I see that some states in the US & provinces in Canada allow cars and trucks to move at the max limits
(70 mph if permitted,)my question is,i am not an hgv driver but wonder do ex-pat truckers find it abit
scary? the first time you get in this situation,do you get the same “elephant racing” ,you know what i
mean,2 trucks side by side for seems miles?
Or is it more of “power for the job” when they build em in the first place.
treblem:
I see that some states in the US & provinces in Canada allow cars and trucks to move at the max limits
(70 mph if permitted,)my question is,i am not an hgv driver but wonder do ex-pat truckers find it abit
scary? the first time you get in this situation,do you get the same “elephant racing” ,you know what i
mean,2 trucks side by side for seems miles?
Or is it more of “power for the job” when they build em in the first place.
I would doubt that that is a great problem as ‘elephant races’ are a direct product of universal speed limiters, the evil of the age. Also the concentration of vehicles is not the same in N. America as it is in Europe.
Plus, whatever you think of speed and its dangers, there is little more dangerous than differential speed limits, so full marks to those states/provinces which have done away with them.
Nearly all the states and provinces have the same speed limits for cars as trucks. The main exceptions being Ontario in Canada and California, Illinois & Indiana in the US. I don’t know about it being scary though. Most ex pats find it liberating have the freedom to run at a proper speed on wide open clear roads after the congestion of Europes crowded roads. Over here there are strict speed limits in urban areas that people generally respect but on the highways 70mph is common in most states. The trucks are geared much higher than Europe and usually i have to drop out of the high split in top gear at below around 60mph as i am down to around 1100rpm so if i was restricted to 90kms an hour i would never get into top at all!!
75mph down alot of the middle states, why should it be scary, we used to do that over here till the dreaded speed limiter became the norm. not all the time i might add before I get slagged off.
dieseldog6:
75mph down alot of the middle states, why should it be scary, we used to do that over here till the dreaded speed limiter became the norm. not all the time i might add before I get slagged off.
Exactly, as a pre limiter driver too I found it most refreshing to be able to drive at a speed that I felt comfortable with & in the 75mph states that could be up to 80/85mph, there is little traffic & the CB will tell you where the Police are & they tend to leave the big trucks alone unless they’re being really silly, I’ve got the photo like Wire’s too & it’s safer to do those kinds of speeds here than it would be to 65mph around the M25.
I have the ability to go a lot faster but I usually run at 65mph, unless I’m in the Prairies or out west where there’s not a lot to see so I give it some & get it out the way asap.
I must also say that these trucks over here, especially the big Petes that Wire & I have (I won’t count Bob the Dog as he has a Pete jnr 
) are built for this kind of speed, as wire says, they won’t go in top until there’s at least 60 on the clock, my dash is a little different to Wire’s, I have the classic dash in mine (more chrome) & the speedo goes up to 100mph & it’s not for show 
Newmercman…My Pete was limited to about 72 which was a shame , but yeah 65 is a good speed to sit at, you can put some good mileages in at speeds like that.
This was the dash in mine 2007 model.
Last time I was on I-10 in Texas the speedlimits were 85 for cars and 75 for trucks.
Route 56 across Kansas (just one lane each way, much like the A5 in England) had a 70mph limit when I last drove down it.
Vermont is the most stupid state (as are its residents LOL) 50 mph limit almost everywhere and f**kin cops that will ticket you for going 2 miles over.