Another in the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette’s series, “Enacted Legislation, Everyday Lives” entitled New speed limit to cut travel time for local mother
The article opens by saying, “The Indiana legislature gave Kathy Carrier the gift of time.” — basically, Ms. Carrier runs a business that involves frequent commutes from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis. They say that increasing the speed limit from 65 to 70 will save her 24 minutes round trip on the 220 mile drive. I don’t get the math. At the risk of sounding like a math text book:
1. If Kathy Carrier drives 220 miles from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis and back at a speed of 65 miles per hour, how many minutes will the drive take her? Answer: 202 minutes.
2. If Kathy Carrier drives 110 220 miles from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis and back at a speed of 70 miles per hour, how many minutes will the drive take her? Answer: 188 minutes.
3. What is the time difference between Kathy Carrier’s drive at 65 miles per hour and her drive at 70 miles per hour? Answer: 14 minutes.
So, the increased speed limit will save her 7 minutes each way, assuming that she is able to drive full speed on the entire Interstate portion of her journey — a big assumption when she gets around the I-69/I-465 interchange.
Of course, the legislature was considering a move that would have taken away any gains. Ms. Carrier mentions that on her drive home, she “teleconferences”. (I assume that’s a fancy way of saying she talks with people on her cell phone while she’s driving.) The legislature considered a bill that would have prohibited talking on a cell phone while driving.
Update 5/19/05 Fixed a typo caught by Brenda (see comments). Thanks!
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