[jims69camaro]

http://www.motorists.org/ sent me this email:

Dear Fellow Motorist,

As fuel costs have escalated there has been an equal increase in the number of politicians and editorial boards that are calling for the return of the 55 MPH national speed limit. The most recent politician to advocate reducing speed limits is John Warner, a Republican senator from Virginia.

Going back to this counter-productive law will have zero effect on fuel prices, but it will generate millions of speeding tickets, auto insurance premium surcharges, and a whole new level of motorist harassment. If you don't want to return to the days when an Interstate trip consisted primarily of looking for speed traps, now is the time to speak up. Anytime an elected official, reporter, editor, or talk show host starts lamenting the loss of the 55 MPH national speed limit (and the Nixon-Carter years) they should hear from you.

Here's a few points you can stress:

-Only a very small percentage of our streets, roads, and highways are posted for speeds above 55 MPH (about two percent).

-Artificially low speed limits will not be complied with and they just invite abuse by unethical public officials and law enforcement agencies.

-Most of our motor fuels are actually burned up in urban/suburban settings and highways posted at or below 55 MPH. A car going 75 MPH on an Interstate highway is still getting far better mileage than one going 25 MPH in stop and go urban traffic.

-The 55 MPH national maximum speed limit was a 22 year long public policy disaster that wasted billions of dollars and billions of man-hours while corrupting state agencies (for the sake of federal highway funds) and misallocated law enforcement resources that could have been used in much more productive ways.

-Any person that wishes to save fuel by driving slower is free to do so, just as they are free to use more fuel efficient vehicles, car pool, combine trips, or vacation closer to home. The public needs neither a legal hammer over its head nor a government incentive to act in its own best interest. The last two energy "crises" proved that government price controls, rationing schemes, and attempts to dictate fuel distribution decisions were an unmitigated disaster. The same can be said for the 55 MPH national maximum speed limit.

For more information on motorist issues, please visit www.motorists.org.

James Baxter
President
National Motorists Association

all that he says is true. other than filling the coffers of police agencies, what would 55 MPH do? like he says, anyone that wants to drive slower, can. more gas is burned at speed limited areas below 55 MPH, so what is the reasoning behind 55 MPH? i don't buy the argument that more fuel is burned in the same distance at speeds above 55. cars today have a much lower drag coefficient than cars of the 60s and 70s.