A Horrible Idea

Someone please shut these two idiots up:

President Bush made it clear last week that he sees no quick fixes to the nation's energy woes. The problem has been long in coming, the argument goes, and so will the solutions. But if history is any guide, there is one thing he could do immediately: bring back the 55 miles-per-hour speed limit.

It has been done before. Along with record oil and gasoline prices, improvements in fuel efficiency and a lasting economic recession, speed limits helped curb fuel consumption for the first time in American postwar history between 1974 and 1984.

Of course, energy eventually became cheap again, the economy expanded and Americans became complacent and unwilling to make more sacrifices.

Instead of opting for small fuel-efficient cars, people switched to large sport utility vehicles and larger pickups. As drivers groaned and states fought for their right to speed, the limit was raised.

These guys don't even remotely get it. The reason that gasoline usage is up is because people are working farther from home and their commute has increased.

In my business, less than a thirty-mile commute is considered local. Oftentimes I travel 80 miles or more, one-way, five-days a week. This is not out of the ordinary for people living in the NY-Philly corridor.

The building boom has pushed new communities farther away from the cities, which has also had a major effect on commuting miles. By building new housing developments twenty or thirty miles from a major work center, the use of public transportation becomes less and less of an option.

As to the 55 MPH speed limit change, I drive fast, and will continue to as I'm usually on a tight schedule. I know where the cops hide and know how to drive with traffic to avoid getting a ticket. If they revert back to the 55 limit, it will only encourage some idiot to drive that speed in the far left lane and screw up the traffic flow for the rest of us.