Nixon Was Right, and Then Some: Drive 55
Save fuel, save lives, and reduce emissions. What's not to like?
“The National Maximum Speed Limit of 55 m.p.h. was created in 1974 when Richard Nixon signed the Emergency Energy Highway Conservation Act. ...The ostensible purpose of this limit was to keep down gas prices (through reduced consumption), which had been driven through the roof by an OPEC embargo touched off by the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.” (1) The law was repealed in 1995. (2)
Did it save fuel? “The US could immediately reduce oil consumption by an estimated 4% by rolling back highway speed limits to 55 miles per hour.” (3)
Did it save lives? “On the 10th anniversary of the national 55 mile-per-hour speed limit, conservative estimates place(d) the number of lives saved on highways in excess of 45,000.” (4)
Now, nearly fifty years later, another reason to drive 55 has become apparent: climate change.
“Reducing the speed limit to 55 mph would reduce vehicle emissions by at least 10% right now, without the need for technological development and at low cost.” (5)
So – save fuel, save lives, and reduce emissions. What’s not to like?
From a public policy standpoint, returning to a national 55 mph speed limit makes all kinds of sense.
From a political standpoint, we all know that returning to a Drive 55 policy is, for the moment, an absolute nonstarter. Many Americans would rather drive faster than be concerned about saving gas – or saving lives, or actually doing something (just a little something) about climate change.
A pity.
Again I say (somewhat glumly) that the fallback for now is individual action.
So join me. Drive 55.
Sources:
(1) http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1826694,00.html
(3) http://www.oilempire.us/55mph.html
(4) https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/03/us/55-mph-speed-limit-said-to-have-saved-45000-lives.html
(5) https://drive55.org/55-mph-speed-limit-to-lower-greenhouse-gas-emissions-wa-state/
Background:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nixon-signs-national-speed-limit-into-law
https://nationaltoday.com/55-mph-speed-limit-day/
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/03/gas-prices-high-drive-slow/627039/