Speed limits on gravel roads?

"morticide" > wrote
> Floyd Rogers wrote:
>> "morticide" > wrote
>> > I used to live on a gravel road, and anything faster than 35 on most of
>> > them in northern Missouri is asking for trouble (dust, control loss).
>> > Some locations, probably by county law, post a 35 speed limit. The
>> > only gravel road I know of that has a posted speed limit higher than
>> > that is AK 11 at 50.
>>
>> Are you talking Arkansas? If so, it's probably something different than
>> AK,
>> which is Alaska's state code.
>>
>> In any case, this goes back to the standard: "reasonable and prudent"
>> and "too fast for conditions". Many gravel roads are quite safe at
>> 50mph. The Alaskan haul road (to Pt. Barrow) is generally run at
>> 65-75 mph by truckers - it's actually safer in the winter when it
>> freezes. However, loose gravel is not as safe as a well-packed
>> consolidated surface, and I bet that's what you're thinking of.
>
> I was talking about Alaska 11, the Dalton. I was considering taking a
> drive on it until gas prices rose. It's posted 50, and a lot of the
> road, according to online research, is well maintained gravel and in
> some spots chip-sealed. 65+ would be no problem on that road except
> for some of the tight turns. The haul road actually goes to Deadhorse;
> Pt. Barrow is only accessible by plane or dog sled at this time.

You're right, I don't know why I typed Pt. Barrow - I probably meant
Prudoe Bay. If there's a 50 mph limit, I'm guessing there's *ONE*
sign just as the road goes gravel; in any case it's completely ignored.
I've driven it to about 15 miles north of Coldfoot/Wiseman.

FloydR

On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 09:40:10 -0500, (Brent
P) wrote:

>In article >, Dave Head wrote:
>
>> 35? Gimmie a break. Ever see those WRC rallies on the TV? They're doing it
>> on gravel roads, and hitting 130 mph. Anyone that can't do a (straight) gravel
>> road at the 55 mph speed limit needs some further driver education. Yeah,
>> there's some twisty stuff that can be a challenge, even on paved, but gravel is
>> only as dangerous as you make it.
>
>My concern would be for my car's paint job....

Interestingly, the gravel just doesn't much seem to get to the paint. Bounces
around underneath a lot, tho, but my old Eclipse had very little problem, just
some abrasion on the body flareing in front of the rear wheels. I _did_ have
"mud" flaps on all 4 corners, tho.

Dave Head
>

On 7 Sep 2006 07:53:50 -0700, "gpsman" > wrote:

>Dave Head wrote: <brevity snip>
>
>> About the only good reason for stopping would have been to get the name of the
>> dog's owner, who let it run loose, so I could sue them for the damage to my car
>> from the collision.
>
>The dog owner probably never thunk of that...

There's a lot of things people don't think of. In Rhode Island, night club
owners don't necessarily think of whether their remodeling will eventually
catch fire from a rock band's pyrotechnics, either... Its impossible to be so
smart that nothing bad will ever happen and in such a way that someone can't
fault you for it... A person's only chance of not getting sued or not going to
jail is basically never to do anything at all... <GGG>
>
>> >I used to live on a gravel road, and anything faster than 35 on most of
>> >them in northern Missouri is asking for trouble (dust, control loss).
>> >Some locations, probably by county law, post a 35 speed limit. The
>> >only gravel road I know of that has a posted speed limit higher than
>> >that is AK 11 at 50.
>>
>> 35? Gimmie a break. Ever see those WRC rallies on the TV? They're doing it
>> on gravel roads, and hitting 130 mph.
>
>Those are race cars and race drivers, not really applicable. And after
>a few cars it's more dirt than gravel on the driving line/s.

Yeah, it was just an example that it is _possible_ to drive gravel _very_ fast.
The rest of us who have any experience with loose surfaces should be able to do
55 on gravel fairly easily, tho.

>> Anyone that can't do a (straight) gravel
>> road at the 55 mph speed limit needs some further driver education. Yeah,
>> there's some twisty stuff that can be a challenge, even on paved, but gravel is
>> only as dangerous as you make it.
>
>Well, there's gravel roads and gravel roads. Sometimes there's little
>gravel, sometimes there's a lot. Sometimes it's pea gravel, sometimes
>it's crushed rock.

Yep - and some of it can be really exciting, espcially if the gravel is fairly
deep!

>At about 35mph on lots of gravel is about where it can begin to be like
>driving on ice. At my top speed on many gravel roads, 90mph, they all
>seemed like ice. There wasn't any prize and 90 was all the excitement
>I required.

