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Should the Federal Government lower the speed limits back to 55 M.P.H. on the Interstates like it was during the Nixon Administration to conserve energy ? I know it is tough for a lot of us who want to get to places Quickly(70-80+Mph),but at the same time it is more money in our pocket as well as conserving a limited resource.It is time that we do something. Is there any other ideas or ways that we need to conserve energy? I just want to hear others ideas on this for it is a critical time and it has always been.
No, b/c all it will do is cause people to get more tickets and increase insurance rates. Cars are much different now than they were back in the 70's and are more efficient at higher speeds than they were before. Nothing is stopping you from going 55mph in the slow lane or from driving less to conserve energy either.
Absolutely not. Despite the fact that the precedent exists, the Federal Government should not be regulating highway laws in any place except D.C. This is an issue for each individual state to decide, and is a decision that should be made for safety reasons, not based upon resource consumption. If I'm paying for my gasoline, I have to right to use it as much as I like.
The best thing the federal government can do for the energy crisis is absolutely nothing, and the state governments should be taking their hands out of the pie as well. The only way to fix our longterm oil consumption needs is to ween ourselves off of oil (which will happen as the price increases, it's not as if we'll all wake up one day to a world without petroleum). In the meantime, we can lessen the blow by allowing increased drilling in the United States, though with strictly enforced safety regulations to protect against property loss (from environmental damage).
This subject is kinda rif raf. I guess if you can do the lowest amount of revolutions per minute in the highest gear that would make for ultimate gas mileage. So if you can do 63 at 2150 RPM's and that's the lowest without going to low then hey do 63. I guess people need to use there judgement versus the governments.
Should the Federal Government lower the speed limits back to 55 M.P.H. on the Interstates like it was during the Nixon Administration to conserve energy ? I know it is tough for a lot of us who want to get to places Quickly(70-80+Mph),but at the same time it is more money in our pocket as well as conserving a limited resource.It is time that we do something. Is there any other ideas or ways that we need to conserve energy? I just want to hear others ideas on this for it is a critical time and it has always been.
NO! I refuse to go back to 55. The speed limits on our interstates in WV is 70mph, and open access highways 65mph, and I find it hard to stay under 80 mph. Lowering the speed limits will just cause more tickets to be written, not a savings in gas. I can't see people really slowing down. I know I don't plan on it
Most of the time when I'm on the freeway I go 55 unless it's a huge 18 wheeler behind me but even then, they get over.
I'm not opposed to the speed limit going to 55 but I'd rather a .10+ tax on gas be introduced to fund a world class mass transit system.
Has anyone noticed any difference in the way people accelerate from stop lights now with $4 per gallon gas as opposed to when we had $1 per gallon gas? I haven't. I think more energy is used accelerating than cursing at 80 mph. So when people stop racing off every light , start planning their stops instead of making abrupt stops, and when I stop getting passed by little old ladies going up steep hills, I might consider going less than 80 on the highway.
I support it, but it won't happen. You'd have to increase the number of police officers on the road who would actually enforce the new speed laws by a factor of 10,000, and then people would star filing lawsuits because they feel their right to drive as fast as they like is being taken away from them.
I'm in Atlanta. The official speed around I-285 (the beltway that surrounds the city) is offically 55mph in most areas. At one point they said the "average" speed people were driving around it was 72mph. $4.50+ gas and the threat of tickets don't even phase them here - they keep doing it. Officially making the speed limit 55 would only make them laugh (while talking on their cells and applying makeup and driving at the same time, no less).
However, a recent article about the large decrease in road/driving deaths lately does seem to indicate that the gas prices WITH people in SOME areas driving slower to save gas mileage is at least saving some lives in the process - so, some good news if they could get people to drive slower: Oil Prices Drive Down Traffic Deaths - Automotive News Story - WSB Atlanta (http://www.wsbtv.com/automotive/16959460/detail.html - broken link)
Good point Greg. Here in Wisconsin the state patrol made a statement in June and they said the average speed was now 69 MPH. That's pretty good.
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