Posted by
Rich from NW Indiana on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 5:38:49 PM
Yuck, another bad idea from the 1970's, rearing it ugly head again. The national 55mph speed law is being talked about again. What's next, price controls and long lines for gas, no thank you! Speed limits are too low to begin with. That's why most people end up "speeding".
And it doesn't save any gas. Its an old wives tale that just won't die.
Your driving style is a better way to save gas if you must do that. Quick stops and starts and quick lane changes wastes far more gas then driving fast in the country. Or drive a smaller vehicle, most folks don't really need the large SUV. Don't take away the choice of vehicles in the future for those who do need them, by driving the wrong vehicle today and getting them outlawed by liberals.
This artificial "crisis" would be better "solved" by lowering or getting rid of gas taxes, allowing the oil companies to drill were there is known oil, let them build some new refineries and largely getting the government out of the energy business.
Our economy is built on oil energy, face it folks. It is PERIOD (no matter where you live)! Since the prices are too high, we will continue to have the slow economy. High Energy prices are making problems crop up everywhere. Outside of maybe nuclear energy, there are no alternates that can completely replace oil. I am not saying that can't help but they are niche sources. They have been for more then thirty years and that isn't changing anytime soon. They should be seen as such.
Ethanol is a great example of a niche source trying to be oil. They have been trying for decades to get this fuel to be used by people who aren't farmers. But Ethanol has big problems with it. It doesn't go through pipelines, and doesn't provide the power of gasoline. And it isn't as "green" as people thought it was. Plus, it has made the price of food rise sharply, due to government bumbling in forcing it to market. Is Ethanol the fuel of the future? NOPE, not in its corn fed form anyway.
But back to the speed limit. Will the lower speed limit save gas? Nope, because few would go 55mph. The speed limit should be set by the average speed of the users of the road. For most interstates it would be most of the time 70-80 mph. The interstates were designed to be driven 70mph. It needs to be natural, not the nonsense-able artificial way they do it now.
I think that too low speed limits lead to people ignoring other more important safety rules of the road. Since people have little respect for speed laws as it is, lowering them would lead to less respect for ALL laws of the road. The rules of the road were originally designed for our safety. Would people agree with me on that? The rules of the road were not intended to be sources of revenue for local police departments nor be ways to change the behavior of society. A lower speed for fuel economy would fall under the second, since safety isn't the reason for it.
Put me down for a big fat NO on this recycled tired idea from the 1970's. What's next, orange shag carpet and bellbottoms?