Yep, it can get exciting alright. Don't recall any gravel roads that were like
ice at 35... but I'll keep tryin' em' out! <G>

Dave Head


>- gpsman

gpsman wrote:
> morticide wrote: <brevity snip>
>> The writer cited an incident in which someone was
>> flying down the gravel at at least 50 and hit a dog...and kept going,
>> right in front of witnesses.
>
> Witnesses? Now *that's* ****in' funny.
>
> Who had the ROW...?

Lucky it wasn't a kid hey.

> -----
>
> - gpsman
>


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In article >, Scott en Aztlán wrote:
> Dave Head > said in rec.autos.driving:
>
>>On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 09:40:10 -0500, (Brent
>>P) wrote:
>>
>>>My concern would be for my car's paint job....
>>
>>Interestingly, the gravel just doesn't much seem to get to the paint.
>
> Brent was talking about the damage to the paint caused by the dog.

Actually the gravel, but it would go for the dog as well...

Brent P wrote:
> In article >, Scott en Aztlán wrote:
> > Dave Head > said in rec.autos.driving:
> >
> >>On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 09:40:10 -0500, (Brent
> >>P) wrote:
> >>
> >>>My concern would be for my car's paint job....
> >>
> >>Interestingly, the gravel just doesn't much seem to get to the paint.
> >
> > Brent was talking about the damage to the paint caused by the dog.
>
> Actually the gravel, but it would go for the dog as well...


Well, this morning enroute to work (on a paved road this time), a
driver of a station wagon passed me while I was doing 60 in a 55, and
hit a cat when returning to the lane. I had to slow down to avoid
damage and also due to the temporary loss of visibility from flying cat
fur.

Brent P wrote:
> In article >, Scott en Aztlán wrote:
>> Dave Head > said in rec.autos.driving:

>>> On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 09:40:10 -0500, (Brent
>>> P) wrote:

>>>> My concern would be for my car's paint job....

>>> Interestingly, the gravel just doesn't much seem to get to the paint.

>> Brent was talking about the damage to the paint caused by the dog.

> Actually the gravel, but it would go for the dog as well...

Then, in some cases, the dog could get wedged in between the front wheel
and the fender, causing the car to flip over end to end, resulting in a
lot more paint damage

I don't know why, but this just reminded me of this post
<http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.driving/msg/2cece7af83bb3b2e>

Ladies and Gentlemen (and I use those words loosely), morticide said in
rec.autos.driving:
> This question came up in a friend's letter to the editor in my hometown
> newspaper. He had inquired with the state patrol about what the speed
> limit was on county gravel roads; the response was that it's the same
> as on the highways. The writer cited an incident in which someone was
> flying down the gravel at at least 50 and hit a dog...and kept going,
> right in front of witnesses.
>
> I used to live on a gravel road, and anything faster than 35 on most of
> them in northern Missouri is asking for trouble (dust, control loss).
> Some locations, probably by county law, post a 35 speed limit. The
> only gravel road I know of that has a posted speed limit higher than
> that is AK 11 at 50.
>
> I would imagine that enforcement would be rare as it would be under the
> jusridiction of the sherriff's department.

I assume you are talking about a road with no obvious posted speed
limit? I can only speak for where I live, but around here, a road with
no posted SL is assumed to have a SL of 30MPH.

REf: http://tinyurl.com/of8wc , Page 53

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Ladies and Gentlemen (and I use those words loosely), Scott en Aztlán
said in rec.autos.driving:
>
> Hmm... I know the law requires you to stop if you hit a human, but
> what law requires you to stop if you hit an animal?

Maybe if the vehicle sustains a heavy amount of damage?

> >I used to live on a gravel road, and anything faster than 35 on most of
> >them in northern Missouri is asking for trouble (dust, control loss).
>
> You have obviously never seen The Dukes of Hazzard!

Professional drivers on a closed course. Do not attempt these maneuvers
yourself.

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In article ews.net>,
Mike T. > wrote:
>>
>> Unfortunately for your disbelief, the Mythbusters did a test of that
>> theory and found that it is correct, the ride smooths out above a
>> certain speed.
>
>Who needs the mythbusters? Just about anybody who actually knows how to
>drive has discovered themselves that most dirt/gravel roads have a sweet
>spot (speed wise) where they are both smooth and safe to travel on.

Yeah, the speed will somewhat vary by vehicle. But at a minimum you've got to
move fast enough that you're not constantly driving over the little
gravel bump your wheels have pushed in front of you.
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