problem is with the corporations, they lose a manufacturing plant and do nothing to fix that problem. Plus im a big outdoors person and alaska already has to much in it and needs no more.......

My Response:
1. If some people are driving 100 mph on the same road that others are driving 70, that's a problem. Keep everyone at the same speed, and you'll never have any accidents.
2.
3. so are you saying that someone with 5 speeding tickets for 60 in a 25mph takes the same risks as someone with a clean record? That's crazy. Yes, some tickets can be stupid, but the insurance co.'s need to base their rates on something, and # and severity of tickets isn't too bad (in addition to claim history). If they didn't use tickets, then safer drivers would have to pay higher premiums to make up for the agressive drivers.
4. B.S. It doesn't matter WHERE the gas comes from, it all costs the same. Gas that is pumped from Texas costs the same as gas that comes from Saudi Arabia. It's a commodity in a worldwide market. Gas is higher than before for several reasons, but it's a supply and demand issue. If the demand is still there at a higher price, then so be it. Worldwide demand is increasing at a great rate right now (CHINA!!!)
5. Automakers will build whatever the public wants. If demand is there for desiels, automakers will build it. Right now, people want large trucks. The big 3 build them! If people demand compact cars instead of trucks, they'll build them. But I don't see that happening. Plus, nobody wants deisels because of the 'dirty' connontation they have, even though they are much cleaner than ever before.

Opinionation (is that a word) will drive most of this post. But everyone has there opinion. What happened to your second statement vortec??? just wondering....As for the speeding part, i speed everyday, I have never been in a wreck havent been close, Except when i wasnt moving at a STOP light and someone ran into me, But there is proof that you can have vehicles traveling at different speeds sometimes at large gaps between speed and have a safe driving environment. our problem is not with the speed that we are driving, but rather the people that don't understand the use of the correct lanes I e to pass, so I will disagree with the fact that if everyone drives the same speed there will be no wrecks. NEXT PEEELLLLLLLEEEEEAAAAASSSSEEE

Just to get back on post subject.....

BTW gas dropped to 1.84 today...

( Did I get us started on this tangent about what we are getting for gas?)

Great debate! Possibly cause for a new topic. BTW, 93 is $2.25 by me.
Jack

The thing that baffles me about gas prices is this: the price of oil hit $38.00/barrel in 1981 yet the price of gas was still at about a dollar per gallon. Today, the price of oil is the same, yet the price of gas has gone up to over two dollars a gallon. Refining productivity and technology today is way beyond that of 1981. So why has the cost of gas doubled?
Jack

Supposedly it is the lack of Gas refining not the lack of oil......

I heard that one reason for the high gas prices is that some of the refineries have shut down for routine maintenance. How long does this last, have no idea.

And some of them broke, burnt went on strike...

Here in Cali I'm finialy under the 2.40 mark to 2.39 woohooo

I picked up a new truck so I'm done with premium fuel. Unfortunately, because of the lower gas mileage, my gas bills haven't changed.

Gas is still high in New England. It's a strange feeling to get almost $10 worth of gas into my motorcycle.

We went below $2.00 here!
Filled up over the weekend and paid $1.98/gallon for premium.

Yeah Zachd..Ive got something to add to the statement about everyone driving the same speed..If there are any NASCAR fans here, youll know what Im talking about..At Daytona and Talledega, they run speeds of 190-195 mph. Now, of course thats a different driving environment than, lets say I-75 here or in Atlanta at 5pm, but it utilizes the same concept: If a pack of cars are all running the same speed, then more than likely something is going to happen, be it a flat tire, or a bobble or something..its hard for everyone to run the same speed and keep from bumping into one another. Okay Im sure a lot of you are confused by what Im saying here, but I agree with Zachs statement above b/c if the people who are running a faster speed are allowed to go by the slower cars, then this makes for a safer driving environment than..lets say..a pack of 35-40 cars at Talladega running 190mph; hence, the purpose of the fast lane. Surely that scenario doesnt seem related to what were talking about here, but it does give you an idea..Think about it..