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The Homer Simpson energy policy
Here’s my second cranky old man entry for the summer.
Back when I was a kid, getting your driver’s license gave you the privilege of driving 55 mph on our nation’s highways. The national speed limit passed in 1975 (one year after I turned 16). It was an offshoot of the Arabl oil embargo (remember that one?) and it was designed to save lives and fuel.
How well did it succeed? According to U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., the national speed limit saved 167,000 barrels of oil a day, or 2 percent of the country’s highway fuel consumption. It’s also credited for reducing highway fatalities by 4,000 deaths per year.
Additionally, it’s estimated that every 5 mph over 60 mph that you drive today adds about 30 cents per gallon in fuel costs.
So it’s a clear case, right? President Bush should announce tonight that he’s rolling back the speed limit. We won’t get rid of $4 a gallon gasoline right away, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that a reduction in demand would at least get OPEC’s attention.
But that suggestion leaves out a key part of the equation:
We hated 55 mph in the 1970s and ’80s. And we’ll hate it even more in our cruise-controlled radar-detecting vehicles of the 21st century.
From my experience, the unofficial speed limit these days is about 10 mph over whatever the sign says it is. If you drive 70 mph on I-40 or I-95, you’d better stick to the right lane. Otherwise, you’re going to make somebody mad.
I have a small laugh every time I hear a commentator ponder the price per gallon at which Americans are really going to get fed up this time and park the SUV for good. If we can’t even slow down to a limit that would spread some sacrifice over everyone, the fuel crunch is never going away.
The wise man Homer Simpson once argued against 55 mph speed limits: “Sure, it’ll save a few lives, but millions will be late!”
However much we want to complain about gasoline prices, Homer’s philosophy seems to be our national motto.
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