Really old, wrinkly men are suggesting that the federal government reinstate the ’70s-era 55mph speed limit. While I have no problem supporting an improved energy policy, setting a 55mph speed limit is not going to help anyone. If people are cutting back on travel now, think what will happen when mom and dad get stuck in the minivan with their 3.1 children for a trip that is now at least 25% longer. Will the government also force the automotive electronics industry to produce DVD players that run at less than full speed, so you can still get to grandma’s before the movie’s over and the kids start to fuss?
The reasoning behind a speed limit reduction is incredibly flawed — besides assuming that every vehicle currently in use has the same optimal speed / fuel consumption ratio, it only addresses half of the gas mileage problem. If vehicles reach maximum efficiency at 55mph, that means that we should not only reduce speed limits that exceed 55mph, but also increase speed limits that are below 55mph. This would be great for those of us who have to pass through multiple school zones during our daily commute.
Rather than imposing an arbitrary speed limit across the nation, we’d be much better off investing all the money that would be spent replacing the millions of speed limit signs that line our nation’s roads on improving the existing drive and transmissions systems. No, it’s not an immediate fix, but it will save many parents from going postal as they spend 7 hours and 35 minutes just to cross Kansas in their minivan. As much as we value our oil, we value our time even more.
