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From: grego@athena.UUCP (Grego Sanguinetti)
Newsgroups: net.cycle,net.auto.tech
Subject: Re: The story about the 85 mph speedometers
Message-ID: <756@athena.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 13-Jan-86 21:04:37 EST
Article-I.D.: athena.756
Posted: Mon Jan 13 21:04:37 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Jan-86 01:33:53 EST
References: <3007@vax4.fluke.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
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Xref: watmath net.cycle:1461 net.auto.tech:600

> Back in the late seventies, Joan Clayworth of the National Highway and
> Transportation Safety Department felt that too many young people were
> riding their motorcycles very fast just so they could tell their
> friends that they went "120 mph!!"  So she was the initiator of the
> law which required all motorcycles and probably as a result, most
> automobiles, to have 85 mph speedometers.
>

Let me think, isn't Joan Clayworth the person that brought us the
backwards motorcycle?! (true story!) You see the NHTSD, in their
unusual brand of wisdom, properly deduced that motorcycles were
inherently unstable since the same (single) wheel that steered the
bike also supplied most of it's braking. They then deduced that a
better plan would be to steer with the rear (!!) wheel, like a boat.
They finally gave up after observing that ALL of their test riders
crashed after about 20 feet!

I hear that she is now proposing roll bars and seatbelts!!:-)
Anybody for airbags!!???!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Kind of makes me
wonder what kind of job qualifications are required for placement in the
NHTSD, maybe a AA in Library Sciences:-)

                grego@tektronix

                These opinions have no bearing on the subject at hand and
                should therefore be quoted out-of-context.