Gas prices and the 55 mph speed limit
Slowing down saves gas, but would drivers go along?
Move over, windfall profits tax, said Stephen Moore in The Wall Street Journal. There is now a “sillier” idea out there for fighting soaring gas prices—reviving the "despised and universally disobeyed" 55-mile-per-hour national speed limit enacted in 1974 after the OPEC oil embargo.
Motorists do love to drive fast, said John Dillin in The Christian Science Monitor via New Jersey’s The Record, but lowering the speed limit and getting all Americans to drive less “could have greater impact than oil from the Arctic.”
That’s why it’s so “curious” that more politicians haven’t jumped on this bandwagon, said the SavingAdvice personal finance blog. “Slower speeds do make a difference." During the two decades when our top speed was 55 mph the U.S. saved 167,000 barrels of oil a day, "which was about 2 percent of the country’s fuel consumption."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's still unlikely Congress would pass something as unpopular as the 55-mph limit, said the Winston-Salem, N.C., Journal in an editorial. “But that does not mean traffic can't slow down and that vehicles can't operate more efficiently.” All we have to do is enforce the speed limits we already have.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Paloma recipe: the cocktail of the summer
The Week Recommends This refreshing drink balances the fresh and fizzy taste of grapefruit soda with a subtle flavour of smooth tequila
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Mushroom edibles are tripping up users
the explainer The psychedelics can sometimes have questionable components
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Prisons are simply not prepared for extreme heat
Under the radar Inmates are at severe risk of heat-related illness
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published